Why is reading aloud to our kids so important?

Reading to children for 15 minutes a day sounds simple, but the results are complex and permanent.  Extensive research has shown that if children hear words for two minutes daily, they will have heard 180,000 words a year, and with five minutes that becomes over 350,000 words in a year.  Young children can be read to at any age, even as infants, and will internalize the sounds of words with delight as long as the duration of reading coincides with a child’s natural attention span.  15 minutes a day is a small investment in time that yields substantial benefits for a lifetime – like a 401k vocabulary account for future literate success in life.

Reading aloud sharpens the imagination, creates healthy dialogue, and engenders in children a love of reading.  Children who learn to listen eventually learn to read, and literacy skills provide the basis for a lifetime of learning and productivity.  When children listen, they learn about their own lives and the stories of others around the globe.

In addition, reading to children strengthens the emotional bonds between the adult reader and the child, providing those positive parent-child connections is essential to a child’s psychological health and academic growth.