By encouraging your child’s reading, you’re building a foundation of benefits to last a lifetime. Language skills and scholastic success are the obvious outcomes, but reading can also help develop empathy, release stress, and improve concentration. For a developing child, reading will help immensely in navigating social situations and improving cognitive skills.
Build a Lifelong Love of Reading
There are so many benefits to reading, and it’s never too early to start: some parents get in the daily habit of reading to their little ones while they are still in the womb. Developing the habit early gets the ball rolling in the right direction.
Bonding Time
As parents, there’s no better way to remind your child how much you love them than to set aside a part of your day to read a book! Bonding with your child builds a sense of security that leads them to feel safe venturing out and taking risks.
Winding Down
Kids thrive on consistency. Knowing that ‘Dinner, bath, a book, and then off to bed’ is the standard routine makes it easier for everyone. Considering that reading is a natural de-stressor, it can calm your little ones down and prepare them for bed. What better way to end the day?
Developing Empathy
Empathy is key to children building strong relationships in early childhood and can set them up for success in learning environments. One of the best ways to cultivate this life skill is through reading. A fictional story introduces children to experiences and perspectives that they might never have otherwise encountered. Insight into someone else’s perspective through stories translates into the ability to understand what other people are experiencing while expanding one’s worldview.
Developing Language Skills
Increasing your child’s exposure to language is key to developing their linguistic abilities. Reading out loud with your little one helps them to develop three language skills: listening, speaking, and reading. Children fine tune their hearing skills to hear sounds, words, and language patterns. All of which are literacy skills essential for them to begin reading for themselves.
Strengthening Cognitive Development
As your child continues on their reading journey, their exposure to new topics will build their vocabulary and understanding of the world. It’s also been shown that reading improves focus, concentration and communication skills. Overall keeping little minds healthy and sharp!
Final Thoughts: Knowledge is Power!
There are so many benefits to reading from sparking your child’s imagination to the quality time spent with them. To get your child interested, let them pick out colorful books with lots of action. Engage them with questions about familiar items (“where are his shoes?”) or let them take control over the narrative! It’s no question that the benefits to reading will last a lifetime.
And if you run out of ideas, try your local library!