The Importance of Reading to Young Children

Read aloud. Hearing the the sounds are important to them, especially for infants and very young children. Reading aloud also makes it fun and gives live to the story you read and the characters in it. As your children listen and see what you read, they also learn to read. Finally, as you read aloud you are creating lasting bonds that you and your children will cherish for a long time.

Choose age appropriate books as your children grow. Board books with simple pictures, short texts and a variety of shapes, colors and/or sounds are good choices for babies. As your child grows, you may want to choose books with longer stories.

Create a reading routine: make a special time to read to your children. Bed time is ideal for this. Have your child pick a book if s/he is old enough and read in the same room everyday.

Let them participate: let your children interrupt if they have questions, let them comment as your read or add their special remarks in connection to something they just watched on TV...

Let your children know your enthusiasm as you read (avoid monotonous tone) so they understand you like reading yourself and that you think reading is important, books are fun and important too.