Top 10 benefits of reading to your child

Lack of time, confidence as well as ability are to blame for some parents not reading to their children, according to the BookTrust. However there are many benefits of reading to children.

Of the 2,148 parents surveyed from low-income backgrounds (with children aged from birth to 7), 28% said they don’t find reading with their child easy.

Twenty per cent of parents said they don’t have time, while 21% said they don’t feel confident choosing books that their child will enjoy.

So it is not surprising that instead of reading with their children, screen time is being increasingly used instead by some parents to soothe, educate and entertain.

The World Health Organization does recommend that there should be no screen time for babies under 2 and no more than one hour of screen time a day for those aged 2 to 4. 

Screens are highly addictive and it is up to parents to ensure their child develops a healthy relationship with screen time. One way to do this is by replacing screen time with books.

Benefits of reading to children

Some parents underestimate the benefits of reading a book to their children.

However, reading aloud to your child has a variety of important benefits.

1. Improves their child’s cognitive skills.

2. Develops a child’s communication and language skills. The more books read, the more words your baby hears, the better they can talk. 

3. Fosters academic excellence. Research reveals that a baby’s earliest relationships and experiences (from birth to three) with parents, influences brain development, social-emotional skills, health and success in school and life.

4. Boosts a child’s imagination and creativity.

5. Improves a child’s concentration and focus.

6. Helps parents develop a regular bedtime routine with their child.   

7. Increases bonding and strengthens emotional connection between parent and child.

8. Enables parents to spend time with their child in an educational way. 

9. Reduces stress and helps parent and child relax. 

10. Makes children aware of books and helps develop their love and enthusiasm for reading.

85% of children whose parents read to them, will read themselves

A survey of families by the charity BookTrust reveals that when nursery children start school, 85% of children with enthusiastic reading parents enthusiastically read themselves. This is compared to 55% whose parents do not read to them.

The BookTrust reveals that for children aged from birth to seven years old enjoyment of reading is influenced by:

• Mothers (77% of children).
• Fathers (73%).
• Siblings (63%).
• Grandparents (61%).
• Aunts/uncles (39%).

For only 57% of children in school (aged 4-7), teachers are also among key ‘reading influencers’.

Benefits of reading to your baby

It is never too early to start reading to your child. Babies can benefit from being read to even when they are still in the womb.

The unborn child can benefit from listening to the sound of their parents’ voice. This is especially important for their fathers who (unlike pregnant mothers) are not in earshot of their child 24/7.  

One million neural connections per second is how quickly a child’s brain is developing between birth and age three.  

“Beginning early is important because the roots of language are developing in a baby’s brain even before he/she can talk”, according to the Zero to Three early years organisation. 

Though a baby may seem too young to understand, they enjoy being with you and the sounds of your voice and words.

Reading to babies when they are young increases the chances that parents will keep reading to them as they get older.  

How should I read to my child? 

• There are so many benefits that come from reading to your child. They enjoy it when you try and be expressive and use different intonation and voices for different characters when you read a book aloud.

• It can be such a lovely experience for you and your child as it is a time when you can sit and cuddle them and they will feel safe and connected to you.

• It is a good thing to do at bedtime when your child is sleepy and relaxed.

While children develop at different ages, below you will find tips on what to look out for in young children of different ages.

What should my child’s reading age be?

Birth to six months old

Aged from birth to six months, babies may come to recognize the book-sharing routine. When you show a book to your child and read to them, your child may become calm, widen their eyes, smile or kick to show excitement.

Babies will also want to explore books through their senses by grabbing and chewing on the book.

Newborns can only see black and white and grey. Therefore, you can get books for newborns that have black and white patterns.

Parents can use cloth books with sensory items such as squeaky buttons, pages made of different fabrics and textures. Such books provide sensory stimulation for children and help them interact with the book.

Parents can also take a break when their child gets bored. Signs a baby is bored include looking away, arching back, closing eyes or crying.

Six to nine months old

At the age of 6-9 months babies may begin to explore books by looking, touching, opening, closing and putting the book in their mouth.  

To make the reading experience more interactive, parents can, for example, use books with flaps in to help the child engage and interact with the book. 

Nine months+ 

By nine months, a child may prefer or seem to recognize certain stories or pictures. A baby may also mouth books as their way of exploring them.   

12 months+

At 12 months old, parents may start to ask simple questions about the pictures such as “Where is the flower?” and watch to see if the baby points to it.

18 months to 2 years  

Toddlers have a lot of energy and are often on the go. You may want to find a quiet time to read with your child, to reduce the chance for distractions. Many parents find the child’s bedtime is the most appropriate time to read to a child.

If they are being very active, you can link their movement to the story. For example, ask the child to jump like the frog in the book.  

You can discuss what’s happening in the pictures. Ask questions such as “Who is in the house?” This helps to develop a toddler’s thinking and language skills.

Get them to sound noises e.g. ‘Meeow’ if there is a cat in the story. A child may want you to read the same book repeatedly, which is normal.  

Aged 24-36 months

By three-years-old, a child may even be able to tell you the story based on what’s happening in the pictures.

You can ask questions about the story e.g. “What do you think will happen next?”  

Reasons parents don’t read to their child? 

There are numerous reasons why a parent may not read to their child.

Here are a few of the most common reasons. 

‘I don’t have time to read to my child’

Some parents do not read to their child because they feel they don’t have the time particularly after a busy day at work. They may have their time taken by other children who may compete for their time and attention.

By spending just 5-10 minutes reading to their child before bed, time poor parents can reap the rewards of bonding with their child and improving their child’s development.

One dad told the UK children’s reading charity, BookTrust: “Time is one of the biggest restrictors when it comes to reading. But I think bonding between you increases if you do. A couple of pages here and there makes all the difference.”

‘I don’t have many books to read’

If you don’t have many books and can’t afford to buy them at full retail price, you can:     

1. Go to your local library. It is a good place to start in order to enable you to borrow and return books. Get­ting your child a library card can get them excit­ed about books.

2. Visit your local charity shop for children’s books.  

3. Organise a book swap with other parents e.g. friends, work colleagues, neighbours.

4. eBooks are a more affordable than physical books and can be a convenient option for busy parents. eBooks can be accessed on a computer, tablet or smartphone via apps. Many are available to download for free. You can access more online with a library card.

‘I can’t read’ or ‘I don’t read well’

Some parents do not read to their child because they cannot read or are embarrassed about their reading ability.

According to adult literacy charity ReadEasy, 2.4 million adults in England cannot read at all or struggle to read. Many people do not tell anyone that they cannot read.  

A parent may not read very well or at all, perhaps because they are dyslexic. Maybe they did not go to school or missed lots of school due to illness.

They may not be able to read a children’s book to their child perhaps because English is not a language they learned to read in.

Parents for whom English is not a first language may be reading in another language to their child to develop their bilingual skills. But reading books aloud in English is also important. 

What to do if you can’t read

There are a number of resources available to people who cannot read to their child but would like their child to be read to.

This includes:

1. Adult literacy charity ReadEasy helps people who cannot read or struggle to read well. The charity has volunteer trained coaches available who you can regularly meet in a public place that suits you both. Reading sessions are held twice a week, for half an hour at a time. To find your local ReadEasy group click here or telephone 01388 435 021.

2. Audio books on websites such as Audible etc, ensure parents and children can listen to children’s stories being read aloud by others. 

3. Cbeebies Bedtime Stories are available on BBC iPlayer. Popular children’s books are read aloud by celebrities. This enable parents to be present with their child while they both listen to a bedtime story.     

Mum hid ‘Sleeping Beauty’ book because she couldn’t read

Mother of three Sarah Todd told BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, that she was ashamed of being unable to read to her children. Her shame led her to hide copies of ‘Cinderella’ and ‘Sleeping Beauty’ in the back of her wardrobe.

Sarah Todd said: “It kind of broke me. Your children, you sit down with them and you read with them and you read bedtime stories and you have all this fun and you take them to the library. For me that was a living nightmare.”  

Sarah’s difficulties with reading started in her first year of primary school, when she was often sick and off school. Dyslexia hindered her ability to read.

“I used to get upset in class because I didn’t understand why I couldn’t make sense of things when everyone else seemed to have no difficulty.” 

When she became a mum, she began to dread the idea of reading bedtime stories to her children. She decided to contact adult literacy charity ReadEasy when her twin daughters were five-years-old. 

The mum has since written a book called ‘My Dyslexic Journey’ and is an ambassador to ReadEasy.   

Sarah said: “There was a time when I would panic or change the subject when it came to reading with my twin daughters.

“I have always struggled, but to deny your own children the chance to hear you read to them was heart wrenching.

“It’s the best feeling in the world to be able to read with your children’.