Why is it important to read to your infant, toddler, or child?

Answer 1

Not just reading, but talking and interacting. From birth to 3 years the brain makes connections for learning, reasoning, seeing, and everything else. Even before birth you child knows your voice. As infants when you speak to them they are comforted and start learning the 'sound' of language. Once infants go to babies and then toddlers the baby-babble will sound like your language.

Reading does many things at once. Close time for you and child (I usually read to mine while they are on my lap), learning language, and as they get older, learning names of things. Something so simple is so helpful.

Answer 2

I used to work at Sylvan Learning Center as a Director of Education. We would have people bring in their children all the time for educational testing. Reading to a youngster, regardless of their age has many benefits. Not only do you form a bond with the child, but you are able to give that child a leg up in school. If a kindergartner is going to school and already knows how to read simple books they will not have such a difficult time transitioning. Reading to an infant is giving them exposure to the language of their culture and allowing them to hear how certain words are pronounced that wouldn't necessarily come up in normal conversation. Reading to a toddler introduces high frequency words, books by Dr. Seuss are fantastic for helping children remember these words.

Answer 3

Experts claim that reading to a infant and toddler will help them with their speech and they will want to be readers at a earlier age.I always read to my kids.All 6 of them.The youngest is only 2 but the others are 9 years old and up.I really can not say that reading to them as a infant and toddler made them smart but it did make them pretend to read and make up the stories by looking at the pictures by time they was 2 years old.All of my kids(except my mental developely handcap son) was well above children of their age at 1,2 and 3 years of age when it came to talking in complete sentences and their speech was very clear,not all that baby talk and whining and pointing at stuff they wanted like alot of young toddlers do.

Answer 4

it is important to read to your child for endless reasons. From the time the baby is in the womb until early child hood a child is trying to decipher the complicated codes of language. It is a proven fact that if you start reading to a baby even at a few weeks or days old you are helping them learn to talk and communicate. Plus early reading gives you time to bond with your child, and help the child develop life long necessary reading and communicating skills. The first few years of life are all about learning all the surroundings . You would'nt believe how much learning is done in the first year and beyond. A child is born learning, and reading to them helps them recognize words, and language.

Answer 5

To me, it is important to read to your child because it gives them a sense of rememberance. Especially when you have a "favorite" book to read with them. Also, it is hard to just come up with words out of the blue. Books allow your child to hear numerous words that you yourself might not have thought up. Allowing your child to be exposed to a lot of different language will help ensure that they grow up with a nice vocabulary themselves. And maybe even with an appreciation for great literature. Tv is nice, but if you ever hear a book reader comment on a movie made from a book, they will always tell you the book was much better. Books allow a childs imagination to grow and blossom.

Answer 6

It helps them develop their speech and imagination. Not only that, but it gives you a special time for you to spend together just the 2 of you. My daughter is about to turn 6 and she's learned to read, so I make her read to ME! It forces her to practice reading on her own and it develops her vocabulary. If you read to your child, then you're leading by example and it'll eventually help them also develop concentration skills which will be helpful when they're old enough for school.

Answer 7

The education and word / speech understanding are great reasons! Another one is, it's just fun. I really enjoy reading to my 10 month old before bed. He love looking at the pictures, turning the pages, and watching me talk. My wife takes care of him all day, so I help him go to sleep at night, and reading to him is a lot of fun. I look forward to it almost every night.

Answer 8

It develops a love for books, for reading and it is a great way to bond with your child.

Answer 9

as a teacher, its very important to expose them to words as early as possible. it teaches them the basic concepts about print, how to hold a book, building vocabulary, retelling stories, even if its from pictures, reading from left to right. you would be totally surprised how many kids dont know anything when they get to kindergarden. its pretty sad. some cant even hold a pencil. i strongly encourage it. you will be amazed the difference that it makes.

Answer 10

first, it's important because it creates a connection between u and ur child (hearing your voice, the attention he/she receives etc); then it's important because they develop their vocabulary, they can learn more, it stimulates their thinking, it developes learning patterns, they associate images to words, words to ideas etc. also, he/she can ask you directly about the things he/she didn't understand and without the fear of being laughed at or regarded as a "silly" person.