Does Child Reading help with
Development and Education?

Yes, Child Reading is critical and you have the key role as parents. Help your child become a more successful reader by reading to him OR her from the time your child is born. Research has shown that it works better than any other technique. When you read with your child before they go to sleep at night, stay around and spend the time reading with them.

The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play. So we sat in the house all that cold, cold, wet day. I sat there with Sally. We sat there, we two. And I said, "How I wish we had something to do!"

-from The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss -

I've got an idea, why not read? In this society we are so quick to allow our children to watch too much television, play all of those video games. Our kids are spending entirely too much time on the computer. What happened to reading a book? We have got to regain control and understand the importance of child reading.

Parents we have got to discipline our family and make reading a top priority. I see that even the schools are trying to encourage more reading at home with book challenges and contests. Let's start creating a world filled with "book worms". The process begins at home and with you.

Some tips to help structure Child Reading in your home:

• Provide a good "reading" role model-- YOU! Read yourself and as a family structure and read often to your child or toddler.
• Have plenty of child reading material--some for enjoyment, and some for learning interests.
• Encourage activities that require reading--for example, cooking (reading a recipe), building a kite (reading directions), or identifying an interesting bird's nest or a truck.
• Establish a reading time, even if it is only 10 minutes a day. Be consistent.
• Write notes to your child; even younger children, (you can read them the notes) encourage written responses, from your older children.
• Ask your child to bring a library book home to read to a younger sibling.
• Establish several evenings a week for reading (instead of television viewing).
• Encourage your child in ALL reading efforts.

Consistency is The Key

The biggest mistake we make as parents is not being consistent in our support of reading. If you want your child to be kind, you have to model kindness every day. We can do the same thing with reading. If we layer one positive experience on top of another, we are building a strong foundation for life. Especially when a child is very young, it is the sound of your voice, not the words, that they love. Helping our children develop these life-critical skills begins with conversations and a commitment to read aloud every day.

The bottom line is this, we must be reading role models to our children. We are the key to why they will learn to love reading and become excellent readers in the future. The love of reading will encourage the love of education and striving to be the best student they can be. We cannot be lazy readers.... we must be proactive and involved in their reading.

Most people think children learn how to read through their Eyes. But reading is actually learned through the Ears. Parents lay a foundation for success in reading by talking to a child, reading books to her, and playing auditory games such as rhyming. The more books you read, the bigger their vocabulary becomes.

I want to encourage parents to begin the road to child reading today. It's never to late to begin. This gift is priceless. Our children are the future and reading can open up so many doors for imagination and education. My toddler loves books and has started reading at a young age. So start now creating a whole new world filled with little "book worms".

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