10 Reasons Why You Should Read to Your Kids

We all hear time after time that reading to children is essential to their development. But, what exactly are the specific advantages your child can gain? Here are some benefits that highlight the importance of reading to your child via inthebook.com.

1. A stronger relationship with you.

As your baby grows older, he or she will constantly be on the move, playing and exploring their environment. By developing the habit of reading to your baby early on, reading will feel like a nurturing activity that will being the two of you closer together, instead of a chore. There are no better memories from our childhood than snuggling up with parents, cuddling, and reading a book! 

2. Academic excellence.

One important benefit of reading to your toddlers and preschoolers is a higher aptitude for learning in general. Many studies have shown that students who are exposed to reading before preschool are more likely to succeed in all facets of formal education. 

3. Basic speech skills.

Throughout toddlerhood and preschool, your child is learning critical language and enunciation skills directly from you! By listening to you read, your child is reinforcing the basic sounds that form that language. When your child pretends to read, he or she paging through a book with squeals and jabbers, he or she is practicing a very important pre-literacy activity. 

4. The basics of how to read a book.

Essential pre-reading skills are included in the top benefits of early reading. We aren't born with the innate knowledge that books are read from left to right, nor that words on a page are seperate from the images. These pre-reading skills are the first skills toddlers learn when parent read to them.

5. Better communication skills. 

By reading to toddlers, they will be more likely to express themselves and interact with others in a healthy way. Your child gains important communication skills by seeing how characters in books interact and how you interact with your child during story time. 

6. Mastery of language. 

Early reading for toddlers has been linked to a better grasp of the fundamentals of language as they approach school age. 

7. More logical thinking skills. 

As your toddler or preschooler begins to relate scenarios in books to what's happening in his or her own world, he or she will become more excited about the stores you share! Children begin to understand abstract concepts, recognize cause and effect, and apply logic in various scenarios from listening to their parents read to them. 

8. Acclimation to new experiences. 

As your child begins a new journey in his or her life, a relevant story may help ease the transition. For example, if your child is nervous about starting preschool, reading a story dealing with this topic shows them that anxiety is normal. 

9. Enhanced concentration and discipline. 

Toddlers may initially be fussy and distracted during story time. However, eventually they will learn to stay still for the duration for the book. Your child will learn self-discipline and grow a longer attention span when you make reading a habit, which will benefit them when they enter school. 

10. The knowledge that reading is fun!

As parents, instilling reading for toddlers helps them view books as an indulgence, not a chore. Kids who are exposed to reading early on are more likely to choose books over video games and television as they grow older.

Take the first steps in beginning to read to your child here at Community Well! Every Wednesday from 2-3pm Aurora runs a Growing with Books workshop in Spanish, Creciendo con Libros. You will have the opportunity to meet and interact with other parents who are also starting to read to their babies.