Four Great Reasons to Read to a Child Every Day

We all know reading to children is a good thing, but how familiar is your program with the specific advantages an Early Head Start or Head Start child can receive by being exposed to the merits of reading? Below are some benefits that highlight the importance of reading to children in your early learning program:

Basic speech skills:

Throughout Early Head Start and Head Start, children are learning critical language and enunciation skills. By listening to you read, you reinforce the basic sounds that form language. “Pretend reading”, when a toddler pages through a book is a very important pre-literacy activity.

Better communication skills:

When you spend time reading toddlers, they’ll be much more likely to express themselves and relate to others in a healthy way. By witnessing the interactions between the characters in the books read, as well as the contact with you during story time, children gain valuable communication skills.

Mastery of language:

Early reading for infants and toddlers has been linked to a better grasp of the fundamentals of language as they approach school age.

Academic excellence:

One of the primary benefits of reading to Early Head Start and Head Start children is a higher aptitude for learning in general. Numerous studies have shown that children who are exposed to reading before Kindergarten are more likely to do well in all facets of formal education.

Books have the power to benefit Early Head Start and Head Start children in a myriad of ways. Reading to children is one of the most important things your program can do to prepare for a foundation for academic excellence.

As Dr. Seuss said, “The more you read, the more things you will know, the more you will learn the more places you will go.”

Tags: reading, school readiness