Why Reading To Your Children Is So Important

Children are basically sponges. They will soak up everything in their environment that you provide for them, and their minds are constantly at work to take in the language and lessons they’re exposed to. This is why reading is so crucial for kids – specifically, parents reading to children.

There are many benefits to reading to your child every night. You may wonder why reading to your children is so important – the answer to that is complicated and simple all at once! Here’s what you need to know about how reading to your child each night impacts their development, and how to get started.

Does Reading To Your Child Make A Difference?
Reading to your child is about more than sharing a fun story before bed. When you read aloud to your child, you’re making a difference in their life in a variety of ways.

Research shows that children who are read to by adults often develop an interest in reading that will last a lifetime. They’re much more likely to get into the habit of reading each day. Plus, if they associate happy memories with reading, they’re more likely to work hard at learning to read themselves, even when it becomes challenging.

We all know that kids get the wiggles, and it can be difficult for them to sit still in order to absorb information. Reading to your child can actually make a difference in their attention span. You don’t want to do too much too fast, but starting with just a few minutes of reading each night that you gradually extend is a great way to lengthen your child’s attention span, and the benefits of this will be long-reaching.

Reading aloud also helps with language development, which is a very important area. Even when you read aloud to a baby, you’re making a difference in their language skills. As your child gets older, their vocabulary will get bigger through the time you read together, and they’ll begin to learn more words and understand how sentences are structured.

Finally, reading is all about inspiring imagination in children and adults alike. Reading to your child allows them to see the events in their own mind and use their imagination to paint a picture that is better than any cartoon or movie ever could be.

What Are The Benefits Of Reading To Children?
While we’ve already listed a bunch of upsides above, there are so many benefits of reading aloud to children that go beyond what’s been touched on so far. Some of the biggest benefits include:

• Enhanced language skills – When you read every day to young kids, even babies, you are helping them to acquire language skills as well as social skills, literacy skills, and communication skills. Reading has been found to stimulate the part of the brain that allows children to build language and understand it. This is so crucial for kids as they move toward kindergarten, since the American Academy of Pediatrics has found that nearly one-third of all children entering kindergarten don’t have the foundation they need in order to learn to read.
• Academic success – Every parent wants their child to learn and do well in school in order to ultimately have an independent and successful life. Early reading presents an opportunity for parents to help their children learn to communicate, and to expose them to new words, concepts, and stories. The more you read a child, the more they learn and the stronger their skills will be when they move into formal schooling.
• Bonding – Spending time reading a book with your child is a great way to bond with them. It will build a stronger relationship between you and positively influence your child’s development. Remember, the days may feel long, but before you know it, your child will grow older and may not want to snuggle and read before bed! Make the most of it while they’re still young and forge that lifelong bond.
• Discipline – Just as it builds listening skills and improves attention span, reading also helps your child to learn to concentrate and have the discipline to stay still for the entire story. This will ultimately help your child to retain more of what they hear, which will be a boon to them when school starts.
• Better vocabulary – It’s been established that the more a child reads, the larger their vocabulary becomes. This includes parents reading books to them. It all adds up – studies have found that kids who are read to are exposed to over one million more words by the time they enter kindergarten when compared with children who are not read to.

How To Get Started
There are a variety of ways you can start reading to your children – and remember, it’s never too late! You don’t need a large home library, either. You can borrow books from your local library or even find some for free online through reading apps.

You can start reading to your children at any age. If you start young, just be sure to have simple books that feature images with a lot of contrast and bright colors. As your child grows, transition to books with simple phrases and text that relates to the pictures on the page.

By the time they’re a toddler, they’ll likely be intrigued by books that have other children in them doing everyday things. Animals, familiar scenes, and even cartoon characters will appeal to them. Don’t worry too much about the content – the more they’re reading, the better, no matter what kinds of books.

For older kids, let them take the lead when they begin to learn to read. They can start to read along with the pictures that go along with the text and practice their skills. Ask them questions as you continue the story and actively engage them for at least 30 minutes every day to help them get the most out of reading time.

Featured image by Picsea on Unsplash