Let's
Read! The Benefits of Reading to Your Children
By Nicole Niemiec
Parents, when you help
your children learn to read, you help them open the door to
a big, exciting world. As a parent, you can begin an endless
learning chain like this: You read to your children, they develop
a love of stories and poems, they want to read on their own,
they practice reading and, finally, they read for their own
information or pleasure. When children become readers, their
world is forever wider and richer.
Studies have shown that
children who are read to on a consistent basis begin to develop
both communication and thinking skills at a much younger age
than children who aren't read to on a consistent basis. In
addition, those skills continue to progress and develop much
more rapidly in children who are read to consistently. This
progression of skills will continue as long as you spend quality
time reading with them.
Children appreciate the
quality time you spend with them reading books and enjoy good
stories as well!
Here are some things you
can do to make sure you get your daily readings with your children:
- Read aloud to your children: books,
newspaper and magazine articles, the back of the cereal box,
labels on cans or directions -- anything with printed material
on it is appropriate.
- Read poems aloud together to learn
about rhythm and repeated sounds in language.
- Point to the words on the page when
you read. Move your finger from left to right.
- Listen to your children read homework
or favorite stories to you every day.
- Go to the library together and check
out books. Be sure to ask the librarian for good books or
to help you find what you need.
- Have books, magazines and papers around
the house, and let your child see that you like to read,
too.
- Encourage older children to read to
younger children.
- Help experienced readers talk and write
about what they read.
- Develop a quality nighttime ritual
of reading a few books with your children.
Remember, giving your
children a head start in life requires spending time with them
-- and part of that time should be spent with a good book!
(Some information for
this article provided by FDA Consumer Magazine)
About The Author:
Nicole Niemiec is founder of http://www.hatful-of-seuss.com -- one of the largest collections of Dr. Seuss merchandise
for sale on the Internet.
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