Read to Your Child – No Matter How Young
It is never too early to read to your child. Even babies enjoy and benefit from the children’s books you read to them. They enjoy listening and interacting with you as you turn the pages of the book, point to the words on the pages, and look at the simple or colorful (and sometimes interactive) illustrations in the story. Children are exposed to (and learn) an enormous amount from the language they hear, even before they are able to speak.
Did you know according to the U.S. Department of Education, “…children who are read to at least three times a week by a family member are almost twice as likely to score in the top 25% in reading as kids who are not read to?”
There have been many studies which back up the fact that reading to your child (no matter how young) has a great deal of benefits. Below are some of the benefits:
• increase speech and language development
• introduces a child to communication
• introduces basic concepts (numbers, letters, colors, shapes)
• develops listening skills
• fosters vocabulary skills
• introduces a child to the world around them
• builds intelligence
So, ensure that your baby grows up to love and value literacy. Read to him often, create an environment filled with books, and model your own love for literacy!
This entry was posted on Saturday, February 28th, 2009 at 1:36 pm and is filed under Author's Blog, Resources & Insights. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
