It’s never too soon to develop a habit of reading to and with your children. Psychologists and pediatricians encourage parents to read to their kids even before they’re born. Experts agree that hearing their mother’s voice reading to them while in the womb has a tremendous impact on a baby’s brain development. Continue reading to find out seven benefits of reading to children:
1. Sets them up for success in school…and in life
Reading helps develop a child’s brain and establishes this habit early on, giving them a head start when it comes time to go to school. Reading to children from an early age builds stronger comprehension and vocabulary skills. Teach your children to follow the words you’re reading to them across the book from left to right as well as to turn the pages.
2. Improves concentration
When children sit with a book and start flipping pages themselves, they’re focused for a period of time. It doesn’t matter whether they go back and forth with different books, reading promotes a longer attention span.
3. Helps build vocabulary
Children are exposed to language whenever you read to them. They hear new words for the first time as you read them books, and the more you repeat words to them, the faster they’ll add them to their own vocabulary. Studies suggest that children who experience early reading versus those who do not, have a huge advantage in school.
4. Develops imagination
A book, especially if it’s a children’s book, opens a world of possibilities. When kids read they engage with the plot, characters, and any other details they pick up. They get excited about what’s coming next as turning each page builds anticipation for them.
Help your children develop their imagination by encouraging them to share how they think the story is going to unfold.
5. Encourages empathy
Similar to developing their imagination, when kids engage with the storyline and characters they relate to how they’re feeling. They put themselves in the situation and they begin to understand different emotions.
6. Strengthens your bond with them
Picking up a book and spending time reading together with your children reading is a sure way to grow closer together. These bonds strengthen all the way through adulthood as sharing a passion for reading also allows us to exchange opinions, stories and share enjoyable moments.
7. It’s a fun experience!
When reading is associated with school or homework it becomes a tedious task. Children think of it as a chore they have to complete. However, if parents instill a habit early on and regularly spend time with their kids reading books together, they soon realize it’s a fun experience kids want to keep coming back to.
These are some of the most important benefits of reading to children. Infinity Insurance believes in the importance of raising bilingual children who enjoy books in English or Spanish. With this goal in mind, we are proud to sponsor Read Conmigo, a bilingual literacy program that aims to help parents promote reading by distributing original children's books in English and Spanish.
Since its creation in 2011, Read Conmigo has distributed more than one million books to families, schools, and libraries nationwide. The program is also utilized by over 11,000 educators.
Membership is free and, in addition to receiving a new book every four months, families also have access to a full, online library and other resources.