Whilst reading might seem like just a fun activity to do with your children for bedtimes, afternoon story times and beyond, it actually has a number of developmental benefits. On top of getting their imagination involved with bringing to life the characters and new worlds within the books we read, encouraging children to read aloud and reading to a child can have great impact on their growth and early learning.
Why is reading important for children?
Encouraging your child to read books and reading books to your children from a young age has a number of benefits to their cognitive skills and reading skills later on in life. This includes:
Grows Literacy Skills
As your child discovers new words, sounds and letters throughout books this can help to develop their literacy skills as they grow. Particularly encouraging your child to read a book out loud, use their finger to trace the words as they read and also reading stories back to them, can all boost their literacy competencies.
Boosts Imagination & Creativity
Books have a magical power to transport the reader to the setting of the story. On top of this, they can also introduce you to new characters, places and concepts. This makes books a perfect avenue for children to explore and imagine themselves inside the story and picture the book playing out inside their heads.
Builds Concentration & Focus
One of the hardest things about being a parent is trying to get your children to sit still and concentrate. With their little minds running a million miles and hour and lots of energy to get out, children can find it difficult to focus on a task and concentrate for longer periods of time. Reading books for children can encourage them to focus on the specific task of a reading a book and enhance their ability to concentrate.
Improves Memory & Recall
To follow along with a story, you have to be able to remember it! Reading books to children can help to improve their ability to recall things and improve their memory overall. Particularly if parents are reading children one book over multiple nights.
Develops Empathy
Reading about different people’s perspectives through storytelling can help children relate to people more in the real world. Being able to consider someone else's feelings, thoughts and emotions enables children to learn empathy. This can build their social skills and communicative skills over time as they learn more about others.
When do children start reading?
Whilst every child is different, in Australia children typically begin reading at ages 6 or 7. This aligns with when they begin receiving a more formal education at school. However, some children can learn to read as early as 4 or 5 years old!
Beginning to read to your children from a young age can get them familiar with new words, sounds and syllables which can help them when it’s time for them to learn how to read more independently.
How to make reading fun for children?
Is your child complaining about having to read? Or doesn’t seem to enjoy reading at all? There are some fun tips and tricks parents can use to bring fun and excitement back to story time and reading aloud.
Create A Regular Routine
Incorporating books into a child’s daily routine is a simple way to get them used to reading or being read to. Keeping books on-hand in the car, beside the bed, in the playroom and more can have them on-hand for the right moment. On top of that, making a special reading space or nook can create a dedicated space for reading each day, whether it’s in the morning or getting ready for bed at night.
Make It An Engaging Experience
Outside of simply reading the words on the page, try incorporating character voices, funny faces and sounds to bring a story to life! You can even ask your children on their opinion of how certain characters or animals should sound in the story to involve them in the storytelling too.
Foster Discussions
Engage your child in discussions about what’s on each page. Whether it’s pointing out parts of the illustration, getting them to sound out words or discussing the storyline so far!
Give Your Child Choice
When your children are old enough to start asking for certain books, they may request you read them the same story again and again! Be prepared to read their favourite stories and even take them to the bookstore to select their own books to keep them involved in the experience.
Start reading with your children today
Whether you have a young child you’re looking to begin reading to or a toddler ready to begin reading on their own, these helpful tips should make story time all the more fun!
Lucy The Crocodile is a great book for parents to their children or for older children to begin reading aloud for the first time. Discover the wonderful world of Lucy and her friends on her great adventure and shop the book online now.