Children are famous for absorbing information at an alarming rate. Whether you want them to get a hang of something or not, as long as they’re within range, they will pick up a thing or two. Luckily, this is a trait that parents can take advantage of when they come to realize the benefits of reading and storytelling for kids.
Children have a lot of potential for learning and reading is a great way to have them learn basic skills as well as life lessons. The benefits are limitless when children are allowed to read and read to.
“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.”
Getting Started with Reading to Your Kids
The first thing to keep in mind is that there are certain kind of books that children enjoy. They enjoy books with lots of repetition, rhymes, those that involve singing, and books that have fun activities. You should plan on getting those kinds of books.
Sesame Street Elmo Manners Books for Kids Toddlers
Illusory Book Making Kit
Disney Princess Reading Book
Make reading a habit with your child from infancy. Starting early will help you establish reading as a routine easily. You must also learn the importance of patience when you start reading to your kid. Children are not known to pay attention to things for too long so you will have to learn to bear their excesses.
Benefits of Reading and Storytelling For Kids
1. Increase Discipline and Concentration
Frequent and regular reading will instill in children, discipline and the ability to concentrate. Generally, children have very short attention span which prevents them from sitting still for a prolonged period. And during the first sessions of reading, you will discover it won’t be easy to get them to concentrate on the story for a long period. But with time, their discipline will improve and begin to learn ro pay better attention.
2. Emotional and Social Development
When children read or are read to, they are plunged into the life of the characters in the book. Through this, they begin to learn empathy and they can identify with how other people are feeling. They will understand better how emotions work which will help them understand, not just themselves, but others. This then translates to developing them socially.
3. Bond Between Child and Parent is Nurtured
Having a stipulated time for reading is a great way to strenghten the bond between you, the parent and your child. After a long day working, reading a book to and with your child is the perfect way to connect. According to a research authored by Elisabeth Duursma, Marilyn Augustyn, and B Zuckerman, reading out loud to children nurtures the relationship between parent and child.
4. Development of Cognitive and Language Skills
A study done by Aisling Murray and Suzanne M Egan in 2013, showed evidence that children who read to from a very young age had higher language skills and were able to solve problems better (cognitive development).
Children are said to learn languages faster when they’re infants and reading to them helps in this process.
5. Increase in Vocabulary Size
Reading to you child and having them read regularly exposes them to new vocabulary and phrases. Vocabulary they might otherwise never get the chance to hear. Adaily reading time will help your child learn new words.
Conclusion The value of reading and storytelling for kids cannot be underestimated. You will be doing your child a whole world of good when you ensure they have time set apart to be read to. Reading is essential to your child’s development and we have highlighted some of its benefits. So while playtime and craft time are important, also remember that reading time is essential as well.
