👉 “Exposure to words is the single most important thing that you can do to help build the language pathways in your child’s brain,” says Laura Phillips, a doctor of psychology at the nonprofit Child Mind Institute in New York City. 👀Don’t have time to sit down with a chapter book? Even a quick two-minute story before bedtime can go a long way toward boosting your little one’s language and cognitive development and inspiring them to love reading. Reading with your child not only increases vocabulary, grammar knowledge, sight word recognition, and other early literacy skills, it also encourages bonding and social-emotional development. 🧠Your routine doesn’t have to be perfect, says Lovevery Expert Kelli Meyer, a pediatric speech therapist @TheSpeechScoop. Many babies will want to wiggle away after just a moment or skip several pages at a time. That’s okay! The goal is for your child to associate reading with positive experiences. So, let your little one pick a book, get comfortable with them, and read just one or every word on the page. 📚 🎥: @samanthabagley_