Reading stories to your children is one of the best ways to instill a fondness for reading. However, in our recent study more than a quarter of the elementary school children we interviewed said they never read them at home. Children normally like to be read and get educational, social and emotional benefits from this activity. But families do not usually have time to read with all the obligations of the routine.
You also have to keep in mind that not all parents read books to them when they were young, so they have not had an experience that they can repeat with their children and there are many adults who are choking on reading. Given all this, here we leave you Five suggestions that can make the experience of reading books to your children fun, relaxing and educational.
1. Dedicate all your attention
For many, the best time to read with their children is at night when they get into bed. But if your child is too irritable and clueless at this time (or if you are very tired), you may prefer to read them at another time of the day.
It doesn't really matter what the moment is, since the important thing is to dedicate all the attention during that time to the book and your children. To do this, the notifications of the telephones and other devices must be deactivated, all the people involved have to feel at ease and the children have to associate the time they spend with reading with a pleasant moment.
To the extent possible, we recommend that reading with children be part of the daily routine. The more children are read, the more they will benefit. Reading to children is both an opportunity to teach them how written words sound as an occasion to strengthen family ties.
2. Get into the story
Normally children do not like to stop reading every so often to ask if they are understanding the story. That is why we suggest that you only pause when necessary.
However, recapitulating can be useful when picking up a book after a break. If the parents have the children do the review ("Well, where were we going?"), We can check if they are understanding the story. The possible predictions are also good ("Wow ... What do you think will happen now?").
Share your opinion about a book and ask your children What they think causes their critical thinking to be stimulated. These and other techniques can improve your ability to learn and understand, but they should not interrupt the pace of reading or make it a kind of test.
Can you do Let the children also read, something that is beneficial for various reading skills, such as reading comprehension, word recognition and vocabulary development.
3. There is no age limit
You can start reading to your children since they are very young to help them develop their language skills, so it is never too early to start. The skills that children develop with shared reading can make them later stand out in language skills at school.
Reading to your children is also important when they stop being so small, since there are still benefits to the development of their literacy and cognitive abilities.
We should read to the children until possible. There is no age when you stop getting benefits when we read things to you.
In a very recent investigation carried out in the United Kingdom, it was shown that adolescents who were reading poorly could greatly improve their reading comprehension if they were read books at the institute. This may be because students can enjoy books that otherwise find it too complicated.
4. Choose a book that you both like
We recommend that you choose a book that interests you both, since reading together is a good opportunity to share your interests while expanding your children's horizons with different books.
Don't be afraid to start reading long books to your children when they are still very young. The age to start will depend on your child's attention span, but many times it is possible to start with children who are of childcare age.
As long as the story is not too complex, children like to enjoy a good book that would otherwise be too difficult to read on their own. This can also help them expand your vocabulary, among other benefits.
It is a good idea go with your children to the library and show them the way you choose the books you are interested in reading with them. Research shows that many elementary and middle school students have a hard time choosing a book when they have to read it on their own, so if we lend them a hand we will help them develop this ability.
5. Don't worry about the way you read
Not everyone is destined to be voice actors who win prizes and it is normal. It's very good use different expressions and voices for the characters in a book, but not everyone is able to read like that out loud.
In many moments of our investigation we have met people who praised the parent reading efforts those who were not good at reading, but who did not throw in the towel. For example, in our recent article one of the interviewees described the experience that his dyslexic mother supposed to read books to him. This mother, like many other parents, have managed to instill the love of reading to her children thanks to her perseverance.
To help you travel to other worlds and stories with literature is a pleasant and unforgettable experience. Reading to children gives parents a valuable opportunity to take things easy, relax and share the wonderful world of books with your children.
Authors: Margaret Kristin Merga, Professor of Education, University of Curtin; Paul Gardner, Senior Professor Curtin University; Saiyidi Mat Roni Professor at Edith Cowan University and Susan F Ledger, associate dean, Murdoch University School of Education, Murdoch University.
This article has originally been published in The Conversation. You can read the original article here.
Translated by Silvestre Urbón.
