Every parent wants their child to excel in school. Is there a better way to set the foundations to a great education than by regularly reading to your child?
Some people think that parents should begin reading aloud to their child from day one (although your reading session could be interrupted every 2 seconds by screaming, sleeping, pooping and vomiting). Some parents choose to begin reading to their child whilst it’s still in the womb (although some people find reading to a pregnant belly a little bit weird). Other people opt to wait until their child is a bit older. Whichever age you decide to start reading aloud to your child, you can find plenty of great reading programs for kids to help you out! Here’s five reasons why you should read aloud to your child:
1. Great Bonding Activity
Reading together is a good social activity and helps to strengthen the bonds which you have with your child.
Some people suggest that if you begin reading to your child while it is still in the womb, it will be born with the ability to recognize your voice. What better way to start your child’s life?
Reading to your child also creates a space for cuddle time, and who doesn’t love a good cuddle with their favorite person.
2. Enhance Language Fluency and Comprehension
Fluency is based on a person’s ability to recognize words automatically. If you read aloud to your child every day, over time they will become more familiar with words and sounds, helping to build a great foundation for their speaking and listening abilities as they begin to develop. This can also help them to be strong debaters and narrators if you want to think further into the future than just pre-school.
If you don’t feel like reading to your child, then playing board games can be a good alternative. You can choose games from brands like Lego or any other good brand as its hard to see the difference in terms of the built-quality of games.
3. Can help your Child to Develop a Strong Vocabulary
No kidding! The more words that your child is exposed to, the stronger their vocabulary will become, therefore improving their speaking capabilities.
Vocabulary is very important if you want your child to become a successful independent reader. If your child canevelop a strong vocabulary basis at a young age, then they will already have a head start by the time they begin school. Reading aloud to your children is proven to stimulate their vocabulary growth.
Great huh!
4. Entertainment
As well-rounded adults, we all know that TV shows and computer games aren’t the only forms of entertainment out there (although this knowledge still doesn’t stop me from surfing the net for hours every week – oops!)
Reading to your child aloud is a good way to show them that they can be entertained from a paper book. Read to your child every night to help them chose their favorite genre of writing and even their favorite book overall. Eventually they will be able to select and read their own books and hopefully reading will become a fun hobby for them.
5. Help them Become Successful in School
Do you want your child to be top in the class? Do you want to spend less time slaving over homework with your child in the future?
Reading to your child aloud improves their vocabulary, listening ability, comprehension ability, and ability to make moral decisions. Research shows that repeatedly reading aloud your child’s favorite book boosts your child’s vocabulary by up to 40%. hese things all contribute to your child being successful in school from a young age. Reading aloud to your child regularly is thought to help them to thrive in school and their careers.
Suggestions
Do you need some suggestions for great read-aloud stories that you can read to your kids? Some of our top picks include The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Giving Tree, by Shel Silverstein and The Witch Family, by Eleanor Estes. So if you’re out of ideas of what to read to your child next, why not check out some of their great suggestions?
Conclusion
So why not start reading aloud to your child every day? Not only does it create a strong familial bond between you and your child, it will also help them to excel in school. Some parents opt for reading programs for kids in order to help their development. Something as simple as reading to your child daily can help to set the foundations for a great future.
So, go find a book and open up brand new worlds with your child today! You could be amazed by the things that you discover as this is not only an educational journey for your child but also an educational journey for you, too.