The Importance of Reading Aloud
Encouraging Literacy Development From An Early Age
Why reading aloud to your child can develop a foundation for fantastic literacy skills and foster a love for literature.
A child’s brain develops faster during the early years and like a sponge soaks up information willingly and with great enthusiasm. That is why it is remarkably important to begin reading aloud to your child from a very early age.
Benefits
The main benefit associated with this is that a child is able to base their foundation of learning upon the first experiences they have with literature. This is because literacy development begins before formal schooling and parents have the greatest impact and capability to promote this. Children read to from an early age on a regular basis have better listening skills and are able to articulate clearer and more concisely. They also have less risk of developing speech difficulties and have an increased familiarity with the written language.
Children’s skills in reading and writing develop at the same time and are interrelated rather than sequential,(Teal and Sulzby 1986). That means that whilst a child begins to recognize small words and phrases he also begins to use them himself, either in his vocabulary or in his first written printing.
Those associated with literature from early childhood are more likely to achieve academic success later in life, as consistent readers become successful and confident writers later on. A child encouraged to question and query the motives of a character or an author, begins his first steps towards independent thought and opinion. These comprehension skills will stand him in good stead when formal schooling begins and also for the rest of his life.
How to foster a love for literature.
A familiar routine established from an early age can help to encourage a child to look forward to story time, as a way to end a day or as a form of bonding with a parent. This ‘special time’ can be filled with discovery as new words are learnt and their meanings revealed, a fantastic excuse to introduce a dictionary. It also helps to read the same story repeatedly as children learn from repetition and will enjoy the different characters’ voices and will often look forward to the next page.
Story time also helps inter-family relations as regular communication between parent and child forms a strong basis of mutual respect. It becomes a forum where aspects of everyday life can be discussed and learnt about in a relaxed manner, in this way topics such as bullying and road awareness can be introduced and made familiar.
How to choose an age appropriate book.
A parent should determine the type of book that will be read, however some genres or subjects might be beyond the child’s limit of understanding. Whilst it is important to stretch a child’s mind it is also important to not skip the basics. A child’s age and ability to understand will decide the appropriate book to be read. Picture books and those focusing on numbers and colours are best to begin with as they introduce sound and pronunciation.
Asking the local librarian or book store attendant is also helpful as they can choose the most popular book for a specific age group. Consider the classics, books that were enjoyed by a parent at that age and also recommendations from friends or other children. A child should be allowed to borrow books himself, with his own library card and also to browse book stores as well. In this way he can begin to develop his own taste in reading, whether it is fictional or not. Children will often choose subject matter that interests them, in any case it will open them up to a world of literature and form a strong foundation for further education.
