Give your baby a headstart

Give your baby a headstart Every baby born in the next 12 months in Moreland will receive a free BookStart Kit as part of the Moreland Reading Project. Moreland City Libraries produced the kit that contains a board book (bilingual board book is also available), booklets and advice on how to develop children’s reading skills from an early age. The kit will be distributed by Maternal and Child Health Nurses on their visits to new parents. Councillor Responsible for Art and Culture Andy Ingham said a love of reading was one of the most precious gifts you could give a child. "It is never too early to begin reading to babies or children to foster that love. The kit will encourage parents and carers to read to babies and also contains information about parenting resources," Cr Ingham said. The Moreland BookStart kit is modelled on a kit in the United Kingdom. Cr Ingham said reading to children from an early age had many benefits and was central to the key aims of the Moreland Reading Project – to encourage people of all ages to enjoy reading. "Reading is an important life skill and a fundamental building block of learning. Research has revealed that children who are read to from an early age have an easier time learning to read themselves, and also tend to do better when they start school," he said. "Other benefits of reading to children from an early age include helping to develop a close and loving bond between parent/carer and child. "Taking time out in a busy day to sit down with your baby and read a book helps the baby associate being held with being read to and they will experience pleasure in both."