Health Tip: Read to Your Toddler

(HealthDay News) -- Reading is a fun activity for you and your toddler, and it helps your child build important language skills.

Here are suggestions for reading to your toddler, courtesy of the Nemours Foundation:

• Read at a scheduled time each day, such as before bedtime.
• If your child asks you to read a certain book, read it -- even if it's the same one you read every night.
• Read slowly, so it's easy to listen and understand.
• Use lots of expression in your voice when you read.
• Encourage interaction while you read, including clapping, singing, and using puppets to act out what you're reading.
• Substitute your child's name for the name of one of the book's characters.
• Look at the pictures, ask your child to name certain objects, and ask lots of questions.