Why Read With Your Child?

1. Reading with your child aids in the development of literacy skills that form the foundation for successful reading in later years (Children’s Bureau , 2023). 
2. Moreover, through reading, your child can learn skills to better manage their emotions, and further develop their social skills (Schoppmann et al., 2023). 
3. Storytelling entails an immersive experience of fantasy and fiction, thus stimulating the child’s imaginative thinking (Niland, 2023). 
4. Reading is an excellent method in spending quality time with your child

Tips for reading with your child (Raising Children Network, 2023) 

1. Before Reading  
   1.  Have your child choose a book that they are interested in at the library or at the bookstore. 
   2. Ask questions about the book, e.g., “Why did you pick this book?”. 
2. During Reading 
   1. Make it fun – Vary your intonation and speed and adopt different voices and expressions depending on the character in the story. 
   2. Engage – Ask questions about the story and help them understand the characters’ perspectives. 
   3. Build connections between fiction and real-life – Draw parallels between the characters and observations in real-life situations, e.g., “We saw this bear in the zoo yesterday, didn’t we?” 
   4. Provide trivia information – Provide more information about the characters, like animals, or natural phenomena when applicable. 
3. After Reading  
   1. Reading-related activities – Consider other reading-related activities such as drawings or creating stories together. 
   2. Model good reading habits – Read more in front of your child to encourage them to read. 

 

References 

Children’s Bureau. (2023, May 11). Benefits & importance of reading to children: Children’s bureau. Child Abuse Prevention, Treatment & Welfare Services | Children’s Bureau. https://www.all4kids.org/news/blog/the-importance-of-reading-to-your-children/#:~:text=This%20is%20because%20reading%20to,language%2C%20literacy%20and%20social%20skills.  

Niland, A. (2023). Picture books, imagination and play: Pathways to positive reading identities for young children. Education Sciences, 13(5), 511. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13050511  

Reading with preschoolers. Raising Children Network. (2023, August 25). https://raisingchildren.net.au/preschoolers/play-learning/literacy-reading-stories/reading-with-preschoolers  

Schoppmann, J., Severin, F., Schneider, S., & Seehagen, S. (2023). The effect of picture book reading on young children’s use of an emotion regulation strategy. PLOS ONE, 18(8). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0289403  

Written by: Serena

Edited by: Keval

Reviewed by: Annabel, Joyce, Tiffany