01/04/2023
If you read only one book a day to a child from birth, by
their fifth birthday, they will have been read 1825 books. But those books are
more than numbers; that’s nearly two thousand different stories, concepts, and even
worlds they have visited in their short life. Imagine if that same child
visited that many different cities in that time span—what a global citizen they
would be!
Reading to a child gives them so many benefits. According to
a study by Ohio State University, reading just one book per day exposes the
child to 300,000 new and complex words by age 5. Reading five books a day exposes them to a
million unique words they would not have learned otherwise. (Grabmeier,
2019)
There are more benefits than just additional vocabulary. The
shared time with a child, the physical time together, builds confidence and the
relationship between the child and the reader. As the child gets older, the “extra-textual”
time benefits both the reader and the child by providing question and answer time,
building closeness, and developing critical thinking skills, as the child
applies what they learned from the book read to the world around them. (Grabmeier,
2019)
Books also encourage a child’s imagination and creativity.
As a child hears a story about talking elephants or a fairy school, they are
imagining a world in which such things exist. Developing creativity and encouraging
creative thought and play is crucial in childhood. The experts at PBS have this
to say: “The ability to be creative, to create something from personal
feelings and experiences, can reflect and nurture children's emotional health.”
(PBS, n.d.) Children often
use ideas from books as fodder for creative play, which is a great way to expand
and explore their world in new and imaginative ways.
Academically, children who have been read to daily enter
kindergarten already used to the concept of print on paper and accustomed to
being read to, which puts them in a good position as they learn to read on
their own. They also develop a longer attention span as they are used to the
ritual of being read to and understand the concept of sitting still and listening
to the story. (Marcin, 2020)
The reasons to read to a child are nearly endless. In addition
to all these scientific reasons, it’s just plain fun. So grab a book, sit down
with your child, and read, read, read.
Happy New Year from The Penworthy Bear!
References
Grabmeier, J. (2019, April 4). A “million word
gap” for children who aren’t read to at home. Retrieved from
news.osu.edu:
https://news.osu.edu/a-million-word-gap-for-children-who-arent-read-to-at-home/
Marcin, A. (2020, October 14). Reading to
Children: Why It’s So Important and How to Start. Retrieved from
Healthline: https://www.healthline.com/health/childrens-health/reading-to-children
PBS. (n.d.). Creativity and Play: Fostering
Creativity. Retrieved from PBS.org: Whole Child:
https://www.pbs.org/wholechild/providers/play.html