Parenting 101: Reading to your child before bedtime!

Research has shown that reading out loud to children is the single most important thing a parent can do to prepare a child for future academic success...

Like most parents out there, I want to start my kids off right. I want to give them a strong foundation and teach them the true rights and wrongs; which I'm not really convinced most people can differentiate anymore. Not only does research from big name universities and doctors prove that reading does this but I know first hand..

As a kid was a special reading time with my parents and that created a special bond between them and I. It not only created a love for books but it strengthened the love in our family. I had two hard working parents with 9-5 jobs but this little 20 to 30 minutes a night of reading was the highlight of my childhood.

Now as a parent, I've never felt more proud when I'm reading along with my two children. The benefits are priceless and I have found when I am reading to my kids, the following techniques help boost productivity:

- Point to the words on the page when you read. Move your finger from left to right.
- Create a routine for your child! For example: brushing the teeth, have a story read to them and then fall sleep.
- Pronounce difficult vocabulary or discuss meanings of words your children might not know. Encourage a child to ask when they do not understand something.
- If your children don't fall asleep immediately, pose some questions to make sure they understand the meaning and are able to comprehend. Discuss their favorite parts or characters!
- If able, let your children turn the pages of the books. It gets them involved and encourages them to pay attention!

I have noticed that my kids are starting to use and understand more and more "big people words" since I started reading these simple kids books to them. They are just average kids that really love stories about cute little critters. The words flow smoothly and each volume offers over 100 pages of reading material that you can stretch out over weeks by just reading a chapter every night. This is what my kids look forward to every single night, and I even look forward to it as well!

Check out these cute, little educational stories and more information now!

Remember parents, when you help your children learn to read, you help them open the door to a new, exciting world that they can treasure for the rest of their life!

-Children who read: succeed. The most significant part of a child's mental growth between the ages of three and seven is the ability to imagine. Books boost imagination. Our popular television culture degrades imagination.

-TV and video are now our national babysitters. But a young child's growing mind needs active play and live conversation. Television puts a child into what neurologists call the passive Alpha state. A child cannot learn from screens because programs are meant to sell products not to teach.

-Much like the first news about tobacco and cholesterol, early studies now link overdoses of TV, video games and pop music with learning disabilities, attention deficiency, speech defects and aggressive behavior.

-Screen watching makes a child a follower and a consumer. Books exist because of the power of human ideas. Readers are leaders and producers.

Advantages of Reading over Watching TV

1. "Much TV watching is extremely simple learning. The quick change of
visuals and the fast pace of the scenes causes the visuals to dominate
the language. Children don't ask questions. Whereas, when children
read and turn away to ask a question, the book is still there when
they turn back.

2. TV breaks attention into 30 second breaks - at most a few minutes -
breaking attention spans into small parts. Reading causes children to
want to spend more and more time concentrating. As they get better,
attention spans lengthen.

3. Reading emphasizes higher level learning and hierarchies of ideas.
TV has few hierarchies. It usually operates at a simplistic level of
emotional reaction, so that anyone can surf at any time and know what
is going on.

4. TV lauds simple solutions. Reading emphasizes hierarchical thinking
and detail. It builds an appreciation of complexity."

The State of Media Education
New Mexico Media Literacy Project
http://www.healthyyork.org/hycc/pages/TVguide.pdf

Check out my new blog, I'm hoping to do a day-to-day post talking about how my children are progressing a long and what they think so maybe you can base it on a discussion with your children!

Check it out!