There are so many wonderful benefits of reading aloud to your children when they are young. Of the many benefits I’ve considered over the years as an educator and a parent, here are my top 5 benefits of reading aloud (in no particular order):
- Bonding. Snuggling up with your little one to read aloud can provide loving physical touch, the joy and security of hearing your voice and simply having some time in the day to be together!
- Increased communication skills. Reading aloud helps children acquire vocabulary, learn sentence structure and practice listening. They will also begin to comprehend cause and effect, sequencing and dialogue.
- New experiences. Selecting a variety of books helps you to expose your child to different concepts, cultures, places and more. (Click the “Follow” button on the right side to receive emails of the latest Sunshine Readers posts for some fresh reads!)
- Fundamentals for literacy. Reading the title, turning the pages and saying “The End” when you finish, will teach your child the consistent order of reading a book. You can also follow along with your finger as you read to teach your child that text goes from left to right in English.
- The desire to read. When you read with your child, you show your desire to read and begin to build a desire for them to read! Regularly visiting the library can be an easy and fun way to pick out books together to read at home.
Your child will hopefully develop a long-term love of reading and learning if it is built in from the start. Not quite in the habit of reading aloud with your child? You can start today! For ideas on board books to read with your baby or toddler, check out my recent post 12 Must-Read Board Books. For a fun picture book read-aloud, check out The Watermelon Seed or Everybody Loves Bacon.
For those of you who are already in this habit, please take a moment to share the benefits YOU experience from reading aloud. 🙂
Sunshine Readers 