5 Reasons Why You Should Read to Your Children

Many studies on the internet assert the importance of parents reading with your children. Reading together bring your relationship closer, opens your child’s imagination and launches their discovery. Here are 5 reasons when you should start reading with your children.

1. Reading brings you into close proximity to your young child.

You can watch TV from opposite sides of the room. Not so with reading. You share the same book. You look at the pictures together. The time spent reading together will build a bond with your child that will grown stronger over time.

2. Reading encourages you to be interesting and playful.

Being a parent often means being stern and enforcing rules, but when reading together you can become something else. If you read in a monotone, your child will go to sleep. But with something like Dr. Seuss or Berenstain Bears, it’s nearly impossible to read without changing your voice for difference characters, acting scared or surprised, and involving yourself in the storyline. Exploring different emotions with your child helps them to be honest about their feelings with you.

3. Reading together gives you a chance to observe and enjoy time with your children.

It may sound difficult to do, but while you’re reading, find moments to watch how your child reacts to the story. When something is funny, watch how they laugh. When it’s a little scary, see how they worry. When it’s a new idea, see how they think. Knowing how your children react to stories will help you communicate the important stuff you want them to learn from you.

4. During the story, you can ask questions.

Such questions like “What does that mean?” “Why do you think he did that?” or “What do you think you would have done?” Asking questions can help you learn more about your child, teach them your values, and monitor their level of understanding and mental maturity.

5. As your children grow, you experience the immense satisfaction of learning from each other.

Reading together begins a life-long journey of discover and education. Taking the time to read with your child shows that their education is important to you and sets them up for success in the future.

Huddle up with your family and ask, “What book should we read as a family?”