“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.” — Frederick Douglass
We all know how tiring kids can be, so when it’s time for them to go to sleep at the end of another hectic day, it’s all too easy to concentrate on yourselves and think that your job as a parent is done for the next 7- 8 hours. But, there is one thing you must remember before you pour that glass of red waiting for you in the kitchen, and that is reading your little ones a bedtime story.
Along with building a passion for reading and creativity which will allow their creative writing to sparkle at a later date, reading a bedtime story also means that your child’s vocabulary is increasing every day, without them, or even you realizing it. An average four years old will have a 1500-1600 word vocabulary, and asks 437 questions a day, so it’s more than likely that they will question that new word or even the deeper meaning of the story they see in front of them. It’s often too easy to disregard books at home, favoring electronic gadgets such as the TV or iPad instead to keep our little ones quiet, but reading a story only takes ten minutes, which will help your child thrive as they grow older. From an early age, research (Bradford Wiles) has shown that reading a bedtime story increases a child’s ability to process language, allowing the brain to decipher the next word in a story, or even the plot and character development. This is not only great for a child’s literary skills but will also help in real life, as children become more aware of the world around them, making them more curious as a learner.
Imagine, when your child looks back to the past what they may think of you. The effort you have put in, in order to deepen your child's understanding of the English language.
It becomes part of your routine, that both of you will look forward to each night. You could engage in conversations about the characters or the plot, giving opinions about how or perhaps what the character could or should have done differently.It helps the parents in getting to know the child better in their way of thoughts. When you come home at night after a stressful day in the office, you know there is nothing better than relaxing with your child and opening the door to a world of creativity and imagination.