Reading poetry to your baby adds to his development and emotional well-being. According to Erick Anzueto, a psychotherapist, he stimulates both cerebral hemispheres, since on the one hand he perceives the plastic and rhythmic beauty of the verses and on the other, he exercises an intellectual exercise of understanding about what is being said.
The figure of a woman bent over a cradle and holding a book in her hands, is not for nothing one of the most endearing images of our culture. Reading to children is an act of love that strengthens the mother-child bond but also provides them with roots and belonging, reassures them, provides security and is the basis for developing important intellectual faculties and personal skills.
Starting at three months of age, children are ready to receive the benefits of reading. Before, they have had an intense training because from the womb they have got used to the mother’s voice transmitting emotional messages to them. Therefore, when you reach that first trimester, it is time to start the ritual of taking it in your arms, open the first page and start it in the wonderful world of books.
Reading to very young children requires following certain instructions. Of course, at this stage the objective is not focused on telling a story, but on generating positive feelings. For this reason, poetry is ideal at this time, accompanied by quality physical contact so that your baby begins to relate reading time with well-being. Hugging, rocking and kissing him, while you read rhymes, short phrases, puns is the way to start creating this space.
So the words, phrases and sentences used must be soft, slow and spoken in low tones. The intention of the voice, in turn, reassuring and loving, like someone who consoles or expresses beautiful feelings. It happens that the power of your voice is stronger than you think: scientific studies carried out in Russia under the direction of Dr. Pjotr Garjajev, have shown how speech influences the conformation of human DNA when they listen. The cadence, the rhythm, the intention, the frequency, etc., generate changes in the personality and this is now being used for therapeutic purposes.
For this reason, it is very important that you are genuinely relaxed at this time, says the pedagogue and therapist Erick Anzueto, who also explains that in the brain there are structures called mirror neurons, which make us unconsciously imitate the attitude of our interlocutors. The baby is infected from that state.
Over time, she begins to recognize with pleasure the moment of reading and associate it with the calm and warmth of the encounter with her mother. This gives her security and strengthens the bond that began to form from before she was born, when she was still in her womb and listened to her speak.
But what is a finding for the West, for the spiritual teachers of ancient cultures, as well as the women who belong to them, is nothing new. Oral tradition indicates telling stories to newcomers and thus providing peace and fulfillment to your soul.