English

Reading with your children

Reading to your child is one of the most successful ways of instilling a love of reading in them.  But in recent studies, more than one-quarter of primary school aged respondents claimed they were rarely read to at home.

Children typically enjoy being read to, and see educational, social and emotional benefits to the practice.  But families are busy, and finding time to read aloud can be eaten up by the demands of everyday life.  

With this in mind, here are five suggestions that can help make the experience of reading to your children fun, relaxing and educational.

1. Give it all your attention

For many families, the best time to read is at night, once the children are in bed.  Whatever the time, it's important to give the book and your children all of your attention.  Phones and other devices with enabled notifications should be switched off.  Everyone should associate time spent being read to with enjoyment.  The more often children are read to, the more substantial the benefits.  

2. Engage with the story

Children don't typically enjoy having the story stopped every few seconds for comprehension checking, so we suggest you keep interruptions to a minimum.  But recapping is useful after a break, let the children provide, "Where are we up to?''  "What do you think might happen next?" Sharing your response to a book and encouraging children's responses stimulates critical thinking.  

3. There is no age limit

Reading to your children remains important beyond the early years with continuing benefits for literacy development and cognitive skills.  Very recent research found struggling adolescent readers can make remarkable gains on their reading comprehension when books are read to them at school and at home.  This is perhaps due to the opportunity for students to enjoy books that too hard for them to read. themselves.

4. Pick a book you both enjoy

It's a good idea  to take your children to the library and model how you choose interesting books for shared reading.  Many primary and secondary school children are overwhelmed by choice when they attempt to pick what books to read independently, so helping them with this is a valuable skill.

5. Don't worry about your style

Not all of us are destined to be award-winning voice actors, and that's okay.  Being taken into the virtual reality of story is a memorable, pleasurable experience that stays with us forever.  Reading aloud provides parents with a valuable opportunity to slow down, relax and share the wonderful world of books with their children.