Everyone loves a good book, and children are no exception. No matter the age, children enjoy reading, and most importantly, being read to! There’s something special about someone reading you a book, and not having to worry about doing anything but looking at each detail of an illustration, or closing your eyes and imagining the scene.
Experts and educators suggest children need twenty minutes of reading a day. But what are some of the benefits of reading to your child?
- Stimulates imagination
- Increases knowledge of the world around them
- Develops language skills
- Improves listening ability
- Increases comprehension
- Makes schoolwork easier
As a matter of fact, a child who reads or is read to twenty minutes a day, each school year reads and is exposed to 1.8 million words! A child who only reads five minutes a day is going to read or be exposed to 282,000 words in a school year. If a child only reads for a minute a day, they read or are exposed to only 8,000 words in a school year.
What are some ways to encourage your child to read?
- Create a reading chart. Once the chart fills up, they can redeem for a small prize
- A bedtime story each night. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09B4C757R
- Encourage your child to read to pets or younger siblings
- Print out a reading BINGO game or make one yourself
- Find books about things your child loves
When we take the time to read to our children, their interest in the world around them grows, their minds expand, and we get to enjoy that special time with them. Be it from a bookstore, a library, or just something off your shelf at home, cracking open the spine of a book creates lasting memories!
