Benefits of Reading with Your Children at Home and Exposing Them to Literature at a Young Age

"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go." Dr. Seuss

Children introduced to reading early on tend to read earlier and excel in school compared to children who are not exposed to language and books at a young age. Reading is at the heart of all formal education and there are many advantages of developing early reading ability, such as : social, linguistic, neurological, educational, and psychological. Even though we can’t expect infants and toddlers to learn to write and read yet, they are nevertheless developing skills that provide a foundation for later literacy. Share books with your very young child and support emerging literacy as you expose your child to new words and increase their vocabulary, familiarize them with symbols and pictures, talk to them about it and let them interpret the context using their own words. You'd be amazed how big their imaginage is and how well they can articulate and describe what they see in the pictures. Sometimes getting children interested in reading can be a struggle, but don't give up. Here are a few tips on how you can get your kids interested in storytelling.

• Try to be funny. For younger kids rhyming books are a great way to start. Have no shame when you read aloud, try doing accents, take dramatic pauses, modulate your voice. 
• Dedicate time to reading. Include reading in your daily routine, make it a ritual. If your kid is not a sit still kid, even 10 minutes of reading is better than nothing.
• Let your kids choose their own books. By letting your children choose what they are going to read they can improve their self-esteem, independence and critical thinking abilities. 
• Storytelling doesn’t just mean reading. There are many other ways how you can get your children interested in stories, you can play audiobooks in a car or listen to storytelling podcasts. Try to keep your kids engaged by asking them open ended questions about the characters, questions that children can't answer with a yes or no.
• Make reading interactive. Ask your children's opinions on what they are reading.
• Ask older children to help younger ones with reading. This is not just a great practice for younger children but it will also boost older kids confidence.
• Always lead by example. Seeing you read will encourage your children to do the same.

Below you can find an interesting article on "Why Reading Aloud to Kids Help Them Thrive". Also you can enjoy listening to a few stories read by our amazing team members.

https://www.pbs.org/parents/thrive/why-reading-aloud-to-kids-helps-them-thrive

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