8 Benefits of Reading Aloud To Your Kids

Before my children could recognize even the smallest of words on a page, they were taught the valuable elements of a story. Ones that took them on adventures, taught them truths about the world we live in, allowed them to step into a character’s shoes, and ones that instilled a sense of wonder. 

All those musings, nestled deep within pages of books as they sat and listened. 

It wasn’t until my children entered the preschool ages that I gained insight into just how meaningful it is to read to my children. I believe that no other device, person, or toy can create the same sense of engagement and curiosity that a parent reading aloud to a child can.

After reading Sarah Makenzie’s, The Read-Aloud Family: Making Meaningful and Lasting Connections with Your Kids, I was again reminded how powerful this simple act of sitting and reading aloud to my children is. 

For the past year, we’ve made a significant effort to read aloud good quality books to our children every day. Being a voracious reader, my husband knew the transforming power that a book can create and desired to instill that quality in our young children as well. It was he who suggested that our homeschool philosophy for our first year prioritize reading aloud to our children. And I’m so glad he did!

You don’t need to be a teacher or even a homeschooling Mama to do this well, you just need a few minutes of uninterrupted time, an open mind, some books that your children love, and the persistence to stick with it even if it is just for short bits of time. 

Here are 8 reasons that I’ve learned about why reading aloud to my children is such an important part of our day.

8 Reasons Why Reading Aloud to Your Children is Powerful

Reading allows children to begin to recognize concepts of print- When babies and toddlers are read aloud to, they begin to recognize what reading is all about. They observe that books are made up of pages where there is a top and bottom, the pages are filled with letters, and letters are put together to make individual words. My toddler son can’t read yet, but knows how to hold a book correctly, whether or not it’s upside down, and that the little words on a page tell a story. This early exposure to books lays the groundwork for children to begin reading themselves as they develop awareness of sounds, words, and written language. 

“We need our kids to fall in love with stories before they are even taught their first letters, if possible, because everything else—phonics, comprehension, analysis, even writing—comes so much more easily when a child loves books.”

― Sarah Mackenzie, The Read-Aloud Family: Making Meaningful and Lasting Connections with Your Kids

Reading encourages children to make connections- When children are read to, their minds try to make meaning of what they are hearing– forming connections that help them to remember one thing to another. My daughter recently told me as we were reading our animal dictionary, “A rhinoceros is like a hippo because they both like to roll around in the mud and use the mud for sunscreen!”. She remembered those two separate facts that she learned on two different days, but made a connection because she was piecing together something she had already heard. 

Reading creates a more inquisitive personality- Have you ever counted the amount of times your child asks “Why” in one day?! I haven’t either, but am often flabbergasted with the frequency that it occurs! Most often, my daughter isn’t trying to annoy me with her “whys” but wants to make sense of what she’s heard. When children are read to, they are constantly trying to sort out new information into different schemas in their brains, placing them in categories of what they already know. 

Reading aloud is an invitation for conversation between parent and child- Every parent has their way of connecting and bonding with their children.  For me, one way is by reading to them as they’re snuggled up next to me. What I love about this time is the conversation that it allows us to have. I could just read the books straight through without any additional dialogue (and sometimes I’m guilty of this when I’m more tired), or I can ask questions along the way and use the lessons we read about as opportunities to talk about them afterwards. 

There are so many ways that a parent can use this time to build a strong relationship with their child, through discussion of right/wrong, good/evil, telling memorable parts of the story, making connections, and talking about other’s perspectives. Reading aloud opens the door for great conversations that may otherwise not happen. 

Reading can be an escape for the parent and a low-pressure situation for the child- There are honestly very few relaxing moments during the waking hours of my young children, but when I am sitting and reading aloud to them, this allows us all to embrace a more calm activity and focus our attention on reading and listening. 

Sitting and reading “bursts the bubble of tension”, as children’s author Mem Fox calls it, and also releases the pressure of vigorous learning, so that when the tension is gone learning happens. Sometimes we all sit snuggled up with blankets on the sofa, other times the kids enjoy a snack at the table as I read, and there are even days where we bring a blanket and a stack of books to the backyard under a shade tree to read. Wherever it is, make it a relaxing experience that you can all enjoy!

Reading a good book can solidify a delightful experience and create a warm, lasting memory- There are certain books that I hope my children will always remember, because of the memories that went along with them. I really love the idea of creating a “warm memory” that Sarah Makenzie from Read Aloud Revival shared in one of her podcasts. She suggested going on an outing, similar to one that you read about in a book that allows the child to use that special outing as a way to remember the book. 

This past summer, I read several books on Monarch butterflies to my kids. To make these books memorable, we went to the greenhouse to buy our own milkweed plant for our garden in hopes of creating a butterfly breeding ground in our own backyard. Many summer afternoons, you could find my kids running around the yard in search of these black and orange creatures, and so excited each time they spotted one!

Reading encourages children to be their own storytellers- One of my daughter’s favorite things right now is to hear me tell her a made up story. Every day, she is allowed to ask for two stories. These stories always have to include a happy part, sad part, and especially a sneaky part! She loves the thrill of the adventure it takes her mind on. She’s even started telling me her own made up stories too.

Reading allows children to feel empathy for others- There are many times when we read that my daughter is drawn to a character’s feelings and asks why they did what they did or why others treated the character a certain way. Empathy is not a natural feeling for a young child, but when they can see other’s perspectives and take on the feelings that they may have felt, it allows children to put their own selfish desires aside (even just for a short moment) and feel deeply for someone else’s needs.

Just Keep Reading

As a Momma of three young kids, some days it’s very challenging to sit and have a productive reading time when there are other distractions going on. Some days my kids seem to be all over the place and I feel like I’m reading to myself! However, through it all and for the reasons stated above, I know the time I put into reading to them is one of the best ways I can invest in their lives. 

For more great book lists, check out Read Aloud Revival’s site. Here are a few great ones to start with: 

• Around the Year in Picture Books
• Book List for Young Girls
• Book Lists for Young Boys
• Board Books for Babies
• Picture Book Treasuries