Why Should You Read with Your Child?

Many Hollywood movies have a lovely scene where parents along with their children read an enthralling fairy-tale while tucked into a warm bed under a starlit night. I am enthralled by these scenes and want to turn them into reality. But as a parent, and a working mother I do have a sufficient set of excuses for not reading to my child. Today’s ‘tech-world’ offers sufficient distractions to reading like phone, tablets, video games and more and it’s quite easy for me to shove a tablet to the boy while I relax a bit. I always convince myself that a little bit of technology does no harm. But I need to also convince myself to follow a regular reading routine.  So here’s why I think we should read to kids daily:
Builds the parent-child relationship: While reading my little guy always is excited and tries to tell me stories based on the pictures. He listens to what I read, asks questions and we discuss possibilities for the various characters in the book. This helps us have a meaningful conversation just before bed to end the day on a positive note. Reading also makes me feel less guilty for the less time that I spend with him.
Increases knowledge: Children absorb a lot more than us adults and reading helps children to get acquainted with various topics about the world, the background of cultures, ethnicity, and traditions. It implies that the more they absorb new notions and information, the more curiosity they will have. When we read, my son asks a lot of questions that help develop his thinking ability.
Increases vocabulary: My simplest comparison of a book is with any new-age tech gadget – TV, tablets, phone. Most times, while with a tech gadget, children only tend to absorb and not use their brain. While a book offers, reading skills, spelling skills, and the child has to imagine the whole scene in his little head. And each child can have a different image for the same book. Imagine how many creative scenes we kill with technology! Repeating and re-reading the same books makes kids proficient in new words and their usage.
Develops values: Simple values like empathy and compassion can be easily developed through reading books with a child. By reading and clarifying different storylines children will familiarize not only with positive characters, and happy endings but also the presence of obstacles, difficulties and unpleasant circumstances in life. Those contrasts and oppositions in protagonists help children to put themselves in their places and recognize their feelings and emotions. So, both parents and children can share common feelings during the reading which serve to rally and strengthen their relationship.
Increases concentration: In order to dive into the story and grasp the whole scene, kids will try to listen carefully and focus their attention. Listening skills for a child can be at its peak during storytime. They also learn to respect and stay quiet when someone is speaking.
Apart from all these advantages of reading with children, parents should keep in mind that regardless of the activity the only model and example for a child are parents themselves. If your child has never seen anyone who reads in his or her surrounding, you should not expect that your child will fall in love with books. Moreover, even your child will learn how reading is essential to maintain strong bonds with each other.