The importance of reading to children

Growing up, my parents read me a story every night. I always assumed it was the standard bedtime routine for all children across the country. As a teacher with my degree in Early Childhood Education, I know the importance of reading to children. The benefits associated with a simple daily bedtime story seem endless. Imagine my amazement when I read the statistic that only 39% of parents read to their children on a daily basis (Young, Davis, & Schoen, 1996).

In a word, I was dumbfounded. I have witnessed struggling readers and the impact it has on their daily lives. When a child struggles to read, everything in the school suffers. Would something as simple as a daily ten-minute interaction with a bedtime story between a parent and her child prevent these children from struggling during their school years? Could it really be that simple? I want parents to know how important it is to read to their children every day.

Profits

Teaches basic reading and writing skills.

When children are read to, they are taking in a lot at once. Simple things that experienced readers may take for granted are introduced during the first years of life while listening to a story. Children who are familiar with books know how to hold a book and turn the pages from left to right. They know that the book has a title.

Pre-readers also understand that the book contains pictures and words and begin to distinguish between words and letters. They begin to recognize that print reads from right to left and top to bottom, which is directly related to early writing skills. School districts expect children to be reading single-word text by the end of kindergarten, and having these foundational skills can propel them toward success.

Teaches basic listening skills

It is true, as I experience in the classroom every day. Some children do not have the ability to sit still long enough to listen to a story. Some children may struggle because of a disability, but others may simply lack an understanding of story time. Making story time at home a fun and engaging daily activity can encourage children to get excited about story time at school, which can also discourage behavior problems.

Promotes vocabulary and language skills

Just think of all the new words children hear in books. Our daily conversations do not require much use of language or complex vocabulary and can hinder a child’s oral language development. Reading to a child can introduce many new words, especially nonfiction titles. Children’s literature provides great language models for children. Hearing the flow of writing and innovative words, especially in repeated readings of the same text, can nurture children’s language development.

Build world knowledge

As in language development, reading exposes children to worlds of new information. As a teacher, I used books to teach children about a topic, such as a place, a person, or a topic. The amount of information a child can learn from books is endless, which leads to the next benefit.

Promotes a love of reading

Allowing children to enjoy reading is one of the most important gifts a parent can give. Children will learn reading skills in school, but will come to associate reading with work, not pleasure. As a result, they may lose the desire to read, affecting their schoolwork and desire to learn. When a parent shares an exciting story with a child and in turn gets emotional with the child, the parent shows how much fun reading can be. Jim Trelease, author of The Read-Aloud Handbook, encourages parents to lead by example by saying; “Make sure your children see you reading for pleasure instead of reading aloud. Share with them your enthusiasm for whatever you’re reading.”

Foster the bond between parents and children

Reading aloud also creates a special time for parents to bond with their children. Snuggling up together for a bedtime story will help your children develop a lifelong appreciation for reading. (Read Aloud, nd) Builds self-esteem Children often want to hear the same story over and over again. Just as adults may need to hear something more than once to remember or understand, children are the same way.

Trelease (2001) makes a very interesting comment: “Those of us who have seen a movie more than once realize how many subtleties we missed the first time. Even more so with children and books.” He also points out that repeated reading can make a child an expert on a particular book. The child feels good about himself and connects that good feeling with reading (Trelease, (2001).