The value of reading to young children cannot be underrated. Reading to your child helps form a natural love of learning and will improve their brain development, your relationship with them, expand their imagination, and so much more. And all it takes is a few books, motivation, and your time and effort.
Benefits of Reading to Children
Connection – Reading offers an amazing opportunity for you and your little one to connect. It’s a good opportunity to spend time together and slow down from an otherwise hectic day.
Listening skills – Hearing a story read aloud requires some level of understanding on your child’s part. And understanding is based mostly on paying attention and listening skills.
Cognitive and language improvement – Even the youngest children profit by hearing their caregivers read to them. A study revealed that little ones who are read to and talked to rank higher in language skills and cognitive advancement, such as problem-solving.
Widened vocabulary – Reading books to kids helps improve the number and variety of words and phrases they use. The books you read often contain words and phrases you might not otherwise use in your daily speaking.
Resourcefulness – Stories, and books open up a whole new world to your little one. Small children have vivid imaginations, so reading to them serves to nourish their own imagination further.
Life lessons – Books offer a chance to discuss real-world scenarios in age-appropriate methods. Kids specifically enjoy books that will include young children their own ages doing stuff they do in everyday life.
When Should you Begin Reading to Children?
The answer is now! Babies, small children, preschoolers, and even teenagers all benefit from having someone read to them. In fact, you don’t even need a large personalized library of books to start.
Think further than the store. You can find a wide selection of books at your local library or a secondhand shop. You can even motivate your children to borrow books from and lend them to their close friends.
Here is the list of books your kids need to read:
- A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
- A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
- Aesop’s Fables by Aesop
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
- Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
- Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr & John Archambault
- Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett
- Dory Fantasmagory by Abby Hanlon
- Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
- Green Eggs And Ham by Dr. Seuss
- Love You Forever by Robert Munsch
- Nate the Great by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat
- Oh, the Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss
- Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan
- Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie
- Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume
- The Adventures of Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
- The Big Orange Splot by D. Manus Pinkwater
- The Cat In The Hat by Dr. Seuss
- The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde
- The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1) by Rick Riordan
- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
- The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper
- The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
- The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
- The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
- The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
- Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
- Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Regarding early literacy and language skills, the quality and amount of the words and phrases you speak to your young child matter. Books provide an excellent possibility to get talking, telling stories, and connecting with your child.
