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3 Reasons Reading to your Children is a Must

October 21, 2016
By B

Do you like reading to your little ones? Or do you find yourself getting frustrated with reading to your children?

Well have no fear, we have an awesome guest post by Jane from Bookroo that will help you remember 3 reasons reading to your children is a must!!

Parents want the best for their children. We want them to grow up to be contributing and valuable members of society, who understand their worth and are kind to those around them. We want them to be smart, to do well in school, and to be successful in their chosen career path later in life. There’s a myriad of ways we can help them reach the goals we have for them, and they set for themselves, but one of the easiest, and most effective is reading to them. Reading aloud to your children can help develop not only a child’s academic prowess, but also a special bond between parent and child, and a love of reading that they can take with them throughout their lives.

Academic Success

Back when I was applying for undergraduate universities with the help of my parents, we attended an info session at Harvard. At the end, after giving us the spiel, they took questions. One dad raised his hand and asked: “As parents, what can we do to help our children get into Harvard?” The answer was telling. The Harvard admissions officer said something to the effect of: “Well, it’s a little late for this now, but in general, the best thing parents can do for their children is to read to them.” We don’t all need or even want to go to Harvard, but this experience illustrates the enormous impact reading can have on a child’s academic performance and potential.

[bctt tweet=”The secret to get your kids into #Harvard!! Find out more… @bookroo_love”]

Bonding

When you read to your child, you have designated time when you sit close together, quietly, and have a shared experience. You’re spending quality time together, and simultaneously expanding your collection of shared understanding that you’ll be able to draw on in situations down the line. For example, if your child is having a bit of a rough day and seems unable to see anything in a positive light, if you’ve read Deborah Diesen’s The Pout-Pout Fish together previously, you’ll be able to remind them to turn that frown upside down just like the fish does in the book, and it can help easy tensions. Having this consistent time together also gives children regular opportunities to talk to you about things one on one, and you can take the opportunity to use stories as a jumping off point to talk about harder subjects.

A Love of Reading

Perhaps the most important reason to read aloud to your children early and often is to help them develop their own love of reading. There’s certainly a lot of required reading as they work their way through school, but having developed an early love of reading will give them confidence and help required reading seem less like a chore. This positive attitude they develop towards reading will serve them well as they grow older, and will give them the tools they need to entertain themselves, learn about things they’re intersted in, and challenge existing ideas through the power of knowledge. If you let them catch you reading (and enjoying it!) you’ll be able to foster that love of reading even more effectively!

While parents know that they want their children to love to read, they may be less certain about how to go about it. This is where Bookroo comes in. Bookroo is a children’s book subscription service, that carefully curates the children’s books we send to your door for a subscription price of less than retail value of the books, but also creates an exciting and positive experience for your child that allows them to associate reading with a gift. Each book comes individually wrapped, and is addressed to them with a handwritten note–who wouldn’t want to read?!

There are stats out the wazoo about how reading impacts a child’s future potential. Their average expected lifetime earnings increase by $50,000 for each year they’re read to between the ages of 0 and preschool. They’re more likely to be in the top 2% in standardized testing. The average children’s book has more words in it than primetime television. But setting aside these facts, the qualitative impact of reading can be just as strong. The exposure to how to deal with tough situations. The love and relationships you develop as you read. And the pure enjoyment you get out of the process. These are less tangible, but no less important.