Snuggling up and reading a book to your kids opens up a world of possibilities. At The Breakie Bunch Learning Center, we can’t stress enough the importance and fun of reading. Through the magic of reading stories, your children have the opportunity to slay dragons, work on a farm, discover the depths of the sea, and anything else you might imagine. Not only is it a fun way to bond and create routines, but it also helps tackle learning objectives and sets your child up for success from the moment you open the cover.
Reading Stories Supports Literacy and Language Skills
Perhaps the most obvious, but one of the most important, benefits of reading books to kids is that it promotes literacy skills.
Literacy skills go beyond learning to read words on a page – they include:
- Receptive comprehension
- Expressive language development
- Writing fluency
Receptive comprehension refers to what children understand when you’re talking to them. This is essential to everyday life, even from a health and safety perspective. Receptive comprehension can be as simple as listening to what adults say when telling kids not to run into parking lots or cross the street without holding someone’s hand. So, reading books to kids is not only important, it’s essential.
Expressive language development is how children learn to speak and communicate. Typically, receptive comprehension develops earlier than expressive language. Reading stories helps little ones learn words, phrases, and even inflection and speaking styles that can help effectively communicate their wants and needs.
Writing fluency is another important literacy skill. Reading and writing go hand-in-hand, and reading books to kids helps them recognize letters, see how different words are structured, and understand how to use writing to communicate alongside their speech.
Learning Social-Emotional Skills with Reading
Reading stories helps teach valuable social-emotional skills such as empathy. Books feel so magical because they relay different and important messages, from learning to share to developing compassion. Characters in children’s books are often written to be relatable and reflective of what little ones might encounter, so books are helpful in addressing personal issues and current events that are hard to navigate.
Books Help Children Develop Critical Thinking Skills
Developing imagination and pretend-play skills is another developmental milestone that reading stories can help with. Imagination isn’t just about making up pretend worlds and make-believe friends; it’s also how preschoolers learn to problem-solve and make sense of the world around them. Reading books to kids gets the gears turning and eventually help them with critical thinking, relationships, and even self-esteem.
Bonding With Your Kids by Reading Stories
In addition to all the valuable benefits listed above, reading books to kids simply brings people together. It allows you the opportunity to get close to your little ones and strengthen your bond with them. As your children age and go through different experiences, books will help you tackle different topics that might be hard to talk about.
From navigating the tough parts of growing up to establishing a routine that helps your little one go to bed, reading books to kids is priceless. So, get cozy under the blankets, cuddle up with your favorite little person, and open up a world of endless imagination.