The benefits of reading to children are numerous, and the practice helps create a positive experience with books for both children and parents. Reading benefits not only the mind of the child, but also their social skills, physical health, language skills, and development. It is clear that reading to your children during their early years has numerous benefits – it can help them develop superior literacy skills in an effort to become better readers later on in life.
Let’s take a look at some of the main benefits of reading to children.
1. Encourages the love of reading
Reading to your child will not only increase the bonds between you and your child, but it will also help promote an early love of reading. Children who are read to regularly when they’re young often have a natural ease with books that can serve them well as they progress through their education.
2. Develops a love of stories
Reading to your child from an early age will mean that they develop a love of stories. Books convey remarkable depth to the mind in terms of imagination, and when you read to your child, they will grow up with this capacity. Stories are also much more than just tales – they are a way for children to observe and identify with their own world and how it works.
3. Builds up vocabulary
Reading to your child from an early age will help them to build up a strong vocabulary base. The more that you read, the more familiar words that your child will start to recognize and use – continuing with this will also serve to expand their vocabulary further as they progress. Remember that even as adults, we continue to use books to build up our knowledge of new words and meanings.
4. Improves concentration
Children learn how to concentrate when they listen attentively during story time. Your child will learn to follow a story when you read to them, and this is a skill that they can use later on in their education as they progress through their classes and their level of education. Reading teaches children to want to listen – which is a skill that will benefit them throughout the rest of their lives.
5. Enhances attention span
When you read, your child will begin to develop an attention span that is much broader than if they were not reading at all. This can set your child on a path towards developing better concentration as they continue through their education, which will also serve to give them a better grasp on the educational system that they are being part of.
6. Helps boost development
When you read to your child, you are providing stimulus that can help the development of their minds. This helps them develop more than just ability to concentrate and focus, but also their IQ and overall intelligence – something that is often overlooked when most people think of benefits that come from reading.
7. Improves memory
Reading to your child from an early age will help them to develop stronger memories. Your child is receiving stimulus through the extra reading that you are doing for them, and this triggers their brain to retain the image of what the story was about in their head. This will help them when they are older, as they will be able to recall details that were not memorable before when asked about where a certain character came from or what happened afterwards in a book.
8. Can help a child to overcome learning disabilities
Reading to your child from an early age can also have the benefit of helping them overcome any learning disabilities that they have. The chance to learn new words and develop a strong vocabulary base is one that you can provide for your child through the simple act of reading out loud. This helps them form connections with the words, and it helps to expand their minds in more than one way – something that has been proven to help children with learning disabilities.
Conclusion
Reading to your child from an early age has a number of benefits, from being able to bond with them over common interests and being able to help them to grow up with a love of books and stories. The reading process is also something that helps your child develop in other areas which will serve them better as they get older, such as their concentration and their ability to learn new words that can be incorporated into their vocabulary base.