5 Benefits of Reading to Your Child: It’s Time to Get Those Books Out!

How often do you read to your child? Did you start when they were in your womb, as soon as they could sit up, or when they showed an interest in books (by chewing them)?

Well, you’re onto a great thing, because there are plenty of benefits of reading books regularly to your child. From newspapers to comics, board books to handwritten stories, let me share with you five key benefits of reading to your child.

5 Great Benefits of Reading Books to Your Child

Where would the world be without stories? The Princess and the Pea, Peter Pan, Where is the Green Sheep, and the Little Yellow Digger are firm favourites for many kids. Personally, my tastes head towards authors such as Dot Hutchinson, Philippa Gregory and Lee Child. Being able to curl up with a book is one of life’s pleasuresand one I remember from my childhood.

I’ve spent many hours reading to and with my children. We keep their books organised in fabric storage boxes to make life easy. From bedtime stories to little books from school, time in the library and cuddled up on the couch, reading is something I prioritise with good reason: it’s good for you! Here are five darn good reasons why reading should be happening in your family too:

1. Success – everyone wants their child to be successful. It turns out that reading books to them is one way you can help. They’ll learn new topics, and begin to understand reading behaviours such as expression, self-correctionand reading left to right. Reading to a child also develops a love of reading, and good readers tend to do better at school.
2. Concentration – anyone with a toddler knows that their concentration periods are short! Being read to actuallyhelps them develop their listening skills, assisting in slowly building up the time they can concentrate on one thing at a time.
3. Social skills – stories tell, well, a story. Listening to stories about how people interact with one another, how they solve conflicts and use social nicetiesare importantsocial skills books can teach children about.
4. Language – even if you talk to your child all day, you will not be using all of the words in the world. Reading letsyou share stories and words that your child may not have heard otherwise, helping to grow their vocabulary and the language connections within their brain.
5. Knowledge – from learning about shapes and colours, through to world events, how things work and growingtheir imagination, being read to is a wonderfulway of building up knowledge.

Reading is something we can all easily include in our daily lives. From a quick five minutes through to a marathon chapter book session, it’s time to snuggle up and enjoy a book: you and your child deserve to!