ParentingHub

My parents read to me every night and we read to our kids. You can start reading to children right from the moment they are born. Infants love to hear the voices of their parents. Curiosity, creativity and imagination are all developed while being read to.

To encourage children to read you can surround them with reading material. Tempt your kids to read by having a large supply of appropriate books and magazines that would appeal to them. Put the reading materials in cars, bathrooms, bedrooms, family rooms, and even by the TV.
Make reading an integral part of your children's lives. Have them read menus, roadside signs, game directions, weather reports and other practical everyday information. Also, make sure they always have something to read in their spare time when they could be waiting for appointments or riding in a car.

Reading aloud to your children and encouraging them to read helps them develop in the following ways:

Reading exposes kids to new vocabulary. Even when they don't understand every new word, they absorb something from the context that may deepen their understanding of it the next time the word is encountered. When parents read aloud to children, the children also hear correct pronunciation as they see the words on the page.

Basic Listening Skills are improved. Some children don't have the ability to sit still long enough to listen to a story. Reading will let a child get used to sitting still and will learn to concentrate on a book.

Provides fun and entertainment. Reading can provide children with endless hours of fun and entertainment. Stories can free up imaginations and open up exciting new worlds of fantasy or reality. They allow children to dream and may give them a good start on the road to viewing reading as a lifelong source of pleasure, so read to your young children every day. Children are also introduced to new concepts such as colours, shapes, numbers, and alphabet, in a fun, age appropriate way.

Encourages Parent-Child Bonding. Reading aloud also creates a special time for parents to bond with their children. Cuddling together for a bedtime story, you'll be helping your children develop a lifelong appreciation for reading. Children's self-esteem also grows as they experience the security of having a parent or other caring person read aloud with them.

If a child wants to hear the same story over and over again, don't worry about it. Children take comfort from the familiarity and predictability of a beloved story that they know by heart. There's no harm in that. Reread old favourites and, at the same time, introduce your children to new stories. Your child's mind and heart have room for both.

The more children read, the better they become at reading. It's as simple as that. The more enjoyable the things they read are, the more they'll stick with them and develop the reading skills that they'll need for full access to information in their adult lives. Reading should be viewed as a pleasurable activity - as a source of entertaining tales and useful and interesting factual information. It enhances the development of their spoken language skills, their ability to express themselves verbally.

It encourages a child to be comfortable with books and reading - this will lead to a lifelong love of books and learning!