As a parent, it can be difficult to encourage your child to get into reading at a young age, especially when there are so many distractions around. But you may find that it is easier to get them involved in reading before they begin school, helping to make the transition a little smoother. In this blog, The Early Teacher discusses the 5 main benefits of encouraging your child to read more.
So, what are the 5 benefits of reading for kids? The 5 benefits of reading for kids include:
- Improved Language Skills
- Development of Imagination of Creativity
- Increased Concentration
- Cognitive Development
- Improved Parent and Child Relationships
Keep reading to find out more about how reading can improve your child’s confidence as well as which books are good for encouraging reading in children.
Page Jumps:
- 5 Benefits of Reading For Kids
- How Can Reading Improve a Kids Confidence?
- Which Books are Good For Encouraging Reading in Kids?
5 Benefits of Reading For Kids
When it comes to reading, parents are bound to be aware of how difficult it can be to keep their children engaged and entertained for a whole story. For some children, reading can be a breeze but for others, the whole process can be quite overwhelming, or even boring. Below we have detailed a range of benefits related to reading for kids so that you can see why it is worth persevering with your children when they are reading.
| Improved Language Skills |
One of the main benefits of reading for kids is that it can help them to improve their overall language skills. On a day-to-day basis, children tend to use regular phrases based on the routines they have. For example “Mummy, I am tired” or “Mrs Turner, can I go to the toilet please?”. Whilst these are still good examples of language use, it does show how their variation of vocabulary is quite limited.
A study found that by encouraging your child to read, you offer them the opportunity to learn new vocabulary, and express their emotions through different words. What’s more, reading may also give your children the confidence to start speaking more openly.
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| Development of Imagination & Creativity |
Another key benefit of encouraging your child to read is that it can help to improve the development of their imagination and creativity.
A 2011 study found that reading helps to develop creativity due to the opportunity of exploration. For example, a story may be based around a jungle theme, which could open your child’s mind up to all the different aspects of a jungle, resulting in them exploring more with their art work. This is significant because imagination and creativity are important skills that can be utilised at all stages of your child’s development through school and into young adulthood.
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| Increased Concentration |
Increased concentration is a further benefit to your child if they engage in reading on a regular basis. A
study from 2015 found that reading can directly stimulate the prefrontal cortex of the brain. This is important because the prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain that is responsible for decision making and concentration, alongside many other skills, take place in the brain. Increased concentration is a valuable skill that can help children develop through school and even be used within workplaces when children have grown up. Therefore, encouraging them to read more often in order to improve their concentration skills can be a huge help.
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| Cognitive Development |
A
study from 2014, discusses the correlation between children who are exposed to reading and therefore show signs of further cognitive development in comparison to those children at school, that have not been encouraged to read as vigorously. Therefore, it is clear to see that reading can make a significant difference to children and their cognitive development, which can support them through school.
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| Improved Parent and Child Relationship | One benefit of reading for kids that is quite often overlooked, is that it can help to bring you closer as parent and child. By taking the time to remove all distractions and have some quality reading time with your child, they will begin to notice the time and care you take to help them . What’s more, it will give you the opportunity to have something to talk about that is just between the two of you, which in turn can increase your bond even further. |
For more information on the importance of reading, take a look at the interesting TedTalk video below.
How Can Reading Improve a Kids Confidence?
Now that you are aware of how reading for kids can improve many cognitive and creative skills, you may be wondering whether reading can make a difference to your child’s confidence. The truth is that whilst reading improves various skills for your children, it can also improve their confidence as a result of this. A study from 2020, details how children’s confidence can increase significantly once they realise how they are slowly beginning to improve their skills.
For example, by encouraging children to read more often, they will gradually begin to understand how to pronounce more words, spell different words and also what different words mean. We have all experienced it when our child gets frustrated because they cannot get through the sentence because of that one word that they cannot quite get the grasp of. But, by consistently coming back to this sentence, and slowly working on pronunciation and reading daily, eventually your child will learn to get through the sentence. This in turn, will increase their confidence with reading, but also the overall confidence they have in themselves.
To learn more about how to improve your child’s confidence in reading, in order to boost their general confidence, take a look at the video below.
Which Books are Good For Encouraging Reading in Kids?
When it comes to choosing books that are good for encouraging your child to read, it is important to keep in mind their hobbies, interests and even the level in which they are currently able to read. This is because each of these factors can make a big difference as to which book you select to encourage your child to read more. Take a look below as some of the types of books that we recommend to encourage children to read.
Books for Children 6+ months:
If your child is 6 months or above and you are looking to introduce them to storytimes in order to prepare them for when they begin to learn to read, it is a good idea to introduce them to picture books to start with. For example, the Fabric Pram Book is designed for children who are around 6 months old and helps to stimulate their cognitive thinking. The book even has crinkle materials to help engage their interactions. Whilst this book does not contain any words, it allows for parents to create a story from the pictures which can help when babies are first learning to speak.
Books for Children 3+ Years:
For children ages 3 and above, you may be interested in investing in a book that has more educational value and encourages them to engage independently. The Solar System - Magnetic Book is a great way to do so due to it teaching children about the solar system whilst also being fun having magnetic interactive pieces. At this age, children may struggle to concentrate for long periods of time, therefore having the magnetic pieces can make the reading seem a little more fun for them but still provide them with the benefits of engaging in storytime.
Books for Children 5+ Years:
For children aged 5 or above, you may require a book that has a little more to it in terms of complexity in order to keep them entertained and stimulated. A book such as The DNA Factory | STEM Biology Story Book is ideal for this because through reading children get to learn the basics about DNA and how it works whilst also learning to read more complex words. This topic can be quite exciting for children which makes them more keen to read and therefore encourages the chances of the benefits of reading coming to fruition. What’s more, this book also coincides with a relevant board game. This is significant because it provides children the opportunity to use the language and knowledge that they have learned within the book.
Children’s Books at The Early Teacher
The Early Teacher appreciates the difficulty of encouraging children to engage in reading and story times. As a result, we stock a range of books for children of all ages that are interactive and fun too! If you are interested in taking a look at our range of reading books for children, in order to help with their development, don’t hesitate to click here.