Reading is an extremely important activity for children as it develops skills that they will need for school and later on in life whether that be personal or professional. By reading to and with your children from a young age you are ensuring your child’s success in later life. Read below to see the many reasons why reading to children is such an important element in their life.
Language Skills Benefits
Starting in infancy, reading to children can help them with literacy skills, communication skills, social skills, linguistic skills and language acquisition. This is because the part of the child’s brain that deals with the meaning of language and the building of it gets stimulated while they read or you read to them. This was also proven in a recent brain scan study. They will also have an enormous amount of colorful language that can be related to different parts of life which will lead them to writing and expressing themselves better at school. Moreover, introducing reading to your children at such a young age has another benefit and this is knowledge about the language of books. The language of everyday life is very different to the one found in literature which has a special emphasis on abstract and figurative language. So why not check out The Magic Crown, they will definitely benefit from this book!
Helps Cognitive Development
Reading to young children improves cognitive skills and helps the process of cognitive development. When you begin reading with your child it gives them the background knowledge about their young world and it helps them understand what they see, hear and read. By making reading a part of your child’s life it will lead to conversations that help them make sense of their own lives, especially at such a young age. Furthermore, it aids in the development of their memory, by the parent getting the child to remember the story and words and expressions every day, they are laying the foundation of an advanced ability of memorization which will be useful for them throughout their life.
Form stronger bonds with your child
When a parent reads regularly with their child it strengthens their relationship. Reading can be a wonderful opportunity for a regular shared event that both parent and child can look forward to. The child will know that even if they are having a bad day, they will always have time at the end of the day with their parents. However, keep in mind that when you read with your child it does not have to be before bed. By creating a special reading space in your home and including their favorite blanket, pillow or stack of books to choose from, you are further enhancing this experience. Thanks to this pleasurable daily event, children will always have a positive attitude towards reading as they grow up. Also, it gives children feelings of love, attention and support which is vital for nurturing and wellbeing. To further reinforce these feelings, have a look at Fly High.
It develops empathy
Empathy is being recognized more and more as a core life skill and is the foundation for good relationships and classroom climate. The first thing to do is to search for a suitable story. One way of doing so is to find a text exploring similar life scenarios to aid children in understanding what their peers may be experiencing. As a rule, look for books with well rounded, believable characters. Even if these characters are not doing good things, the story should help children comprehend a character’s motivations. Feelings should be dealt with subtly and not over-described. Getting the children deeply engaged with the characters is an excellent way to teach empathy. We put ourselves in the story that we are reading when we read a book and the lessons that we learn are strong and last a long time. This helps us to develop empathy as we live the lives of the characters and we can understand and feel what they are feeling. If children do this they can empathize in the real world with other people. Also, children will increase their understanding of emotions and this can help them understand their own emotions and those of others. By reading a good book to your child, they can see characters cooperating, being unselfish and working out problems. It aids them enormously in their social development.
Improves Concentration
A lot of children’s interactions with the world today works against our attempts to help them with increasing their attention span. Video games, tablets and mobile phones make it difficult for a child to focus on one thing for a significant period of time. Frequent reading to children is shown to improve their concentration abilities. Moreover, it will teach a child to sit still and be attentive for long periods of time which will in turn benefit them in their academic life and life in general. Finally, it is a slower paced activity that is different to what your child is used to and this is a positive thing in our hyper fast ever-changing world.
More Creativity and Imagination
Reading to your child is one of the best ways to improve their imagination. Reading to children helps them practice using their imagination by allowing words to describe a particular image while they manipulate the picture in their head. This strengthens their mind as it behaves like a muscle. All this use of imagination leads to the child’s creativity benefitting. Creativity plays a huge part in innovation and without it people would not be able to invent new ideas or inventions that make society a better place.
So, there you have it. We can all now see the advantages of reading to and with little ones. Why not visit Materlu and you and your child can choose your next adventure!