5 Crucial Reasons to Read to Your Child

Reading books to your children is super important.

You have heard it again and again, but why is it so important?

First a few of the whys and then a couple of fun books to try.

If you are already sold on whys, skim on down to the bottom for two books I think your preschooler will love!

Five crucial reasons to read to your preschooler:

1. Through book reading, your child is exposed to a larger variety of language. They learn vocabulary and grammatical structures that they may not hear in everyday life. This is especially true if you find yourself in a hurry a lot. Do you know that stressed parents use a much shorter, less linguistically diverse language? Kids can only learn what they are exposed to.  
2. Reading together helps you bond. It is cuddle time, it is non-distracted time, a time to listen and have a conversation. Want a teenager who still talks to you? Encourage communication from a young age. If they can talk to you about the little things, they will be more likely to talk to you about the big things.
3. It provides a means to share your views and values. Did one of the characters in the story do something you admire? Maybe the characters are going through something similar to what your family is going through. It is a springboard for discussion.
4. Book reading increases attention span. You have heard that human’s attention spans are shrinking? Yes it is true and it is a big problem! Book reading can help combat that trend. What should you do if your child’s current attention span does not let you get through the book? That is totally fine. Choose books on subject matters that you know your child already enjoys and slowly provide more exposure. You may only be able to start with flipping through the pages and saying a word or two about each page. If you keep providing exposure and keep it fun, you will gradually be able to increase the time until your child is sitting through a whole book.
5. Book reading builds imagination. New situations, locations, and concepts found in a book gives a child a lot to process. They gain a greater idea of what is possible and they dream up their own possibilities too.

Do you need some fun read alouds for your preschooler? Here are a few to try.

Bark, George by Jules Fieffer

In this story we follow George, a dog, who seems to make every animal noise EXCEPT barking. George’s mother is so worried! The story ends with a hilarious twist as a solution to his problem. 

Why read it? Children love the absurdity of the book. It is great for some giggles. Because there are not many words on each page, it is easy to keep even a reluctant book reader engaged.

The Monster at the End of This Book  by Jon Stone and Michael Smollin

This is a classic. You may have even read it as a child. Grover, a lovable monster, pleads with the reader not to turn pages because there is a monster at the end of the book. After each page turn, Grover becomes more and more worried and tries even harder to keep the reader from turning pages until at last you come to the end of the book and meet the monster.

Why read it? This is another highly engaging book. Children love “interacting” with Grover as he tells them not to turn the page each time. It can also help with monster fears your child may have. They first relate with Grover in their shared fear of monsters. Then they feel relief right alongside Grover at the end of the book when they realize that at least one monster is not scary at all.  

We’d love to hear your favorite preschool books too. Share in the comments below.

Enjoy!

Books are powerful! That is why books are integrated into each week of the My LDS Preschool curriculum. Click here for more info. 

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