The Benefits of Reading
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| It's still summer. All of you pumpkin worshipers, back off! |
I'm sure none of you will be surprised, but did you know that reading to children not only makes them more likely to be readers as adults, but it stimulates the brain development in young kids? And not just by a little bit. The effects of reading to little ones can be seen all the way into adulthood. Children who were read to are more likely to turn into readers and on average, will score higher on standardized testing over their non-reading counterparts.
There is also the bonus of creating long-lasting positive memories.
So, read to a child! (And no, it doesn't have to be one of your own to be beneficial. :)
Read Aloud is a national program in the US. Check out their website for ways you can volunteer or, if you have kiddos in your life, join the reading challengers or get hooked up with some free reads.
As authors, creating more readers should be priority #1. So, spread the love of words!
Don't believe me, listen to this smart guy.
I just got back from a two-day training on strengthening families. So good when day job and evening job merge...makes coming up with post ideas much easier. I always think of a million post ideas. Then I log on and just stare at the screen.
Elizabeth Spann Craig had a great post on blogging and suggested ending each post with a question. I'm not even going to waste my time asking a bunch of writers if they like to read, so...
What are you having for dinner tonight?
I have no idea. I'll find out when I get home.
ReplyDeleteMy mother read to me, and both my parents were readers, so no surprise I am also a reader.
Same. My parents read more than they watched TV. I thought everyone did.
DeleteI read to both my kids, but sadly it made no difference to their general avoidance of books :-(
ReplyDeleteI'm having salmon. My husband - who does the cooking - will probably pair it with some sliced roasted garlic potatoes and broccoli :-)
I did too and got a 50/50. Two are avid readers; two are not, but I'm noticing one of my reading averse is slowly becoming a reader lately. It only took 26 years.
DeleteI don't remember being read to as a child. Since my parents both worked, I'm thinking it was a no. When I did learn to read, my dad would take me to the library with him every Saturday. He'd leave me in the kid's library and go to the adult library to do work. I loved those Saturdays and when I could go to the library by myself, I spent a lot of time there.
ReplyDeleteI read to both my girlies. Neither one of them are readers. I blame their school. Beginning in 4th grade there were mandatory book reports each month. Specific genres and books. Some of them didn't appeal to my two so it was a fight to get the 🤬book read and the report written. I understood the teachers wanting to expose the kids to different genres, but I would have been happier if they let the kids pick whatever book they wanted to read.
I was fortunate enough to be the fifth child in my family. When my parents were too busy to read to me, I had big brothers and sisters who would.
DeleteI'm with you. Let kids choose. I was very lucky in that regard too. Most of my English teachers in junior high and high school had bookshelves full of books and you were allowed to choose from them. The teachers had to have read the book before it was approved. Evidently, all of my teachers were readers because there was always a big selection of books.
My mother read to me all the time and said I started talking and identifying animals in a book at 18 months. Reading to kids is SO important!
ReplyDeleteThe first book I remember my mom reading to me was the children's bible. I still have it.
DeleteI'm going to have to get someone to read to me:)
ReplyDeleteHa.Soup.
I've been listening to a lot of audio books lately...does that count?
DeleteI've been meaning to make some soup.
I was read to as an infant. I could read the alphabet at three and I started reading when I was four. My kindergarten teacher told my grandmother (grands raised me from birth) she should NOT be teaching me things like the alphabet, since it put me too far ahead of the rest of the class. My grandmother said something like the other children should catch up to me, not the other way around.
ReplyDeleteI read somewhere that if a child isn't read to by the age of three, they will likely not finish high school. So glad to read this post that brought back so many great memories for me.
Three cheers for your grandma! Kids should be propelled to reach their fullest potential at all times.
DeleteIt is very important to read to them, even if they may not remember it, there is a benefit.
Bedtime stories were especially memorable for me as a kiddo. One time, a guy successfully wooed me by reading to me at night - so romantic.
ReplyDeleteThey are some of my favorite memories too. I think reading time as so special too because it was calming as much as it was entertaining.
DeleteGood post to encourage reading. It is an essential thing.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was something an author should promote!
DeleteHope your weekend has been grand;)
ReplyDeleteIt has been wonderful. I hope yours has been too.
DeleteMy greatest pleasure, Elizabeth, was my years as a primary school teacher and introduced children to reading with so many books to chose from, and now I am writing those books and the children, now adults, are reading them x
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful! You more than anyone can appreciate the value of a good read for little ones.
DeleteSome of my best early childhood memories are reading with my mom. Thanks to her, books and the local public library became my refuges. Reading is a special kind of magic.
ReplyDeleteAs for what I'm having for dinner, I have no idea. I'm working an event tonight till 6 and hoping to convince the colleague I'm carpooling with to stop at my favorite taco joint on our way back to town.
I love the library. I rarely go there anymore since I found the online library, but when I do, that smell brings an instant smile to my soul.
DeleteI rarely know what I'll be eating. I hope you got your tacos.
Haha Love your question.
ReplyDeleteYears ago, I took a college class. It's focus was tutoring kids on reading. The program had originally been tutoring in whatever subjects the kids were struggling with. As they evaluated the kids needs, it turned out they were struggling in all those subjects because they couldn't read well. It's the core basis for learning.
Excellent point. Even math requires reading!
DeleteAbsolutely, yes to reading to children. The best way to ensure they become readers.
ReplyDeleteAnd we do love readers!!
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