8 Benefits to Reading With
Children Every Day
There are many benefits to reading with young children every day. But this is not happening for all children. The Guardian reported on the annual Understanding the Children’s Book Consumer survey from Nielsen Book Research. The data shows a large drop in the number of parents reading to their child every day. Of 1,596 parents of 0-13-year-olds, only 51% read to their preschool child every day. This is a drop from 69% in 2013.
Reasons for not reading included struggling to “find energy at the end of the day” and “the child’s preference to do other things.” Furthermore, some parents felt uncomfortable in bookshops and overwhelmed by the choice on display. For these reasons, I have added a few helpful articles on choosing and using picture books with your child.
- Books for Keeps: Early Years Reading: the power of the picture book
- Novak Djokovic Foundation: Reading to Your Child
- PBS Parents: Helping Your Five-Year-Old Become a Reader
- Philip Bunting Website: Read with, not to
- Power of Pictures: Choosing and using Picture Books
- Read Write Think: Choosing the Right Book: Strategies for Beginning Readers
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8 Benefits to Reading With Children Every Day
- Improves Reading Skills: First and foremost, exposure to books improves children’s reading skills. Practice makes perfect!
- Boosts Vocabulary and Literacy Skills: Reading increases vocabulary, comprehension and communication skills. In addition sentence structure, grammar, punctuation and expression will improve.
- Improves Writing Skills: Exposure to new words, grammar and punctuation will improve children’s writing.
- Builds Confidence and Independence: Reading every day builds independence, leading to greater confidence.
- Broadens Minds and Develops Empathy: Diverse literature opens children’s minds to the lives of other people. Subsequently, helping children make sense of the world around them.
- Academic Success: Regular reading promotes academic achievement across the curriculum. Non-fiction books provide opportunities for children to increase their knowledge and interests.
- Develops Imagination: While reading children create new worlds. This develops their creativity and empathy as they immerse themselves in the lives of the characters.
- Reading is Fun! When reading with a child, they can tell if the adult is enjoying themselves. Reinforce the message that reading is an enjoyable alternative to video games and TV by reading yourself.
Child Selected Reading
Working in a school library I saw the pleasure children had when choosing their own books. As a consequence of this freedom they may bring home a book you wouldn’t choose. Ask your child about their book choices. It may surprise you to find out what they are actually interested in.
Personal interests should always be the basis for making reading an enjoyable experience. If they bring a non-fiction book home you don’t have to read the entire book, just dip in and out. Give them the freedom to (sometimes) pick their own reading material.
Different types of books and their benefits
Picture Books
- Introduce the concept of reading and build vocabulary
- Illustrations help define unknown words
- Encourage conversation and comprehension
- Strengthen visual and critical thinking skills
- Blends stories with art, working together to tell the story
- Introduce complex concepts in a safe environment
Non-Fiction books
- Ease the transition to chapter books with increasingly complex vocabulary and sentence structure.
- Illustrations add details and hold interest.
- Develop patience as they can’t always be read in one session
- Specifically formatted for emerging independent readers
- Introduce children to a range of genres seen in chapter books
Beginning Chapter Books
- Ease the transition to chapter books with increasingly complex vocabulary and sentence structure. Illustrations that add detail and hold interest
- Develop patience as they can’t always be read in one session
- Specifically formatted for emerging independent readers
- Introduce children to a range of genres seen in chapter books
Graphic Novels
- Promote literacy and improves self-esteem
- Reach reluctant readers of traditional text
- Provide contextual visual clues to the meaning of the written text
- Provide clues to emotional context children might miss when reading traditional text
- Encourage English-language learners to acquire new vocabulary and subsequently increase English proficiency
- Improves reading pace as they slow down to examine the images, supporting comprehension
- Develop critical reading skills
Magazines
- Provide different reading levels and interests
- Colourful and inviting pages engage reluctant readers
- Hold attention and ignite imagination
- Arrive periodically and are familiar and not intimidating
- Support communication with friends as they learn around common interests
- Engaging with short and numerous articles
In Conclusion
Visit the children’s section of your local library and explore what is on offer. Let your child choose some books and check them out with their own library card. Librarians will gladly steer you in the right direction. In the UK there is a summer reading challenge. Why not check out your own local library to see what they offer for children. Also, revisit the 8 Benefits to Reading With Children Every Day list above.
Start a habit of a lifetime by sitting down with your child and enjoy a great book!
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Love your layout and graphics. It’s sad that people don’t want to or can’t or don’t think about reading to their kids. It’s such a lovely thing to do. I know my parents read to us and I read to my kids when they were wee. I wish they’d let me read to them now. Cheers.
It is so true Lisa! I have very fond memories of being read to by my parents all those years ago 🙂