The Benefits of Reading to Children

Reading to young children is something that parents, carers and other family members have enjoyed for generations. Whether it’s as part of a bedtime routine or just as and when during the day, there are multiple benefits of reading to little ones, right from birth. 

In this article, we look at the main benefits and offer some top tips for reading to young children to help make it a fun and enjoyable experience for all. 

Looking at books together helps the parent and child bond

Life as a little one is all about exploring, and discovering the world around them and can be action-packed once your child is mobile. Taking time to regularly read to your little one from an early age can be a great way for them to wind down after doing something energetic and is essentially a period of time that you can spend one-on-one with them doing something calm. 

Lots of children look forward to story time because they can enjoy your full attention while looking at books together and it can grow into a comforting part of the daily routine. 

It can help spark the child’s imagination

Reading to little ones, especially as they start understanding more of the words, characters and descriptions that are part of the story, helps them to use their imagination as they go. This can involve:

• Transforming words that they hear into mental images.
• Introducing them to new and diverse characters, ideas and storylines so they can learn about different experiences and perspectives.
• Inspiring them to reenact parts of the story or invent new storylines based on the characters.
• Sparking curiosity about what happens after the story ends.
• Giving them an opportunity to ask questions about the story or characters and what happens, helping them engage on a deeper level.

Reading to your child provides routine and stability

Setting aside time every day to read to your child, or look at books together, can provide a sense of routine and stability to your little one. This can be especially useful if your child finds change quite challenging, as it means that this element of your day stays consistent even if you are in a different environment or if other parts of the day are not the norm. 

Reading together helps build learning foundations

Reading to your child and looking at books together from a young age can help to put in place learning foundations that can last a lifetime. Seeing books as a positive part of the day can be a great start to preparing them for more structured learning as they get older. 

It’s natural that reading to your child will develop them to follow along with the story themselves and can form the building blocks for them to learn to read for themselves. Reading to them can also help them to develop some basic:

• Listening skills
• Communication skills
• Thinking skills
• Literacy and numeracy skills.

Reading stories to them can help them to learn important principles such as cause and effect, that actions have consequences and some understanding of what might be right or wrong, and why. These things can all help your child to have a bit of a head start on learning important skills and logical thinking before they start school.

Reading to your child helps build their vocabulary

Reading to children can make a big difference to the number of words that they understand and can start to use themselves as they get older. While children’s books of course start with very simple language for little ones, they also often include some words that their parents or other people in their life might not use on a daily basis. Learning these words and what they mean can give them a greater range of vocabulary which can help them better express themselves and can assist when learning in school a bit later. 

Tips for reading to young children

Reading isn’t something that comes naturally to everyone, whether a child or an adult, and it can sometimes be a challenge to make it a positive, calm and enjoyable experience for all. Our top tips include:

• Make it a regular part of the daily routine. This doesn’t have to be bedtime; it can be any time that works for you and your schedule.
• Find a comfortable space to read together.
• Take time to process each page. Look at pictures together as well as reading the words.
• Ask your child what they think about parts of the story, especially if it’s introducing a new kind of topic or storyline to them. 
• Mix up the kind of things that you read to keep it interesting and sometimes you can go for wordless books when you make up your own story to the pictures.
• Take it at your little one’s pace. If you don’t finish a story, that’s fine. You can come back to it another time or when they are a little older.

Reading to your child if you have dyslexia

If you are a parent with dyslexia, you may not have had the most positive experiences yourself with reading as a child or as an adult. That doesn’t mean that you can’t still enjoy reading to and with your little one. You can try some of these tips:

• Get your child to choose the book ahead of time, such as the day before, so you have a chance to give it a read-through and make sure you are comfortable with it before you read it together. 
• Check any words you are unsure about beforehand; you can use a text-to-speech app to hear how your phone pronounces the word.
• Remember that it’s okay to make mistakes when reading and to take time to work out what a word or sentence says and means. You can do this together and it can help your child learn these skills at an early age too.
• Try to have fun with the stories you read to your child. You can change your voice for different characters and ask your little one which voice they think the character should have, laugh together about silly storylines and enjoy the time connecting with your child.

Experience a positive play and learning environment with Kids Planet

Kids Planet is a family-led group of early years settings across the UK. We know the value of reading and stories as part of learning, skill development and routine and we love supporting children to enjoy this as part of their time with us. 

If you’re looking for a safe, fun and nurturing setting for your child to experience all of the benefits of nursery and active learning through play, you can find your nearest nursery today.

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