Why Reading With Kids is Important
You may have heard that reading plays a huge role in kids’ development, but do you know exactly how?
Well, studies show that the vocabulary of kids who listen to their parents read to them is larger than kids who don’t get reading time at all. There are undoubtedly various benefits to reading to your child.
Besides enhancing your child’s vocabulary, reading also helps them with learning how to write and read as well as understand different topics and how the world works. Below we put together what benefits come with reading for your children.
Bond
Reading is a great way to bond with your child and have that quiet time together. Whether it’s a book during the day or before bedtime, it creates a special bonding time.
Knowledge
Children receive much knowledge from reading books which sets them up for successful learning at school. Knowledge provides a great head start in life and prepares them for learning later.
Language Skills
When you speak to your child daily, you often repeat similar words or sentences, and the vocabulary you use is usually limited. However, when books are read, various topics are discussed, and your child learns topics outside their daily life, which develops their language skills.
Concentration
Reading teaches patience and attention, as it’s an activity that requires the child to sit quietly and focus on listening. The more you do it, the more they learn how to sit still and pay attention.
Imagination and Creativity
When we read, we often imagine someone else’s world and what happens during the story, what characters might look like and do. While there are books with pictures that portray characters and surroundings, scenes still need to be imaged as the story goes on. That’s where your child can fantasize, developing their imagination and creativity.
Learning Emotions
Stories often include characters which cause the reader to express emotions. Whether it’s empathy or happiness, books teach your child to understand and feel these emotions. When you change your voice to show emotion or talk to the child about it after reading the book, they learn what they should feel in certain life situations.
Entertainment
These days many kids watch TV or play on devices, so exposing your child to reading shows another form of entertainment which can lead to a great passion for reading in their life later.
With so many benefits, parents should certainly include reading as one of the ways to promote their child’s development and prepare them for the world of learning.