LITERACY
(Oral) Speech to (Written) Text
The benefits of reading to your child cannot be overstated. Children who are read to from infancy have richer vocabularies, become better readers, and perform better in school than those children who were not read to. But maybe the simplest and most important reason you should read to your child is that it creates a special bond between the two of you. The American Academy of Pediatrics promotes reading as early as infancy. “Reading regularly with young children stimulates optimal patterns of brain development and strengthens parent-child relationships at a critical time in child development, which, in turn, builds language, literacy, and social-emotional skills that last a lifetime.” Reading is one of the few things a parent and child can share in almost any setting which fulfill the child's’ (constant!) need for more mommy or daddy time.
Put down the digital devices and open up a real book with your child. Studies have shown reading e-books do not provide children the same benefits as paper books. When you open up a book you are giving your child opportunities to learn to listen, express themselves, and make connections to new and exciting things.
Reading aloud to your child will also help him prepare his mind for success in school. Children learn to attend to the sounds that make up words and how we connect words to make sentences. Story books expose children to more complex grammatical structures and richer vocabularies than typical parent-child conversations do.
You are their child’s first teacher. Start them on the road to learning with reading.