I’ve always liked to read books. From my younger days of hoarding Sweet Valley High Twins and Baby-Sitters Club books through my R.L. Stine stage to my Jodi Picoult obsession, reading is a pastime I’ve loved for as long as I can remember. There’s something about a good book that actually makes you feel like you know the characters. A good book helps you truly visualize each scene and actually escape into the words you’re reading. A staggering one in four children in America grow up without learning how to read. Needless to say, prior to having my first child, I started collecting books so that I could be one of the parents to read aloud to children. We have continued to read to him and my daughter every day since they were born.
Childcare costs make it easy for moms to stay home, so we are always looking for activities that are fun and educational. Visiting the library for story time and Half Price books are some hobbies of ours. The kids enjoy picking out their own books. The Clifford series is our favorite right now. You can bet I scour garage sales for popular books, too! Last year I even found Goodnight, Moon for ten cents.
Here are great reasons why you should read aloud to children daily, starting from birth and continuing past the toddler years:
Reasons to Read Aloud to Children
It’s time spent together.
The days are full of so many activities. Reading provides a time when you are focusing on nothing else, just your children. We read to our kids every night and use this time to point to pictures and ask the children questions about what they see in the pictures. This opens lines for communication.
You can get clues on where your children may need help.
Reading gives you a chance to talk to your kids about a lot of subjects and topics, including things that the school curriculum may not cover. Reading to your children can help you better teach them the meanings to new words and can enhance their vocabularies. Reading also helps your children excel in all school subjects and understand abstract concepts. Reading to our oldest led me to realize he was having some delays and, ultimately, helped push me to make the decision to get him into speech therapy.
It may lead to a lifelong love of reading.
If you read like you mean it and truly enjoy the story – this means getting into he story, changing your voice and inflections and having fun with it – your children will probably learn to love reading, too. My 3-year-old daughter not only loves to read to me, but she pretends to read herself. She looks through the books and speaks aloud about what she sees happening on each page. As an adult who loves to read, I am very happy to see that she enjoys books so much. They truly excite her!
Reading is a lot of fun, and it’s great for enhancing your relationship with your child. The decision to regularly read books to your child helps in every way possible when it comes to learning and language comprehension. Reading is one of the most important contributing factors to children’s success in school. Take the time to read to your children!
Why do you enjoy reading to your children? How do you make reading fun?
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Category: EducationTags: children's books
