I have always been an advocate for reading, especially for young children.  Some of my best childhood memories involve reading or being read to.  Reading aloud to your children has so many amazing benefits.  Some of the benefits are for you as well!  Let’s check out the importance of reading aloud to your child!

Benefits of Reading Aloud to your Children

1. Builds motivation, curiosity and memory

It’s so fun to see your child engage in a book!  One of our favorite’s is “Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see?”  One of the first skills little man learned with his speech therapist was learning to say “me” at the end of each page.  Reading aloud helps with memory, as well as curiosity and motivation!

2. Helps children reduce stress

Reading helps to calm you down.  Reading can reduce stress by up to 68%!  That is a resource all of us can benefit from!

3. Transports Children to Places & Times

Through books, we are able to explore new places and times that we have never been!  Whether it is a book about a foreign country or a specific time in history, being able to transport to another place in time is amazing!

4. Creates a positive association of books!

Reading aloud to your children will cultivate a lifelong love of reading.  What better away to instill that love of reading than sharing that moment with them at an early age!  One of our favorite ways to encourage reading is by using personalized books.  It is so fun for the kids to see their name and picture in a book!

5. Reading with your children sets them up for academic success!

There have been countless research studies that have shown that reading to young children helps them succeed by getting them ready for school! The more you read to your children, the more they learn.  They learn everything from colors, shapes, phonics, geography, math, and more from every book they read!

6. Improved language skills

Thinking of phonics, by reading to your children you are constantly expanding their language.   Through books, we learn words that we may not use in our everyday dialect.  If you are reading books that are explore multiple languages, you are also teaching them how to be bilingual at an early age!

7. Build’s a stronger Family Bond

Every night, we sit down together before bed and read a book with our children.  The older ones now read to themselves, but even that is because they were read to early.  Those moments of cuddling up before bed to read a good story are priceless for our children and ourselves.

8. Improves Creativity and Imagination

Reading books helps grow your child’s imagination.  They want to be a fairy, a fireman, or maybe even a silly monster.  They are encouraged by the characters and stories within those pages to be as creative as they want!

9. Reading together encourages Reading as an Adult!

Even though our children may not all want to be read to (a.k.a the teenagers…lol), they still read to themselves at bedtime.  As an adult, I still read before going to bed because that was a life long routine my parents instilled in me.  I love knowing that those fond memories we are creating with our children will benefit them for the rest of their lives!

10. Reading Books are Fun!!

Last, but surely not least, reading is fun!  Having someone else read to you give you the complete opportunity to let your imagination run wild! That’s why even as an adult, I love listening to a great audio book!  Companies like AudioBooks provide an endless supply of books to listen to for children and adults!

These 10 Benefits that Promote The Importance of Reading Aloud to your Children are truly amazing.  Which one was your favorite?  Let us know in the comments below!