I'm a huge bookworm. One of my children is a reader like I am, one is not, and I'm working on instilling a love of reading in my other two. Here are some reasons you may want to get your children to love reading.
In his story ‘I Can Read with My Eyes Shut’, Dr. Seuss wrote: “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you’ll go.” Over the past two years, reading among children has increased by approximately 89% according to a report by Epic, a leading global digital reading platform. One of the most valuable things we as parents can do is read with our children. Reading not only transports children to fantastical worlds but also boosts their academic and emotional development in a number of ways. From boosting relationships and improving literary skills to teaching valuable life lessons, let’s have a closer look at just a few of the countless benefits of reading to your children from a young age and instilling a love for books in them.
Building stronger relationships
Children grow up so fast and the older they get, the harder it becomes to spend quality time with them. It is important to create as many opportunities as possible for bonding while they are still young. Considering how much time adults and children alike spend in front of electronic devices, it is crucial to make a concerted effort to bond as a family without a screen in sight. When you spend time reading to (or with) your child on a regular basis, your bond is bound to strengthen. In fact, research has found that reading is conducive to a solid parent-child relationship as it makes a child feel secure and cherished. Cuddling up with a book just before bedtime, or any other time of day for that matter can form part of a wonderful routine filled with opportunities for learning, exploring, and growing. Including story time in your daily routine is also a wonderful way to instill a love for books in your children.
Literary Skills are Improved
Reading aloud to children, even if they are not yet able to talk or fully understand what you are saying can give their literacy skills a nice boost. Apart from adding new words and phrases to their vocabulary, reading to a child can also help improve their pronunciation according to experts from the National Center on Early Childhood Development. A study conducted in 2019 even found that children who are read to regularly in the five years prior to going to kindergarten are exposed to nearly 1.4 million more words than children who are never read to. Reading with your children also requires a certain level of comprehension on their part. In order to comprehend what you are reading, they will have to pay attention and listen to what you are reading. All this can improve their general listening skills and attention span too. Reading does not only improve the literary skills of children. Even adults can constantly improve their vocabulary and general knowledge by reading books, magazines, and newspapers.
Books Contain Valuable Life Lessons
When children are read to (or read on their own), they are exposed to many valuable life lessons. Depending on the book, they can learn about relationships, differences in personalities, how to react in certain situations, and what is considered good and bad in society. Fairy tales can also help children distinguish what is real and what isn’t while providing them with the opportunity to explore their own creativity. Instilling a love for books in children from a young age will also help ensure that reading is never perceived as a chore but an enjoyable pastime instead. Most children who are read to when they are young become lifelong fans of reading who pass their love for books onto their own children too. Children who spend a considerable amount of time reading when they are young also tend to possess better general knowledge which, in turn, can have a positive impact on their academic performance.
Parents who read to their children from a young age are bestowing a range of benefits on them. Reading and a love for books can help forge stronger relationships between parents and children, improve literacy skills, and teach a range of valuable life lessons that will serve them well right into adulthood.