The Importance of Reading With Your Child
When I first started teaching, computers were fairly new. There was no such thing as an iPad or a smartphone. In today's fast-paced world, screens are available in many forms. They easily capture the attention of our children. Using these tools to access books isn’t a bad thing at all! It’s fun and engaging! However, personally reading with and to our children daily remains vital. Why? Here are 5 good reasons:
Bonding and Emotional Connection: Sharing a story creates a special bonding experience between parent and child. It provides an opportunity for quality time together, where your child feels secure and valued, and fosters a positive emotional connection.
Supporting Social and Emotional Development: Many stories have universal themes such as friendship, bravery, kindness, and overcoming a problem or challenge. After reading, talking about a story's theme can help your child better understand it both within the story and as it applies to their own lives. These discussions may also help promote empathy, tolerance, and understanding of others.
Preparation for Literacy Skills: Reading aloud lays a strong foundation for literacy development. It introduces children to concepts of print, such as understanding how books work (turning pages, reading left to right), recognizing letters and words, and eventually learning to read independently. After finishing the story, ask your child to turn to their favorite page to work on some of these skills with you. For example: Once your child learns some letter names, ask them to show you a letter they recognize on the page. Once they know several letters, try pointing to a letter on a page and ask them to name it. You can also do this with letter sounds and sight words.
Vocabulary: Reading aloud exposes children to a variety of vocabulary they may not encounter in everyday conversation. When you come across a word your child doesn’t know the meaning of, it allows you to explain what it means in the moment. After you talk about the new word together, use it often in daily life with your child to help them remember it. This practice helps expand vocabulary over time. For example, if the text says “Ursula emerged from her cave”, talk about what the word emerge means. Then find ways to use the word with your child. Like this: “Dad just emerged from the garage.”
Promoting Comprehension: When parents take the time to talk about books with their children after reading, they create valuable opportunities for learning and growth. For young children, questions should be simple and promote conversations that encourage them to share their thoughts and feelings about the story. Older children need the opportunity to think more critically about the story. Adjusting questions to be age-appropriate helps your child be successful. It can also help to deepen or expand understanding of the story. As a parent, sharing your own thinking about the story is a great way to model comprehension. For more on comprehension and a list of questions to use with your child, check out my next blog post.
In essence, reading with your child is a powerful and enjoyable way to support your child’s overall reading development including vocabulary, comprehension, and literary skills. It creates lasting memories, strengthens bonds, and encourages a love of reading that will benefit them throughout their lives.
Anne Philipson has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary Education and a minor in Early Childhood. She has 27 years of experience as a teacher. Six of those years were in the first-grade classroom, and twenty-one were spent as a reading interventionist teaching students who experienced difficulty learning to read. As a retired educator, she enjoys writing books for young children.
