Many people know that reading to their toddlers and preschoolers is a fantastic way to enhance their vocabulary and get them ready for school. In fact, many understand the importance of reading aloud to their younger children as a whole as it helps them to open their minds to different topics and build upon their cognitive development. What many aren’t aware of, however, is how important it is to read to your kids of all ages.
Reading aloud to your toddler and preschooler shouldn’t be the only thing on your mind. In fact, older children can also reap many advantages and benefits from being read too as well.
Why Reading to Kids of All Ages is Important
One of the most important things we as parents can do for our kids, beyond keeping them safe and healthy, is to read aloud to them. This includes reading to your newborns and continuing to read to them well beyond the years that they are able to read for themselves.
For many children, being read to by their parents becomes a treasured part of their daily routine, but it is also much more than that. When children are read to, it helps to expand their love of reading, literacy skills and more.
Expands Their Vocabulary
No matter how young or old your children are, reading out loud to them can help to expand their vocabularies. Your toddlers will learn new, simple words and how to say them, but your older children will also benefit. Most of the time, your older child’s reading comprehension is not as developed as their auditory comprehension—meaning that they understand the words, their pronunciation, and their meaning far better when hearing them from you. Choose age-appropriate books for your children, but also ensure that they contain a wealth of new vocabulary for them to learn from.
Models Fluent Reading
When you read to your children, you are modeling by example. You teach them to read text with proper grammar and inflection. Whether you realize it or not, your voice changes when you read exclamations or questions and you pause when you reach a period or comma. This shows them how to properly structure a sentence and how to fluently read the text.
Encourages the Love of Reading
Reading to your children of all ages encourages their love of reading. It shows them just how important the stories within books can be, and how exciting reading really is. This will encourage them to delve deeper in their own reading experiences.
Creates a Deeper Bond
When you read with your children you are often cuddling up together. Spending time with each other, talking, reading and digging deeper into the wonderful world of books can help to facilitate a stronger bond. For parents who have a busy lifestyle, simply taking the time to read with your kids can be a great way to wind down, bond and relax, all well-learning something new.
Reading to your kids of all ages is important. No matter how young or old your kids are, try to read together whenever possible. It will do wonders for their vocabulary, their reading fluency, their love of reading and your bond as parent and child.
