The Top Benefits of Reading to Your Preschooler

There’s no question that your child’s reading skills are crucial to their success in life, work, school, and in general. It’s important that you begin reading to your child at an early age, so they get the most benefits from this activity.

Keep reading to learn more about the top benefits offered when you read to your child and how reading to them at an early age can help support them in the future.

Support Your Child’s Cognitive Development

Reading to your children while they are young has been proven to help improve their cognitive skills and encourage cognitive development. A child’s cognitive development refers to their ability to understand and think. It is something every child should at least begin to develop as they reach preschool age.

When you start reading to your child, it provides them with background knowledge, which helps them to make sense of what they read, hear, and see. Some educators have stated that the talk around reading provides its power and helps children relate what happens in the story to their actual lives, rather than just the vocalization of the words.

Introducing reading into your child’s life and the conversations it will help create, your child can begin to make sense of their lives – especially at a younger age.

Improved Language Skills

Reading to your children while they are infants can help with social skills, literacy skills, communication skills, and language acquisition. One reason for this is because when you read to your child in the early months of their life, it will stimulate the part of the brain that helps them understand the meaning of language while building key social, literacy, and language skills.

The critical thinking and cognitive skills that your child will develop when you start reading to them at an early age are crucial, especially when you consider that one out of three children in the U.S. goes into kindergarten lacking the skills necessary to read. Also, approximately 66% of children cannot read well by the end of third grade.

Prepare Your Child for Academic Success

When you start reading with your child at an early age, it’s an opportunity for you to communicate with them. It also helps your child grow their vocabulary skills and gain exposure to new words. Your child will gain listening skills during your time reading, which are an essential part of long-term academic success.

Also, countless studies have shown that children exposed to reading before entering preschool are more likely to do well when they begin their education.

Are You Reading to Your Child?

If you want to ensure that your child gets the best academic start to their life, then it is important to read to them at an early age. Doing this will provide all the benefits mentioned above, among others. It will also ensure they are fully prepared for preschool and will be able to make the most of their time there.