The Impact of Reading Aloud with Your Children: Investing 15 Minutes a Day

Like many families when the pandemic shut down schools, I had young children at home. While juggling a new puppy, a potty-training toddler, a preschooler, a second-grader, and my own newly-remote school counseling position, I embraced the opportunity to spend quality time together while trying to maintain their love of books.

For us, books and root beer floats became our new tradition. While I assembled the floats, my oldest grabbed copies of our favorite wizarding series, and we met outside to read together every afternoon. Throughout the summer, as we finished each book, we drove to our local drive-in movie theater (the only place open at the time!) to watch film versions of the books.

Looking back, I remember those read-alouds fondly. I know the time spent together helped my children develop critical literacy skills, promoted bonding, and fostered their imaginations. The impact of reading aloud with your child lasts a lifetime. You can reap many benefits from reading aloud with your child, even if it’s just 15 minutes a day:

1. Improving language development and literacy skills: According to the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Institute of Literacy, reading aloud to your child plays a critical role in language development and school readiness. Exposure to books expands their vocabulary and helps them learn the fundamentals of language. Pre-reading skills, such as navigating through sentences from left to right and turning the pages, can set the foundation for academic success.
2. Creating bonds and establishing routines: Reading aloud fosters connection-building and togetherness. Research from the American Academy of Pediatrics emphasizes the importance of relationships in child development. By reading together, your family can strengthen its relationships while establishing routines that provide a sense of security and stability for your kids.
3. Normalizing experiences: When a child listens to a book, experiences become relatable. Encountering characters facing similar challenges offers insight into navigating these situations in their own lives. This opens the door to meaningful conversations organically. Books can normalize and validate the emotions your children are experiencing.
4. Fostering empathy: Books foster a sense of empathy and open-mindedness toward other people and places. Books with diverse characters and settings can expose your young reader to wonderful new people and places, inspiring curiosity and conversation.

It’s never too late to start a habit of reading with your child. Do you have a reluctant reader? Are screens too tempting? Get creative! Take books outside and sit on a blanket or under a tree. Read a book together and make a snack inspired by the story. Encourage your child to build a fort, grab a flashlight, and read with you inside the fort. Take your child to the library to pick out high-interest books. Don’t forget to explore the nonfiction section! Pause as you read to point out illustrations, ask questions, or allow your child to predict what might happen next. Write a letter to the author or create your own sequel together.

You may notice your child reaching for the same book over and over, and that’s okay! Repetition is incredibly powerful. Revisiting favorite stories can deepen comprehension and create a sense of comfort and familiarity for your child. It also can help them begin to recognize words.

By making reading a consistent part of your family's routine, you're nurturing language skills while also cultivating your child’s empathy, curiosity, and creativity.

So go grab a book, find a cozy spot, and read with your people!