The Importance of Reading To Your Child

From their earliest days, babies enjoy listening to stories and looking at books, yet there are still a significant number of parents who do not ever read to their children.

Whether due to time constraints, lack of interest by the parent or lack of ability to carry out such an activity, a growing proportion of babies and children are not to read to every night – and some not at all, yet this is one of the most important things you can do for your child, not only to provide them with a solid foundation for their own literacy, but also to bond with your new born baby.

There is nothing more rewarding than cuddling your baby last thing at night when they are all snuggled up in their baby sleeping bag and reading them a story. The joy of watching your baby look up into your eyes or touch your lips when you are reading is pure heaven and such quiet, focused time will not only develop your child’s confidence and concentration levels but give you and your child some one-on-one time when the world just stops and you are able to focus on each other.

Several studies have identified that hearing a parents voice is one of the most significant tools in calming a distracted child, which means reading to them last thing at night will also help them get a good nights sleep and ensure they are ready for the day ahead.

And as you look forward, reading to your growing child will also help them with their educational development.  The repetitive language used in reading books is vital for ensuring that children as young as six months, even before they have uttered their first word, become familiar with words that they will incorporate into their own vocabulary when they start to use words themselves.

As your child sees the importance you place on reading and the pleasure you receive from books, they themselves will become more interested in books and will prepare them for reading themselves. The more your baby appreciates books and stories the more likely they are to investigate books themselves. The interest you foster in your child will drive their desire to learn to read – which will make the whole learning to read process much easier for the child and very much quicker.

So it is true to say that reading to your child from the day the are born will help with their confidence, their communication skills, their education and their bonds with the parents who read to them. So why aren’t we all doing it?

It is a sorry state of affairs when a school teacher has to start teaching the class to read by introducing the class to a book, teaching them what they are for, how they open and that the story starts at the beginning and systematically follows throughout the book – yet this is now happening in most schools in the country and there are children going in to primary school who have never touched a book.

So please, take the initiative and ensure that your child has all the benefits in life you can give them, and pick up a good book. Who knows where it will take you.