Read Aloud to children of any age

Do you know, what is the easiest way to improve your child's chances at school and his ability to entertain himself for hours?
Reading.
 
It has been found that children who are read aloud to by parents get a head start in language and literacy skills and go to school better prepared. Language in books is very rich. A child who hears more sophisticated words has a giant advantage over a child who hasn’t heard those words. What happens during the first few years sets the stage for the rest of a child's life.

​And reading aloud to him since young age will help him get a head start and strengthen the bonds between him and you.

Take time to read aloud, in an engaging manner, to your child and see the magic work.

Reading aloud is like an advertisement for booksChildren love advertisements. Ads are engaging, entertaining and an invitation to try. Reading aloud to your child is like an ad for reading. A child who has been read to, will want to learn to read himself. He will want to do what he sees her parents doing.

Read aloud to older kids and teens too‘If my child is 9 year old, already knows how to read and loves reading, should I still read aloud to her?’

Children read at a different level from what they can listen at. A parent can and should read aloud a level or two higher (e.g. seventh grade books to fifth grade kid). They’ll get excited about the plot and this will be a motivation to keep reading. It is a great way to introduce classics, rich literature, which they’d otherwise not pick or find it difficult to appreciate.

​Reading aloud to your kids is also helpful in starting conversations with your child on difficult issues; bullying, choices, friendships, sorrow, examinations, peer pressure, sex, money etc. Parents can talk about the characters in the story, the choices they make and listen to what the child thinks about the situation and the character’s reaction to it.

Continuing to read aloud is important through a child’s teenage years too. Because, if you stop advertising, you stop selling. Kids have to read for school but all of their reading is what they ‘have to do’ for school, reading will not remain fun. They would be become a ‘have to’ school-time reader, not a ‘want-to’ life-time reader.

​Watch these 2 short videos for more on reading aloud to kids.