Why is reading important for kids: Why is reading so important for young children and how to build this habit?

Why is reading so important for young children and how to build this habit?

Educational preschool explains the importance of reading and how to inculcate the habit at an early age

“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.” – Joseph Addison

Language is the most powerful tool human beings possess. And reading is one of the most fulfilling and effective means to master this tool. The habit of reading, if inculcated at an early age, helps in brain development and enhances imagination. It’s never too early to read to a child and to build this habit. It’s a gift for a lifetime.

Kids ‘R’ Kids, a preschool learning center, shares some of the amazing benefits of reading for young children:

1. Cognitive development

Children acquire a deep understanding of their world and receive background knowledge. This helps them make sense of what they see, hear, and read, which aids their cognitive development.

2. Better vocabulary

Reading at an early age not only helps children learn new words and new ways to express themselves, but it also improves their grammar and teaches new concepts. 

 3. Enhanced empathy

Reading allows children to understand various emotions. This helps in their emotional and social development since they learn to associate their feelings with words and find a way to express themselves better. Books showcase various characters and perspectives which allows children to be more empathetic. The cause and effect concept in stories helps develop their analytical skills besides encouraging curiosity, which is crucial to learning. 

4. Bonding between parent and child

Reading time is a beautiful ritual that allows parents and children to connect and unwind. Children love to hear stories from parents while parents find it relaxing to be in a space of fantasy and wonder. Stories trigger conversations and questions that help a child learn and express. Not only is this ritual enjoyable but it also triggers a positive association in a child’s mind. 

5. Sparks curiosity

Only a curious mind attempts to learn. Stories are an insight into parts of the world that are yet unknown to children. A variety of topics present possibilities to children and intrigues them. A book on famous artists, butterflies across the world or the universe may inspire children to explore further and learn more. It also allows children to learn about different cultures and people.

6. Develops concentration

Regular and consistent reading helps to improve children’s concentration abilities. As they sit still and listen for long periods, it builds patience that benefits them at school.

7. Creativity

Reading a book encourages the use of imagination. Characters, costumes, buildings, situations, and dialogues create a visual impression while reading. This imagination sparks further creativity that may help build other life skills.   

8. Reduced screen time

Children’s brains need stimulation to learn and grow. In times of gadgets and games, children have become addicted to screen time that hampers their brain development. They tend to stay home and not interact with their peers. They become physically unhealthy as they spend hours on screen. On the other hand, books inspire children to learn and develop, and explore the world around them.

How to build this wonderful habit at an early age?

At Kids ‘R’ Kids, the curriculum for all age groups (infants to grade 5) revolves around cognitive, physical, literacy, language, social, and emotional development. And story-telling and books are an inherent part of its preschool culture. Here are a few tips on how parents and teachers can build a reading habit in children:

1. Start early

Reading to a young infant may seem like a futile exercise but really isn’t. Children love to hear their parents’ soothing voices and watch their expressions for cues. This habit creates a sense of routine and security for them, which will ensure they continue enjoying reading as they grow older. Investing in some cloth books, touch-and-feel books, puppet books, and board books with ample illustrations would be a good place to start.

2. It’s all in the picture

Young children respond well to pictures and colors. Books with rich illustrations such as pop-up books or books with 3D images are an ideal buy. The association children will make between visuals and the limited text would help them learn new words and expressions during the reading time. 

3. Let them choose

Allowing children to pick up books of their choice will always ensure more interest. This ability to choose gives them a sense of power and makes them stick to their decisions.

4. Once more

All children have their favorites and will, without a doubt, ask for the same story repeatedly. This indicates an understanding of the story and the desire to learn more about the story. There is an invisible connection they are making between words and real situations. 

5. Set an example

Children learn by imitation. When they see their parents read, they will be curious and will want to imitate. Habits and enthusiasm are always contagious.

6. Learn how kids read

Knowing about the reading skills that a child must possess at a certain age helps a parent choose the right books. This knowledge enables parents to keep track of their children’s development and make amends if the need be. The team at Kids ‘R’ kids would be delighted to make suggestions and provide information on this.

Why Kids ‘R’ kids?

The philosophy of “Hug First, Then Teach”, defines every aspect of what Kids ‘R’ Kids, Valrico stands for. Unlike many daycare centers or childcare providers, its methodology is a whole-child approach. It constantly strives to strengthen and encourage every child’s emotional, intellectual, social, and physical well-being through the expertise of its childcare providers and a unique partnership with parents.

Kids ‘R’ Kids International is accredited by AdvancED®, the world’s largest education community, and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS/CASI). SACS/CASI is an accreditation division of AdvancED®. This accreditation ensures that the high accreditation standards are met and exceeded.  

Call today at (813) 654-7000 to learn more about Kids ‘R’ Kids preschool (Kindergarten to Grade 5) or to schedule a visit.

Benefits & Importance of Reading to Children

Blog

03/03/2017

It’s undeniable that a child’s reading skills are important to their success in school, work, and life in general. And it is very possible to help ensure your child’s success by reading to them starting at a very early age. Continue reading to learn more about the top benefits of reading to children and how reading can support them for the future.

7 Benefits of Reading to Children

Whether you’re reading a classic novel or fairy tales before bed, reading aloud to children can significantly benefit your child’s life. Some benefits reading to children include:

• Supported cognitive development
• Improved language skills
• Preparation for academic success
• Developing a special bond with your child
• Increased concentration and discipline
• Improved imagination and creativity
• Cultivating. lifelong love of reading

Supported cognitive development

Reading to young children is proven to improve cognitive skills and help along the process of cognitive development. Cognitive development is the emergence of the ability to think and understand; it’s “the construction of thought processes, including remembering, problem solving, and decision-making, from childhood through adolescence to adulthood” (HealthofChildren.com). It refers to how a person perceives and thinks about his or her world through areas such as information processing, intelligence, reasoning, language development, attention span, and memory.

When you begin reading aloud to your child, it essentially provides them with background knowledge on their young world, which helps them make sense of what they see, hear, and read. In fact, many educators and researchers postulate that “It is the talk that surrounds the reading that gives it power, helping children to bridge what is in the story and their own lives,” rather than just the vocalization of the words. Introducing reading into your young child’s life, and the conversations that it will prompt, helps them to make sense of their own lives, especially at a young age.

Consider this excerpt from a study on toddlers’ cognitive development as a result of being read aloud to:

“A child care provider reads to a toddler. And in a matter of seconds, thousands of cells in these children’s growing brains respond. Some brain cells are ‘turned on,’ triggered by this particular experience. Many existing connections among brain cells are strengthened. At the same time, new brain cells are formed, adding a bit more definition and complexity to the intricate circuitry that will remain largely in place for the rest of these children’s lives. ”

Therefore, the more adults read aloud to their children, the larger their vocabularies will grow and the more they will know and understand about the world and their place in it, assisting their cognitive development and perception.

Improved language skills

Reading daily to young children, starting in infancy, can help with language acquisition, communication skills, social skills, and literacy skills. This is because reading to your children in the earliest months stimulates the part of the brain that allows them to understand the meaning of language and helps build key language, literacy and social skills.

In fact, a recent brain scan study found that “reading at home with children from an early age was strongly correlated with brain activation in areas connected with visual imagery and understanding the meaning of language” (TIME.com)

These cognitive skills and critical thinking skills are especially important when you consider that, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, more than one in three American children start kindergarten without the skills they need to learn to read. About two-thirds of children can’t read proficiently by the end of the third grade.

Furthermore, while a child will be able to latch onto vocabulary and language he or she hears around him or her, introducing reading into their auditory learning provides another benefit: it introduces the language of books, which differs from language heard in daily life. Whether it’s a children’s book or classic novel, book language is more descriptive, and tends to use more formal grammatical structures.

Prepare for academic success

Early reading with your child is a true one-on-one opportunity for children to communicate with their parents and parents to communicate with their children. It allows children to grow their vocabulary skills with exposure to new words and listening skills they develop from hearing someone read to them that become vital to their academic success.

Studies have shown that “the more words that are in a child’s language world, the more words they will learn, and the stronger their language skills are when they reach kindergarten, the more prepared they are to be able to read, and the better they read, the more likely they will graduate from high school” (PBS. org).

Numerous studies have shown that students who are exposed to reading before preschool are more likely to do well when they reach their period of formal education. According to a study completed by the University of Michigan, there are five early reading skills that are essential for development. They are:

1. Phonemic awareness – Being able to hear, identify, and play with individual sounds in spoken words.
2. Phonics – Being able to connect the letters of written language with the sounds of spoken language.
3. Vocabulary – The words kids need to know to communicate effectively.
4. Reading comprehension – Being able to understand and get meaning from what has been read.
5. Fluency (oral reading) – Being able to read text accurately and quickly.

While children will encounter these literacy skills and language development once they reach elementary school and beyond, you can help jumpstart their reading success by reading to them during infancy and their early toddler years.

While they won’t be able to practice fluency or phonics at that stage, they will get an earlier introduction to phonetic awareness, vocabulary and reading comprehension, all of which will set them up for success as they grow and interact with the world around them.

Developing a special bond with your child

It goes without saying that reading to your young child on a regular basis can help you forge a stronger relationship with them. When it comes to children, one of the most important things you can do to positively influence their development is spend time with them. Reading to your children provides a great opportunity to set up a regular, shared event where you can look forward to spending time together. With shared reading, your child will trust and expect that you will be there for them. The importance of trust to small children cannot be overstated.

Reading a favorite book to your children not only helps you bond with them, but also gives your children a sense of intimacy and well-being. This feeling of intimacy helps your child feel close to you, and the feelings of love and attention encourage positive growth and development.

With babies specifically, although they may not be able to understand what you’re saying when you read to them, reading aloud provides a level of invaluable nurturing and reassurance. Very young babies love to hear familiar voices, and reading is the perfect outlet to create this connection.

At a broader, more scientific level, it’s the parent-child relationship, nurturing relationships between caregivers and children that set a positive life course. If you are able to read aloud with your child at a predictable, scheduled time that fits with the daily routines of home and school, you’ll be able to provide something constant that they can expect and likely even look forward to.

Reading aloud together and having a shared activity gives you and your child something to talk about, which in turn supports the development of reading and writing skills (per the vocabulary and reading comprehension areas of development mentioned above). And down the road, reading together can be used to discuss real-life experiences and issues. A children’s book can provide springboards to meaningful discussions about many different topics which can further develop a child’s critical thinking skills.

At its core, literature is one of the best ways to help kids understand something without necessarily having to experience it for themselves. Reading to your child helps to expose them to all types of subjects and concepts, building our children’s understanding of humanity and the world around them (ReadBrightly.com).

Increased concentration and discipline

Introducing regular reading time into your child’s schedule has another benefit outside of creating shared time together: increased discipline and concentration. Very young children rarely sit still for long, and it’s oftentimes difficult to get them to focus. But when you introduce regular reading to your children, you may start to observe a change in behavior. Toddlers may initially squirm and become distracted during story time, but eventually they’ll learn to stay put for the duration of the book.

According to EarlyMoments.com, along with reading comprehension comes “a stronger self-discipline, longer attention span, and better memory retention, all of which will serve your child well when she enters school.”

Improved imagination and creativity

Young children naturally have a capacity to dream big and use their imaginations. Reading aloud to your child helps them use their imaginations to explore people, places, times, and events beyond their own experiences. Reading as an imaginative activity can open doors to all kinds of new worlds for your child. By widening your child’s imagination, your child is more likely to dream bigger and act creatively which can benefit they school, work, and life in the future.

Cultivating a lifelong love of reading

According to Jim Trelease, author of the best-seller, The Read-Aloud Handbook: “Every time we read to a child, we’re sending a ‘pleasure’ message to the child’s brain… You could even call it a commercial, conditioning the child to associate books and print with pleasure” (ReadAloud. org)

This connection between reading and “pleasure” is crucial for success later in life. As personal development coach and speaker Brian Tracy says, your ability to expand your mind and strive for lifelong learning is critical to your success — “Learning is the minimum requirement for success in any field.”

Reading is the key for lifelong learning, and if you can instill a love of reading at an early age, then a commitment to lifelong learning is sure to follow. Reading aloud presents books as sources of pleasant, valuable, and exciting experiences. Children who value books are motivated to read on their own, and will likely continue to practice independent reading throughout the rest of their lives.

When it comes to reading to your children, the benefits to your child’s life range far beyond the development of a close bond with them, although that’s certainly one of them. Reading aloud to children is truly the single-most important activity for building these understanding and skills essential for reading success that your child will carry with them all throughout their life.

To learn more about our resources for children, visit our website.

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Reading with Your Child | Reading Rockets

By: Bernice Cullinan, Brod Bagert

There is no more important activity for preparing your child to succeed as a reader than reading aloud together. Fill your story times with a variety of books. Be consistent, be patient, and watch the magic work.

It’s no secret that activities at home are an important supplement to the classroom, but there’s more to it than that. There are things that parents can give children at home that the classrooms cannot give.

Start young and stay with it

At just a few months of age, an infant can look at pictures, listen to your voice, and point to objects on cardboard pages. Guide your child by pointing to the pictures, and say the names of the various objects. By drawing attention to pictures and associating the words with both pictures and the real-world objects, your child will learn the importance of language.

Children learn to love the sound of language before they even notice the existence of printed words on a page. Reading books aloud to children stimulates their imagination and expands their understanding of the world. It helps them develop language and listening skills and prepares them to understand the written word. When the rhythm and melody of language become a part of a child’s life, learning to read will be as natural as learning to walk and talk.

Even after children learn to read by themselves, it’s still important for you to read aloud together. By reading stories that are on their interest level, but beyond their reading level, you can stretch young readers’ understanding and motivate them to improve their skills.

It’s part of life

Although the life of a parent is often hectic, you should try to read with your child at least once a day at a regularly scheduled time. But don’t be discouraged if you skip a day or don’t always keep to your schedule. Just read to your child as often as you possibly can.

If you have more than one child, try to spend some time reading alone with each child, especially if they’re more than 2 years apart. However, it’s also fine to read to children at different stages and ages at the same time. Most children enjoy listening to many types of stories. When stories are complex, children can still get the idea and can be encouraged to ask questions. When stories are easy or familiar, youngsters enjoy these “old friends” and may even help in the reading.

Taking the time to read with your children on a regular basis sends an important message: Reading is worthwhile.

One more time

You may go through a period when your child favors one book and wants it read night after night. It is not unusual for children to favor a particular story, and this can be boring for parents. Keep in mind, however, that a favorite story may speak to your child’s interests or emotional needs. Be patient. Continue to expose your children to a wealth of books and eventually they will be ready for more stories.

Talking about stories

It’s often a good idea to talk about a story you are reading, but you need not feel compelled to talk about every story. Good stories will encourage a love for reading, with or without conversation. And sometimes children need time to think about stories they have read. A day or so later, don’t be surprised if your child mentions something from a story you’ve read together.

Remember when you were very young

It will help, however, if we open our eyes to some things adult readers tend to take for granted. It’s easier to be patient when we remember how much children do not know. Here are a few concepts we adults know so well we forget sometimes we ever learned them.

• There’s a difference between words and pictures. Point to the print as you read aloud.
• Words on a page have meaning, and that is what we learn to read.
• Words go across the page from left to right. Follow with your finger as you read.
• Words on a page are made up of letters and are separated by a space.
• Each letter has at least two forms: one for capital letters and and one for small letters.

These are examples of hieroglyphics.

Imagine how you would feel if you were trying to interpret a book full of such symbols. That’s how young readers feel. But, a little patience (maybe by turning it into a puzzle you can solve together) is certain to build confidence.

Advertise the joy of reading!

Our goal is to motivate children to want to read so they will practice reading independently and, thus, become fluent readers. That happens when children enjoy reading. We parents can do for reading what fast food chains do for hamburgers? ADVERTISE! And we advertise by reading great stories and poems to children.

We can help our children find the tools they need to succeed in life. Having access to information through the printed word is an absolute necessity. Knowledge is power, and books are full of it. But reading is more than just a practical tool. Through books we can enrich our minds; we can also relax and enjoy some precious leisure moments.

With your help, your children can begin a lifelong relationship with the printed word, so they grow into adults who read easily and frequently whether for business, knowledge, or pleasure.

Why is Reading Important for Children?

Reading allows us to be transported from our own world to another. Between the pages of a book, we can become immersed in the lives of fictional characters and learn about a culture entirely different from our own. We can also learn new words and phrases, experience a range of emotions, and acquire skills and knowledge.

Because of the learning potential, the effects of reading on child development are vast and multiple studies have highlighted its benefits. As such, teachers and parents are in a great position to ensure reading is a key part of children’s daily routine. We’ll give you some more information as to why this is so important and provide some tips that you can use both in and out of the classroom.

What Are the Benefits of Reading for Children?

The importance of reading for children cannot be underestimated. Reading for pleasure can benefit a child’s education, social and cognitive development, their wellbeing, and their mental health.

What are the Effects of Reading on Child Development?

Numerous pieces of research conducted and commissioned by BookTrust have discovered the profound benefits of reading for a child’s development. One study details the effects of reading on later literacy skills, facilitating social interaction between adults and children, and encouraging children to engage with the world around them. It also states how reading can be a ‘stable source of information’ throughout a child’s life. This stability allows them to access text in a constant fashion and can be especially beneficial for children growing up in challenging circumstances.

There are multiple other benefits that reading can have on a child’s development, including:

Assisted cognitive development. Cognitive development refers to how we perceive and think about our world in reference to our intelligence, reasoning, language development, and information processing. By reading to children, you provide them with a deep understanding about their world and fill their brains with background knowledge. They then use this acquired background knowledge to make sense of what they see, hear, and read, which aids their cognitive development.

Developing empathy. When we read a book, we put ourselves in the story in front of us. This allows us to develop empathy as we experience the lives of other characters and can identify with how they are feeling. Children can then use this understanding to empathise in the real world with other people. Additionally, children will gain a greater understanding of emotions, which can help them understand their own emotions and those of others. This helps dramatically with their social development.

Gaining deeper understanding. A book can take us anywhere: to another city, to a different country, or even to an alternative world. By reading a book, a child learns about people, places, and events that they couldn’t learn otherwise. This gives children a deeper understanding of the world around them and cultures that are different from their own.

Building stronger relationships. If a parent reads with a child on a regular basis, then they will undoubtedly develop a stronger relationship with them. Reading provides parents with an opportunity to have a regular and shared event that both parent and child can look forward to. Furthermore, it provides children with feelings of attention, love, and reassurance which is key for nurturing and wellbeing.

What is the Importance of Stories in Child Education?

Reading with children can help to create a love of reading for life. Multiple studies have found a correlation between reading for pleasure and higher academic achievement in every subject, not just English.

The benefits of reading with children on their education is wide-ranging:

Improved literary skills. Reading with aloud with young children, even if they can’t fully understand what you are saying, gives them the skills they need for when they begin to read by themselves. It shows children that reading is something achieved by focusing from left to right and that turning pages is essential for continuing. Reading to children in even the earliest months of their lives can help with language acquisition and stimulating the part of the brain that processes language.

More extensive vocabulary. Hearing words spoken aloud can expose children to a range of new vocabulary and phrases that they may not have heard otherwise. By reading to a child daily, they’ll learn new words every single day.

Greater concentration.  Regular and consistent reading can help to improve a child’s concentration abilities. Furthermore, it will help a child learn to sit still and listen for long periods of time, which will benefit them in their schooling.

Higher levels of creativity and imagination. Reading a book relies on us using our imagination for picturing characters, visualising their settings and environment, and guessing what’s coming next. We must use our imagination if we are to learn about other people, places, events, and times. In turn, this developed imagination leads to greater creativity as children use the ideas in their heads to inform their work.

Finally, the more that a child is read to, and the more that they read themselves, the better they will become at it. Practice really does make perfect and, the more a child reads, the better their overall academic achievement and social skills, like empathy, will be.

The Top Ten Benefits of Reading for Children

Based on what we’ve discussed above, here are the top 10 benefits of reading for children:

1. Their vocabulary is larger and more extensive.
2. They perform better academically.
3. Their imagination can run wild.
4. Their creativity skills develop.
5. They develop empathy.
6. They gain a deeper understanding of their world.
7. Their concentration levels improve.
8. The parent and child bond improves.
9. Their cognitive development is supported.
10. Their social skills and interaction improve.

How to Read with Your Child

Reading aloud is an enjoyable activity that both parents and children alike can enjoy. Additionally, it is an activity that teachers find fulfilling and that they should encourage regularly, both at school and at home.

How Parents Can Read with Their Child

If you read with your child at home, then you are supplementing what they learn in the classroom as well as giving them additional one-on-one support that the classroom cannot give. To have successful and effective reading sessions, consider the following:

Start young. Even during infancy, a child can look at pictures and listen to your voice. Read aloud to your child and point to the pictures on the page, saying the name of the objects that appear. This provides your child with two sources of information: an understanding of real-world objects and an understanding of the importance of language. Even when your child can read by themselves, you should still read aloud together for practice.

Make it part of your routine. Try your best to read to your child every day and keep it consistent. Incorporate this into your, and your child’s, daily routine until it becomes as much of a habit as them brushing their teeth. However, try not to be discouraged if you miss a day – just pick your routine back up as normal when you have time.

Encourage variation. Try to vary the books that you read to your child as much as possible. This will open their eyes to a range of different worlds, cultures, and characters, and allow their imagination to be stretched and thrive.

Have patience. Sometimes we can forget what it’s like to be that age and what we were like. As an adult we take reading for granted, but it’s easier to be patient with a child when we remember how much they don’t know yet. For example, how is a child going to know to read from left to right until you point at the words as you go? How are they to know that each scrawl on the page represents a word? Take your time and be patient if they don’t understand.

Continue the discussion. After you’ve finished reading a story to your child, consider trying to keep it going. Age depending, you could ask them questions about what they’ve just read. For example, “Did you enjoy that story?”, “Who was your favourite character?” or “Why do you think the prince was happy at the end?”. However, don’t feel that this is necessary for every single story you read. If your child enjoys the book, it will develop a love of reading anyway, even without the conversation.

How Teachers Can Encourage Reading

If you’re a teacher, reading to your class will probably be second nature. However, there may be certain children in your class who only get the chance to read in school and not at home. This could be for a variety of reasons, however, try and communicate to parents the importance of reading with their child. To do so, you could:

Circulate a newsletter. You could create a fortnightly/monthly newsletter that details what your class has read in that fortnight or month and why. Then, say how parents can continue with the chosen reading topic at home. For example, if you have been studying science fiction in your class that fortnight then you could include some suggestions for other science fiction books that parents can read at home.

Start a book club. If you have the time, you could start a book club with your class or across the school. As part of this, you could suggest a book per week, or month, that children have to read at home. Then, check their understanding of, and engagement with, that book by holding regular meetings.

Get the children involved. Make it known to your pupils that reading is valuable and fun. Ask your class to make posters that encourage others to read or create a display where each student can write what their favourite book is and why. Doing so will help to foster a love of reading in them that makes them want to read at home.

Lead by example. Let your students know that you read and you enjoy it. Talk to them about a book you’ve recently read or your all-time favourite book. You could also read a book yourself when your students are having silent reading time. This will help to motivate your students to read themselves. Finally, communicate this to parents and ask them to do something similar at home.

Reading is a powerful, fulfilling, and rewarding activity. Not only does a book act as a comfort and a friend, it also acts as a teacher and can teach children all about themselves, their world, and the cultures within it. Reading with children has numerous benefits and is something all parents and teachers should encourage.

What to Read Next:

• What is Effective Questioning and Why Should I Use it in my Classroom?
• Promoting Social Development in Children Through Structured Group Play
• Education Training Courses

Why Reading to Children is So Important | GoStudent

1. Why is reading to your child important?
2. What are the benefits?
3. What age should children be able to read

Reading is one of the most important life skills for children to learn. Not only is reading absolutely vital for future academic and general life success, it is also something that can be super enjoyable. Many people, even in today’s digital world, claim that reading is their favourite activity. For us at GoStudent, we aim to make children as enthusiastic as can be when it comes to reading. 🥰

One key aspect that is very much worth the discussion is the stage before and during the first reading milestones of children. Namely, reading to children! This is something that seems to happen automatically if you and your children enjoy a nice bedtime story or naptime book session. 📚

This is not just a calming activity, but incredibly beneficial for many reasons. Primarily, it helps foster reading skills later on. If you’ve ever wondered why reading to children is so important, we’ve got all the answers to your questions below! ⤵️

📔 Why is reading important for children?

It might seem that reading to your children is more of a pastime or bedtime necessity than fundamental learning. We understand why many could think this when wrapped up in storybooks. 

However, there is much more to it than just convincing your children to go to sleep. Reading can be mutually beneficial and productive as a Kickstarter for the reading learning skills that are so vital for children. 🧠🧠🧠

Since the pandemic, we have seen a few lockdowns and children have done their fair share of distance and hybrid learning. On top of that, home-office policies have had many parents staying home and taking on teaching roles themselves.

Reading to children can be part of that routine as well and is incredibly important for many reasons. One of them is fostering a love and appreciation for reading. Hearing enthusiastic stories and reading them will incline them to interact and ask questions. 🙋

This is a great time to point to pictures and words and repeat them while you read for that extra sponge action in the brain. Either way, as the old saying goes, “Children see, children do.” If they feel joy, fun and magic while being read to, all those things will awaken in them as well. 😄

Along with joy and enthusiasm, there is the aspect of bonding between parent and child. This can bring a sense of safety, togetherness and trust. Spending time reading together can evoke the intimacy that allows your children to feel like they can trust you and listen to what you say. 💡

Check out some of the 10 shocking benefits of reading here:

✍🏼 Importance of reading for children

Next to the emotional aspects of reading to children, there are also many other benefits. Reading to children helps cognitive development and improves language skills. Cognitive development, as explained on HealthofChildren.com, is:

 “…the emergence of the ability to think and understand; it’s the construction of thought processes, including remembering, problem solving, and decision-making, from childhood through adolescence to adulthood.” 🧠 

Reading helps children’s brains to pick up on things in the world around them. It also improves general language skills, as children hear the pronunciation of words, simple grammatical structures and vocabulary. 

• Academic success 🎒

This coincides with academic success as well, as they early on learn about phonics, comprehension and phonemic awareness. As you can see, these processes are sort of like chain events that happen before and as they slowly start to learn to read. Think of it as the ultimate (but fun) learning prep! 

• Concentration 👩‍🏫 

Another key benefit of reading at home with your child is increased concentration and discipline. The great thing about this is that they associate this time with something you all enjoy. At the same time, it gives them the incentive to listen actively and attentively, while hearing a story they enjoy. It can be a routine where they know that an important and productive activity is happening.

🔞 What age should children be able to read?

Knowing the average age when your children will start reading can be a good metric to go off of when reading to them. Does this mean the books should get longer, or activities be more interactive? Generally, this shouldn’t influence how much you read to them and which content you choose. 📕

Tips on reading: between the ages of 6 and 7 is where children begin to actually learn the fundamentals of reading. Some start out by sounding out unfamiliar words, using imagery for contextual help, reading aloud and correcting themselves. This is a great age to try out new techniques when reading directly to them. 💡💡💡

What age your child is reading at when they start doesn’t necessarily mean that they will be ahead forever. The same thing can be said for those who start later. The first reading milestones tend to happen in Year 1 and Year 2. 

This is where a more formal approach to teaching reading comes in. Some methods include word recognition, where the emphasis is placed on context and meaning. Phonics is another way, which is all about phonemes and the sounds of words. 

Overall, there is no right or wrong way to read to children as a parent. What is important is that you take the time to sit down and enjoy the process, it is a game changer for their future! 

12 Reasons Why Reading is So Important for Kids and Adults

We love books! Do you? If this is your first time here, I hope our passion for reading shows through. This page is filled with ten reasons why reading is so important. If your kids ask you “why is reading important” you’ll know exactly what to say. Are you ready to get started?

10 Reasons Why Reading is So Important

Reasons Why Reading is So Important

Reading is one of the most important skills that a person can have. It opens up a world of possibilities and allows people to learn about new things. There are many reasons why reading is so important for both kids and adults. Here, we will discuss 10 of those reasons. We will also provide some resources for parents who want to read aloud to their children, as well as tips and strategies for teaching children how to read. 

When people read, they are exposed to new ideas and different ways of thinking. This helps them to critically evaluate information and make better decisions.

So please keep reading!

1. Imagination

Another reason why reading is so important is that it helps people to develop their imagination. When people read, they are transported to different worlds and allowed to explore new ideas. This can help them to come up with new ideas of their own.

By reading, you are exposed to so many wonderful things. This helps your imagination when it comes to creating and thinking. By reading, you are painting those pictures of the story in your mind. Books can take you anywhere you want to go.

The Read-Aloud Handbook is a great book to have. It is filled with ways to help children become avid readers through awakening their imaginations and improving their language skills. The best part is a huge treasury list of amazing read-aloud books. Love it!

2. Focus and Concentration

When you are reading, you are focusing and concentrating on one thing.  By sitting still and reading, you are training your body/mind and your child’s to slow down, relax, and focus on what you are reading. This helps you/your child focus and concentrate on other activities because you are used to doing it.

3. Reading Improves your memory

When you read a book, you are taking in all that the book is about. People, places, things… When you read, you are using your memory muscle which lies in the Cerebrum part of your brain. Using this muscle helps your memory long term. I’m sure you’ve probably heard of muscle memory 😉 Same kind of thing.

Would you like to learn more about keeping your child’s brain healthy? www.KidsHealth.org

“Use your brain by doing challenging activities, such as puzzles, reading, playing music, making art, or anything else that gives your brain a workout!” –  Steven Dowshen, MD

4. Reading helps with communication

Reading also helps people to improve their communication skills. People who read frequently can better express themselves, both in writing and verbally. They are also better able to understand what others are saying.

Reading to your children helps build a bond and open up communication. It’s always important to be able to talk with your kids, especially when they get into their teenage years. Start reading to them and communicating when they are young, so they have that connection and comfort with talking to you.

It also helps with communicating as adults and gives you more to talk about.

5. Entertainment

Reading is the best cheap or free entertainment you can get. Love your library and any bookseller because these books can open up the world you might never have imagined.

“I believe we should spend less time worrying about the quantity of books children read and more time introducing them to quality books that will turn them on to the joy of reading and turn them into lifelong readers.” – James Patterson

More Reasons Why Reading is Important

6. Bonding

Nurturing and one-on-one attention from parents during reading encourages children to form a positive association with books and reading. Also, goes with #4 above – Communication. Reading to your children is another way of showing them love. If you would like to find books that kids love, we have an entire section dedicated to favorite books.

Check out Beautiful Feet Books. They are AMAZING! It’s easy to promote a love for learning with Beautiful Feet Books and all of the different book options that they have to offer.

7. Language Development

Babies and children learn to talk by hearing words. The more they hear, the more likely they are to talk and understand what’s being said. Your child’s language skills and literacy depend on you talking and reading to them. Now, doesn’t that sound important?!

8. Cheap or Free Education

Reading a book about something that you want to learn about saves you so much money. We all know how expensive taking classes can be, so why not spend time reading about it instead. You can teach yourself with specific books. The same goes for children. If they are interested in learning about rainbows, they can read books about the weather. Or you can read to them. Supplying a variety of books to your children will pique their interests and get them learning even more.

9. Fluency

Fluency is defined as the ability to read with speed, accuracy, and expression. Powerful and effective language.

The more you read, the more fluent you become. Very important for children and adults.

10. Reading makes you smarter

We know it’s been proven that reading makes you smarter.  Readers display greater knowledge of how things work, vocabulary, and language development, as well as information on people, places, and things. Not to mention all of the great info in 1-9 that I just shared with you 🙂 Reading Rocks!!!

If you are interested in learning more reasons why reading aloud can change your children’s lives forever check out Reading Magic by Mem Fox.

More Reasons Why Reading is Important

Improve Critical Thinking Skills 

One of the most important reasons why reading is so important is that it helps people to develop their critical thinking skills. When people read, they are exposed to new ideas and different ways of thinking. This helps them to evaluate information and make better decisions critically.

Helps Your Mental Health 

Reading also has several benefits for mental health. People who read regularly are less likely to suffer from depression and anxiety. Reading can also help people to reduce stress levels and improve sleep quality.

Social Benefits

Many social benefits come from reading. People who read regularly are more likely to be empathetic and understanding. They are also more likely to be tolerant of different viewpoints.

Finally, reading is just plain fun! It can be a great way to relax and escape from the everyday stresses of life. It can also provide people with a sense of achievement.

Remember, children mimic what you do. If you are an avid reader, your kids are likely to love books too.

Amazing Reasons why Reading is So Important

Pin Why Reading is Important to Save for Later

 These are just a few reasons why reading is so important. Click here to read more.

There are so many reasons why reading is so important. We hope that this blog post has convinced you to make reading a priority in your life. If you would like to learn more about how to read aloud to your children or how to teach them to read, please check out the resources below.

Reading Resources

5 Reasons Why It’s Important To Read to Children

How to Teach a Child to Read

What is The Importance of a Reading Habit

70 Best Books Every Child Should Read or Hear in Their Lifetime

The Best 52 Week Reading Challenge Everyone Will Love

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Why is it so important to read aloud to a child

Until a certain age, there is such a ritual in a child’s life as reading aloud. Mom, grandmother, older brothers and sisters read poems, fairy tales, stories about animals to the baby. What is it – a way to entertain a child, instill in him a love of books, or something even more important? Evgenia Andreicheva, teacher of English, postgraduate student of the Department of Foreign Philology at Moscow State Pedagogical University, discusses this topic.

Evgenia Andreicheva, teacher of English, post-graduate student of the Department of Foreign Philology, Moscow State Pedagogical University

Back in the 1980s in the United States, researchers noticed that people began to read less. Then television began to develop actively. Things are much worse now, with the current abundance and availability of gadgets and the Internet. But without reading, the brain of an adult slows down its work, and literature is simply necessary for a child for proper development. Why is it important to read to children?

Why should a child read

Reading is a load on the brain. By reading, we train it in the same way that we train muscles by playing sports. Scientists have long proven that people who read and live longer. What can we say about a small person whose neurophysiological processes are just starting to work actively? He needs reading like air! And while the baby himself cannot read, the help of parents is invaluable here. What gives children reading aloud?

Speech development

Children to whom their parents read regularly are more likely to start speaking earlier than their peers, and their speech is richer. The fact is that in everyday life we ​​use vocabulary and grammar of a low order, often even vernacular. The books, on the other hand, use a rich literary language, saturated with a variety of speech turns. That difficult grammar that is in books helps children develop logic. Logic is necessary for correct thinking. And formed speech is formed thinking. Thanks to books, the child not only draws new words, learns to pronounce and use them correctly, he also trains logical thinking.

Development of the imagination

Imagination and fantasy are generators of new ideas and non-standard solutions. No cartoon is able to develop the imagination the way a book does. When a child listens to a fairy tale, he mentally draws a picture for himself, imagines what the characters and scenery look like. This is a kind of work, and completely independent. If children are offered a cartoon, then they will not be able to be active participants in the process: the action with all the details has already been drawn for them. Children can only be passive spectators.

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Any teacher will immediately identify children who read. They better understand the meaning of what they read, correctly formulate their thoughts, build statements logically, write more competently, remember information better. It is worth teaching children to read from the cradle. This is not about early learning to read, but about reading aloud.

Offer a book to your little ones as a toy. Look at the pictures together, comment on them, pronounce the sounds of animals or objects depicted on the pages, invite the baby to turn the pages himself – this is a great exercise for developing fine motor skills. If the kid tears the pages, explain to him calmly that this is not worth doing, and hand him books with cardboard sheets.

Try not to abuse publications with buttons and sound signals, let the book remain a book, and the kid will enjoy reading. In the future, the child himself will be drawn to literature. At the same time, do not forget to read in front of the children yourself. Choose paper editions.

Listening training

Listening skills, i.e. listening, are now essential. First, many school exams test this skill (the USE in particular). Secondly, it is simply necessary for the harmonious study of foreign languages. Thirdly, we are in contact with people very often, and we need to quickly and clearly understand what we hear. Thus, we need listening in everyday life. It is reading fairy tales, poems and rhymes aloud that gives the child the opportunity to “train his ears”.

Intimacy with parents

Every time a parent reads to a child, magic happens: family unity and unity. Children feel warmth and parental care. Listening to the speech of mom or dad, the child calms down, stress and fatigue during the day are reduced. The voice of the parents helps to relax and sleep better. The elders, in turn, also get vivid emotions from communicating with children and literature. Together you live the joyful moments of the plot, sympathize with the characters, try to solve a difficult problem and help the characters. Great moments when you and your children travel together without leaving home.

Solving many problems

Reading a story to your child can help you “talk” him, especially if you feel that he has problems that he is silent about. Often the kid himself begins to talk about what worries him, having met with a similar situation in a fairy tale. Even if he does not talk about the problem, he will hear from the plot how to solve it. You can also discuss the right and wrong actions of the heroes, this will be clearer than any parental instruction on how to and what not to do.

When and what to start reading to children

Start reading to your baby before he is born. A mother’s voice has been proven to calm the baby in the womb. After the birth, continue to read to him. Read to lull the child. A little later, read and show the illustrations.

At six months , the baby will listen with pleasure to small, unpretentious works based on rhymes or repetitions. These include “Turnip”, “Cockerel, golden comb” and other nursery rhymes. In the year , a child can be offered short fairy tales, works by Korney Chukovsky, poems by Agnia Barto. Closer to two , you can move on to longer tales by Vladimir Suteev or Eduard Uspensky. Starting from the age of three , you can significantly expand the children’s home library, supplementing it with long fairy tales or large works divided into chapters. These are works by Sergei Kozlov, Vitaly Bianchi, Sofia Prokofieva and other famous writers.

Choose fairy tales according to your child’s interests. Let your library be diverse. Be sure to pay attention to the illustrations. They should be colorful, contrasting and of high quality. Try to choose books in which the text and illustrations match on the spread. If a child cannot sit and listen to a fairy tale calmly, give him the opportunity to change position, crawl, and so on. Do not constrain his movements: preschool children are restless due to their psychophysical development.

Read the same story as many times as the child asks, this is his comfort zone. Perhaps with her help he is working on some situation, or maybe he just really likes the illustrations. Do not deprive him of positive emotions. Do not impose your choice of a fairy tale on a child, leave this right to him.

How to read to children

This should be done thoughtfully and measuredly, your reading should not be formal. Give yourself to the process with all your heart, put meaning into your speech. Read, imitating different voices and intonations. Let the sound even be hypertrophied and slightly grotesque. Emphasize key points, slow down and speed up, sometimes go into a whisper. Sometimes stop on purpose, get distracted by closing the book, and ask the child to remind you what you read about and where you left off. Emphasize those sounds, the pronunciation of which causes difficulties for the child.

Try to discuss the illustrations and be sure to talk about what you have read. Ask the child’s opinion about the fairy tale, characters, actions. Ask what he would do in this or that situation. Make reading your daily family ritual. Read to your baby before bed or when you need to calm him down a bit. Try not to refuse the child when he asks you to read. And let the book be the best gift for your children!

See also:

“None of the children have tried a turnip and don’t know that a gingerbread man is such a pie”: guests of the “Oh! Children” talked about whether modern children need books

6 comics that are interesting and useful to read

Why read Russian fairy tales to children?

Photo: Yuganov Konstantin, George Rudy/Shutterstock.com

books

Why is it important to read books to children? 12 reasons from psychologists – Gala Center

Why is it important to read books to children? 12 reasons from psychologists

galacentre.ru

11/14/2019

(irina.panteleeva) Irina Panteleeva

2019-11-13
2019-11-14
Why is it important to read books to children? 12 reasons from psychologists – Gala Center
“If you want your children to be smart, read fairy tales to them. If you want them to be even smarter, read them more fairy tales.”
https://www.galacentre.ru

“If you want your children to be smart, read fairy tales to them. If you want them to be even smarter, read them more fairy tales.” Albert Einstein

#1. Strengthens relationships. In today’s world, where parents build a career and lead an active social life, and children attend developmental classes and use devices from an early age, it is difficult to maintain closeness. Make it a habit to read a book to your child every night before bed. This is a great way to strengthen the bond with your loved one. You will be able to share your impressions and opinions about the plot, which means you will learn more about the worldview of your little miracle.

#2. Instills a love of reading. Children’s books should become part of your family life and as familiar as dinner or an evening bath. The more your child reads with you, the more he enjoys immersing himself in new stories. You instill a healthy habit that will stay with your child for life.

#3. More children’s literature, less gadgets. Make reading together a part of your daily routine. Free time, when a child can watch cartoons or play online games, devote to literature.

#4. Helps to learn to read aloud beautifully. Reading children’s books is an excellent educational activity. Read aloud in turn. This will help your child build confidence and get used to reading for others, which will be a useful skill in school. Such an activity improves pronunciation, expands vocabulary, helps to plunge deeper into the plot.

#5. Develops language skills and expands vocabulary. Toddlers get acquainted with new words, various types of sentence and dialogue construction, styles and ways of presenting information. All this has a positive effect on the further ability to competently and interestingly express one’s opinion, and also affects the development of speech and the richness of vocabulary. In this case, the best children’s books are classics with a beautiful and simple style.

#6. Improves imagination. While listening to children’s literature, a visual picture is created in the baby’s head. It represents the appearance of the characters, locations, actions. Imagination is at full capacity. Additionally, fantasy is included. The little ones begin to fantasize and invent their own stories with their favorite characters.

No. 7. Encourages knowledge. Choose different topics to spark interest in the world around you. Have a new children’s book waiting for your child every week. A good choice for schoolchildren is encyclopedias. They will tell about the animal and plant world, planets, the history of mankind. We recommend paying attention to the encyclopedia Rosman.

No. 8. Learn to empathize and empathize. Children have a narrow understanding of the world around them. The task of parents is to show the difference between good and evil, and how to behave with a person in trouble. A children’s book is a good tool in this responsible business. It will help to “be in someone else’s shoes”, feel the experiences of the protagonist, assess situations, empathize and sympathize.

№9. Brain training. Listening to children’s literature, the child’s brain works more than watching TV. And all because the kid has to visualize the plot and delve into the plot.

#10. Improves concentration. Reading a children’s book requires focus and concentration. There is no picture on the TV screen to distract from. In the future, these skills will be useful in studies.

#11. Soothes. If a little fidget is naughty and cannot calm down before going to bed, read him a children’s fairy tale. Reading interestingly and with intonation, you will quickly calm the baby.

No. 12. Cheers. Literature for children is a fascinating story with funny characters that you won’t see on TV. Even when movies are made from books, most people admit that reading was much more interesting than watching. Children’s fairy tales give fun leisure, so you should not refuse it because of empty online games.

How to instill in children a love of reading

#1. Suggest several genres. If your child doesn’t like to read, then maybe you made a mistake with the genre. After all, you may like romance, and your son may like mysticism and fantasy. Organize book weeks and come up with a new version each time.

#2. Live the adventures of heroes together. When a children’s book ends, the little reader thinks: what would happen if I were in the main character’s place? It’s good if after reading the literature you come up with story games. For example, make a Harry Potter wand. Let the delight from the read book last as long as possible.

#3. Be an example. Boys and girls copy the actions of their parents. If you force them to read, and watch TV for hours, nothing will work. Read for yourself, set a good example.

#4. Maintain curiosity. Has your son just finished reading a book about space? Take him to the space museum. Or maybe he just got acquainted with exotic animals? It’s time to go to the zoo.

#5. Never force. They can read to please you. But the fact that they are forced to do this will discourage their love of books for life.

#6. Teach children to read old children’s literature from the library. Every child should experience the magic of visiting a large library with thousands of books.

#7. Join a book club. This is a great motivation to read. Picking out children’s books and then waiting for them to arrive in the mail is a lot of fun.

Have family reading nights. Share stories, opinions about plots. The main thing to remember is that nothing captivates in this life like an interesting book.

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4 reasons why children should read

“Get out of your computer and read a book!” – not the most friendly and reasoned advice. How to explain to teenagers why they need to read? Our new blogger, Russian language teacher Polina Averina, admits that reading a social media feed is also reading, and tells why fiction is needed.

There are fewer and fewer children who read books every year, especially among those who have already completed primary school. You can talk a lot about the abstract benefits of reading, but during the Russian language classes with children from 8 to 18, I found four reasons to love literature, which, it seems to me, you can’t argue with. What will actually happen to children if they read not only the feed on social networks (this is also reading), but also books?

1. Passive vocabulary will increase

Every person has an active and a passive vocabulary. We use words from the active vocabulary when we speak and write, we do not use words from the passive vocabulary, but we know their meaning and understand if we come across them.

The social media feed consists of a fairly small number of words that are part of the active vocabulary of most people and that we often use in everyday life. In books, the words are completely different. The words “backwards”, “boars”, “play tricks”, “smart” are hard to find on Instagram. “So why are they needed at all?” the children will ask. In addition to the fact that everyone is pleased to communicate with a person with a rich, varied speech, there is another reason. Words from the passive stock are found in texts that are used and will continue to be used in schools as teaching materials and Olympiad tasks in literature and the Russian language. That is, children who do not know books go to school, meet these words there and experience stress, because it is written in Russian, but it is not clear. Why does a child need extra stress if you can prepare?

Only, of course, while reading, you need to find out the meaning of incomprehensible words – ask your parents, for example. If you are reading a book aloud to a child, you need to stop sometimes and ask if he understands the meaning of, for example, the words “cramming” or “indulge.”

2. Children will be able to build complex grammatical constructions

In oral speech and daily communication in instant messengers and social networks, we do not use long complex sentences, participial and adverbial phrases, and so on. Instead of the phrase “At the very entrance there was a huge and once mighty tree that had seen more than one generation of people”, we will say something like “A very old tree stood at the entrance, but it was probably 500 years old.” Using only simple grammatical constructions, no one can write a good coherent text.

Why do children need good coherent texts? Firstly, in order not to worry about social studies essays and essays for the OGE and USE

Secondly, it will come in handy in life. While reading books, our brain scans and remembers how sentences are built, and if we read enough, we can build complex sentences with several clauses, with refinements and various isolated constructions, even if we skipped all the Russian lessons at school and don’t know what they mean the words “subordinate” and “separate”.

3. Children will get acquainted with a cultural layer that is understandable and close to their parents and grandmothers

While reading literary texts, children get to know famous characters (for example, Cheburashka, Dunno, Carlson, Denis Korablev). Their images are still found in the design of children’s educational materials and even classroom interiors. If you know what kind of heroes they are, it is much more pleasant to use the textbook: we are always happy when we meet good friends.

You can also learn from the book how people used to live. Let’s say why the pioneers handed over scrap metal or how they studied in gymnasiums in the 19th century. In addition, usually some expressions and references to books involuntarily appear in the speech of mothers, grandfathers and grandmothers. For example, if mom says: “Does he have sawdust in his head?” – and the child has not read “Winnie the Pooh”, he may not understand what it is about.

4. There will be no problems with the selection of arguments for the essays of the OGE and the Unified State Examination

In the essays of the 11th grade, it is required to bring arguments from fiction, and for the OGE in the 9th grade – from life experience. The books read by the child are also included in his life experience. If a ninth grader gives an argument from the literature, the experts are happy, the work is evaluated higher, everyone is happy.

Compare excerpts from two essays on friendship:

1. “…I will give an example from life. I have a friend Dasha, we have been friends with her since the first grade. Dasha goes in for skiing, and I always cheer for her at competitions and rejoice at her success. Dasha also supports me a lot when I prepare for concerts and competitions with our choreographic ensemble. Even if we enter different universities, we will definitely be friends … “

2. “…I will give an example from fiction. The main character of M. Yu. Lermontov’s novel “A Hero of Our Time” Grigory Pechorin does not believe in friendship and good relations between people. His relationship with Grushnitsky cannot be called friendship. Both heroes are envious and vain, do not forgive anything to each other, are caustic. Such qualities make it difficult to find a true friend…”

Which one do you think the experts will like more?

When there is already a sufficient supply of read works and reading continues during the school year at 9th and 11th grade, it will take much less time to prepare. And money for a tutor, by the way, too. All of the above is conducive to instilling in children the habit of reading and maintaining it, including in adolescence.

You are in the “Blogs” section. The opinion of the author may not coincide with the position of the editors.

Photo: Shutterstock (diignat)

Why read children’s books with your child

Liana Khaziakhmetova

Reading together is one of the most useful tools for a child’s development. We tell you why you should read with children before adolescence, how to choose books, and why you should not only read, but also communicate with your child over an open book.

Introducing Emotions

Child Emotional Intelligence
From infancy through adolescence, reading good children’s books is a great way to introduce your child to emotions. Books help children build a vocabulary for talking about feelings and talk about the different ways people deal with anger, fear, and sadness.

Well-chosen, age-appropriate books can give parents an excuse to talk about traditionally difficult topics, such as “where do babies come from” and “what happened to grandpa when he died.”

Watching TV programs or movies together can be a good occasion for family conversations. But psychology professor and author of The Emotional Intelligence of the Child, John Gottman, believes that books work better because the reader and listener can stop and discuss what is bothering them at any time. In addition, when reading aloud, children get the feeling that their family is involved in the story, so the plot and characters seem closer to them.

Well-written children’s books can help adults get in touch with their children’s emotional world.

One of the most profound and insightful books of MYTH is The Real Life of Jacomyn Gainsborough

One of the mothers in Gottman’s parent group told how she read to her ten-year-old daughter a story about a group of girls her age. The girls in the story were upset that one of them had to leave. It was a simple story about a very ordinary situation, but it deeply touched the mother, who again experienced all the feelings that she experienced when her family had to move. By remembering how devoted childhood friendships can be at this age, a mother was able to better understand the meaning of friendship for her daughter.

Unfortunately, many parents stop reading aloud to their children as soon as they learn to read, but some still continue to read books to their children until adolescence. Like the habit of getting together at dinner, reading aloud ensures that the adult and the child will constantly meet and share what interests them.

Preparing for adulthood

If you put into a search engine the query “Why should children read books?”, then you will find a whole collection of articles on various sites that explain the benefits of reading for a child.

Most often they mention the cognitive and educational functions of reading, as well as improving the speech abilities of a small person who, thanks to reading, learns many new and beautiful words and begins to use them in conversation. And what are the goals of children? Let’s figure it out together with Yulia Kuznetsova, a writer and author of Calculus.

Calculus
It is easier for parents than for children to determine the purpose of children’s reading. It is more difficult – but more valuable – not to send a directive to the child about why he should read, but to catch, like a goldfish, the interest of the child himself. Why is it not easy? Because often what children consider worthy of attention is regarded by adults as nonsense, trifle, or even some kind of nonsense. Remember how on the playground, mothers roll their eyes and wink when a child with a serious look explains that he and his comrades are looking for treasure in the sandbox.

The same thing happens with books. One of my acquaintances told his grandmother for a long time how much he loves Grigory Oster’s funny poems, he quoted and explained what was funny, but my grandmother just waved her hand and said: “It would be better if you read Chekhov, honestly!” But everything has its time, and if you really want to introduce the child to the works of the classic early, you can enthusiastically read them aloud to him.

It is more important not to instill something in the child, but, on the contrary, to listen to what he will say, to delve into the details, to demonstrate a serious attitude to what was said, to assess trust.

And think about how to connect the child’s interest with your ideas about children’s reading. Imposing your goals on the child – you need to read then and then – it will not work!

The easiest way to fall in love with reading is with such books — voluminous illustrations, short text and an exciting plot. Spread of the book “Once Upon a Moonlit Night”

But even a child may have rather limited ideas about the goals of reading (books are needed to know a lot of different words, so I will only read encyclopedias). It is necessary to look for a compromise, a path between two points of view, which will be comfortable for both the child and the adult.

For example, if your child loves dogs and you dream of him reading classical works, you should go to the library or shop together and look for Russian classical works about dogs. You will be surprised, but besides “Kashtanka” there will be many other well-known and wonderful, but forgotten by you works.

It should also be taken into account that the purpose of reading is chosen for a specific moment or stage of life. For example, a child is interested in different mechanisms. Then you should not insist that “at your age it’s time to read Tolstoy’s stories, and not about cars”, but pick up a few books about the device, say, trains or cars. If a girl loves to play with dolls, but doesn’t want to read at all, tell her that there are many wonderful books about dolls (Rag Ann by Johnny Gruell, Josephine and Her Dolls by Mrs. Cradock, Notes of a Doll by Varvara Andreevskaya). In online stores, entire reviews are devoted to the thematic selection of books. Closer to the New Year, you can offer to read about Christmas and Christmas decorations, and if a friend is in the hospital, talk with your young reader what book it makes sense to convey – something about the hospital or, conversely, a fascinating novel about pirates that will help you not to lose heart ?

So it is with us in our adult life: in a difficult moment we resort to one type of literature, when we are busy with work tasks – to another, and on vacation – to a third. The fact that we discuss with the child the goals of his reading, advising something, in something, on the contrary, yielding, prepares him for adulthood. When a child grows up and encounters a variety of life situations, he will take advantage of the habit of choosing a book taking into account the circumstances and, most importantly, his own desires. To discuss the goals of reading and the books you want to offer or show, it is worth choosing a moment when the child is not excited, upset, does not want to eat or sleep, but, on the contrary, is disposed to sincere conversation.

Attune to the child

Verbal communication with a child from birth lays the foundation for his communication skills long before he learns to speak. Similarly, reading from day one develops literacy and a love of books long before a baby can read on its own. As with verbal communication, how and how much a parent reads to a child in the first years of life has a significant impact on his readiness for school and a certain life trajectory. In 2014, the American Academy of Pediatrics released a new recommendation that all parents should read books to their children from birth.

There are many scientific papers to support this concept. Research shows that children who are read to in their early years have a larger vocabulary and better math skills as early as elementary school. There is also evidence that parents who read enthusiastically increase the child’s desire to learn to read, and subsequently he reads more and more.

But many mothers have a picture of the perfect reading in their heads, write the authors of Thirty Million Words. This is when the child sits quietly and listens. Otherwise, there is no point in reading. This is not true. The reading process itself is a great opportunity to tune in to the child.

Thirty million words
Traditional performance – mom or dad reads, and the child listens quietly. In “dialogue reading,” developed as part of Grover Whitehurst’s Stony Brook educational project, the roles are slightly reversed. The aim of the project is to encourage children to become more involved in storytelling, including by asking questions and discussing what they have understood, thought and felt. With this approach, the child becomes the storyteller, and the parent becomes the audience.

Discuss the amazing illustrations. Spread of the book “Cat’s Attic”

For example. A children’s book held by mom or dad is open to the front page. This usually means that the book is read from start to finish. But with the Thirty Million Words strategy, something different happens. Parents, while reading, vigilantly monitor what exactly attracts the attention of the child, and accordingly adjust the direction of their own attention. In other words, they tune in to the child. As a result, a direct and even road to learning is open before the baby, because nothing diverts attention to things that are not interesting to him.

Active communication is the second component of joint reading.

It is easy to see the benefit of communication in brain formation. The level of detail will change as the child grows, and the discussion of what is happening, the possible consequences, the impact on the characters of the book makes the plot more meaningful to the child. In addition, although the books use everyday familiar words, they are also filled with ambiguous, complex, and rarely used words, such as gallop, mischievous, or magical. By repeating these words when discussing a book, you fix them in the mind of the child.

With older children, intensive conversation may involve building a dialogue with open-ended questions about events, thoughts, and feelings about the story. Requiring more thinking and guessing, such questions connect communication with a higher level of creative thinking in the child, since the answers to them are not on the pages of the book. They offer a great opportunity to use a context-free language.

The development of dialogue—another aspect of shared reading—occurs every time an infant or child points to a picture, flips a bookmark, turns a page, asks or answers a question.

This does not mean that parents should stop reading to their children in their own way. If the baby climbs on his knees to mom or dad and listens silently, of course, he needs to read. Few things can compare with the moments when parents read books with their children in their arms. In fact, if this is exactly what the child wants, then you need to take advantage of such a great opportunity to tune in to the right wave.

Based on the materials of the books “The Emotional Intelligence of a Child”, “Calculation”, “Thirty Million Words”

On the cover is the book “Home”

Why read books to your child at night? Benefits of Reading
– kibooki.by

The book should enter the life of a child in the first years of his life. If a child gets acquainted with a book before school, during his school years he will not have to be forced to read the works necessary for the program.

The book becomes an intermediary between two generations. Modern parents give their children too little time. Reading to children at night will become a wonderful family tradition. In a relaxed informal setting, you can get to know each other much better. Even a weekend spent together won’t bring you as close as 40 minutes of talking before bed. It is likely that the child will want to spend Saturday and Sunday with friends, in the company of peers.

Pleasant and useful

Reading before going to bed is much more effective in terms of assimilation of information. By night, the human body relaxes. He is not distracted by extraneous thoughts. In the state between sleep and wakefulness, the brain is able to receive and assimilate any information without the slightest effort on its part. In the morning, a person can easily reproduce the material obtained shortly before falling asleep.

At 2-7 years old

By the age of 2-3 years the child already has a sufficient vocabulary to understand simple texts. By this age, he already has an understanding of such categories as good and evil, justice and injustice, therefore, he knows how to distinguish between positive and negative characters.

Acquaintance of children with literature should begin with Russian folk tales. The plot should be simple and unambiguous, that is, a clear division into positive and negative characters is necessary. The Russian folk tales “Rocked Hen”, “Kolobok” and others, traditional for this age, are best suited.

At 7-10 years old

In connection with the preparation of the child for school, the amount of knowledge about the world increases significantly. The plot of fairy tales should become more complicated. The main characters may be less straightforward. Children should learn to draw independent conclusions about whether a positive or negative character is in front of him. To understand this, the child should analyze the actions and behavior of a particular character. From Russian folklore, one should move on to foreign fairy tales.

Reading foreign fairy tales
At the age of 7-10 years, children can already memorize the complex foreign names of the characters of Hans-Christian Andersen, Charles Perrault and the Grimm brothers. Unusual heroes of foreign fairy tales are sure to arouse the keen interest of the child.

By the age of seven, fairy tales can begin to alternate with stories. In the magical world, it’s easy enough to tell an evil fairy from a good one. In reality, knowing good and evil is not always easy. Read the story to the child and offer to determine for himself which of the characters did the right thing and which did not. To increase interest in reading, you can use works based on the plot of which films or cartoons were made. The child will be delighted to see a well-known character come to life on the screen. To surprise your children, you need to pick up a pair of book / film (cartoon) in advance. The opposite is also possible: first invite the child to watch the film, and then read the work on which it was filmed. Thus, children will be able to learn much more about the life of their favorite hero.

At the age of 10-12

From the age of 10 to 12, the child begins to be interested in literature that is more “serious” than fairy tales. Teenagers are interested in adventure novels. They try to imitate the main characters. At the same time, reading tires children. You will please your child by reading a book to him at night. Now it is not you, the parents, who should be engaged in the selection of books. Your child will do it for you.

Sometimes children find it difficult to choose a book to read. In this case, the reading experience of the parents will help make the right choice. Think about the books you were interested in as a teenager. Times have certainly changed. Today’s children prefer Harry Potter to Captain Nemo and Tom Sawyer. Alternate modern pieces with classic ones. This will help the child form their own preferences.

At 12-15 years old

At this age, children strive for independence, one of the manifestations of which is reading. The child is sure that he is old enough to choose literature for reading. Girls, as a rule, by the age of 14 begin to be interested in “adult” books: romance novels with a detailed description of the passionate relationship between the main characters. Boys are interested in detective stories and history (especially wars and revolutions).

One should not forbid or impose this or that literature on a child. Even if he reads about cruelty and violence, or too frank manifestations of love between a man and a woman, you should not think that your child will try to apply everything he read in everyday life. If the content of the books chosen by the child is doubtful or suspicious, it is better to communicate this in a mild, neutral or indifferent way (“And how can you read such a stupid book?”, “Don’t you feel sorry for wasting time on such a useless work?”) . A strict ban can backfire.

The tradition of reading at night should not be forgotten either. Despite the fact that the child managed to grow up, the need for reading not only did not disappear, but, on the contrary, increased even more. Only now children do not need fairy tales, but school textbooks. Parents do not always have time to control the completion of homework, and even more so, they cannot always help the child with their implementation. The greatest difficulty is the memorization of all kinds of rules and poems. They should be repeated before going to bed. The repetition may look like this: the child goes to bed, and one of the parents reads the necessary information from the book several times. Falling asleep, a person does not distract to all sorts of thoughts.

History and literature are the most suitable school subjects to study before bed. When repeating history, focus on dates. The material associated with various kinds of formulas also needs to be repeated 10-20 minutes before bedtime.

General recommendations

In order to be as effective as reading at night, it is necessary to take into account the volume and content of the book.

The younger the child, the less should be the amount of information that you plan to give him at one time. Start with small stories read in just a few minutes. Then you can move on to longer ones. However, if the tale takes more than half an hour, you should not read it in one evening. Divide the material into several parts. In this way, you will keep your children interested in the work. A large amount of information at one time, as a rule, is not absorbed. In addition, children under seven years old can concentrate their attention on an object for no more than 15 minutes, after which they need a change of activity. Children under 4-5 years old go to bed very early, which means that it is not worth keeping them busy before going to bed for a long time. Stop reading at the first sign of losing interest and attention.

Why is it important for parents to read books to their children??? | Consultation:

Published on 22.11.2020 – 14:00 – Lyashenko Natalya Viktorovna

Reading books by parents plays a huge role in the development of the baby, especially at an early age, and this creates additional advantages for the child when studying in kindergarten and school. Reading aloud is one of the most important things parents can do to prepare their child for school and adulthood. This activity helps in the development of language, imagination, skills and abilities of interaction and understanding. In the long run, this can help children become more proficient in writing. Pointing to pictures from books, the parent pronounces the words and the child will learn to speak correctly. Reading aloud will stimulate their imagination, expand their vocabulary and teach them to listen. Needless to say, reading to young children is of particular value.

Babies who are read to at a young age have an advantage over their peers when attending a preschool. For example, by reading to the child about the actions of the characters in the book, explaining how they interact with each other, and how the story unfolds, parents help develop understanding of the text, as well as prepare children for future interactions in their lives. By helping your child to enjoy reading, the core concepts of school curriculum will be developed, allowing the child to learn more quickly and effectively.

Preparing a child for preschool is important not only directly for success in kindergarten, but also as a prospect for further successful study. Encouraging children’s passion for reading (let parents read), especially when they are 2-5 years old will bear their “fruits” in the future.
Also, reading books is one of the ways to keep a child busy for a while and, of course, good and useful entertainment for the child himself.

Benefits of reading for a child at an early age

• Creates an interest in learning that can continue into adulthood.
• Expands children’s vocabulary and helps develop correct pronunciation and sentence construction.
• Creates curiosity and desire to read and explore new situations and concepts.
• Builds confidence in children who begin to realize that they themselves are able to read a book.
• Helps with language and speech development.
• Promotes close communication and interaction between the child and parents.
• Demonstrates the importance of reading and learning.
• Prepares the child for school.
• Develops communication skills.
• Helps to understand new concepts and situations.
• Helps to develop attention.
• Teaches children about appropriate behavior in the future.
• Helps children understand basic sentence structure and grammar that promotes writing skills.
• Teaches basic knowledge: shapes, colors, numbers, letters.
• Helps develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
• Creates a deeper understanding of relationships between people in different situations.

Reading for a child has many benefits in both the short and long term. In addition, the activity will be about building bonds with your child, as well as helping develop proper speech, imagination, skills, and understanding.

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