13 Aug Bold Beasts: 5 Reasons why Reading to your Children is so Important

As those of you with kids will know, reading to your children is one of the greatest pleasures in life. Not only does it make it possible for you to revisit your childhood favourites, it also guarantees a brighter future for your little ones. Whether it’s your favourite Bold Beasts title, or one of the millions of other children’s books out there, it’s always a fulfilling experience, and helps your child in several different ways. Let’s explore a few of them.

1. It stimulates their linguistic development

Have you ever noticed how, when young children mispronounce words in conversations with their parents, their parents will repeat the word back to them, but with the correct pronunciation? This comes from a natural instinct to guide the linguistic development of our children, in order to set them up for later life as best we can.

Reading to your children can be an even more effective education tool. Should you encounter a word that your child is unfamiliar with, go over it a few times and try to get them to repeat it accurately, and understand its meaning. In their early years, a child’s brain is like the proverbial sponge – it’s amazing how much information their young brains can take in, and how efficiently they do so.

2. It can spark a lifelong love of reading

Even as battle-hardened, weary adults, we can gain great emotional nourishment from reading, so just imagine how vivid these fictional worlds can be to the innocent and vivid mind of a child! Reading to your children can stimulate their imagination in a way that most adults can only dream of. What’s more, it will set give them a permanent love of reading, which will stimulate their minds and enchance their experiences for the rest of their lives.

3. It will improve their concentration levels

Young children are a handful at the absolute best of times, with a minuscule attention span which is easily exacerbated by their boundless energy. As any parent of today will tell you, the modern world has increased these problems tenfold, with the added distractions of computers, smartphones, and tablets.

Reading to your child is a great solution to this. It will let them know that it is possible to be stimulated without staring at a screen, and that using your imagination is a wonderful and rewarding activity!

4. It will supplement their education (and emotional development)

Through visiting the widely varied ficitional lands of children’s literature, your child will gain a better understanding of different cultures, and personality types, as well as improving their emotional intelligence.

It has been shown in several studies that regular reading at a young age directly contributes to the development of empathy in children. As we can all agree, that’s a quality that is most valuable in today’s world!

5. It will strengthen your bond

It’s a busy, hectic world out there, which is all the more reason to savour the time we have with our kids. Reading to children is one of the most emotionally fulfilling activities one can engage in. Not only is it enjoyable just to spend time with our kids, but reading the words of a book aloud also makes us more mindful of the experience, and therefore allows us to savour it more effectively, thereby creating cherished memories that will last a lifetime.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this blog post. Feel free to let us know your thoughts in the comments on our Facebook page!

On the subject of reading, we at Bold Beasts would be glad to visit your school, library, or event in order to read our books to your little ones. We are happy to travel, but please bear in mind that we are based in Liverpool, so ideally we would like to schedule these events within a reasonable travelling distance. For more information, please get in touch through the contact section of our website.