All ages benefit from reading aloud

When we think of reading aloud to children, we
picture holding a baby on our lap, simple little board book in hand. The
newest thinking, however, is that children of all ages benefit from
being read to - and that includes the adults doing the reading.

All ages benefit from reading aloud D79e0abd32

According to the Department of
Education Commission on Reading, "Reading aloud to children of all ages
is the single most important activity for building knowledge and
success" a parent can do for their child.

All ages benefit from reading aloud 697de2fe36

Despite knowing that even
middle and high school children are not too old to be read to, more than
one-third of children older than 6 say their parents never read to
them. However, these same parents will watch a movie or video with their
child.

The reasons why reading aloud to your child are so important are basically the same reasons why talking to children are:

Reading aloud is comforting and reassuring to a child

.

It informs your child and explains the world around them

.

Being read to arouses curiosity and imagination.

It

strengthens reading skills and vocabulary skills when your child hears someone else read to them.

A child who is read to will learn to read better on his or her own and at a younger age.

Children
can learn what good grammar and good writing is, as well as how
language can sound, when a well-written book is read to them. It also
increases their writing skills.

A child who does not have
the attention span to read by themselves for a long time can increase
their attention span when they are read to.

Being read to promotes imagination by visualization of what a child hears; for instance, a description of a character.

It increases listening comprehension. Listening
comprehension must come before reading comprehension; a child must
first learn to understand a concept by hearing it (and therefore "seeing
it" in their brain).

All ages benefit from reading aloud C8f5481d76

Nonreaders learn the conventions of reading: we read left to right, top to bottom.

Children who have been read to at home enter school with larger vocabularies and understanding of concepts.

Reading aloud is like an advertisement for reading. It helps give children a taste of what's possible.

As children get older, even
good readers might lose interest. Therefore, reading aloud to an older
child will renew and refresh their interest in the printed word

.

Adults benefit when they read
aloud to their children because it is a time to bond over a shared
pleasure: a book enjoyed by the whole family

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