From Hillary Clinton's Too Small to Fail: Reading Aloud to Children
Reading
aloud to children from birth has many benefits for both parents and
children—and can be great fun! No matter how young, children can learn a
lot when they are read to, and benefit a great deal from the cuddling
and bonding that accompanies a reading session. In addition, the act of
reading aloud to children is highly beneficial to both their vocabulary
growth and in preparing them for school later on.
Even from birth,
children are absorbing language by listening to their parents and
caregivers talk, read and sing to them and others. When parents and
caregivers read to their children, they help instill a love of learning
and language in their children that helps build self-esteem, confidence
and curiosity. According to research by the National Institute of Child
Health and Human Development (NICHD), reading has been found to be the
“single most important skill” for a productive life.
Unfortunately,
according to Read Aloud 15 MINUTES, only 48% of young children in the
United States are read to each day. And studies have shown that as many
as 10 million children struggle with basic reading in school.
Parents
and caregivers can inspire a love of books in their young children by
reading books together every day, in any language. And it doesn’t matter
how young the child is; even newborn babies show interest and
excitement when their parents read simple books to them as they cuddle
or nurse them, or when parents describe the pictures in a book during a
short play session. No matter the book—and no matter the age—children
will learn to love reading if it means spending more time with loved
ones.
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INFOGRAPHIC
This beautifully illustrated infographic has great info on reading aloud to children, and why it matters. >><
