Reading Skills Improve When Children Read to Dogs

Reading with Rover is a reading program where children read to dogs. In addition to Reading with Rover, which is based in the Puget Sound area of Washington State, there are many such reading programs around the country. These programs are geared towards children with reading problems.

The goal of all of these programs is to improve the reading skills of children with reading problems by having children read to dogs.

When reading aloud in the classroom, many children with reading problems and poor reading skills feel intimidated by their classmates. They have little confidence in themselves and are afraid of being ridiculed. They may also feel that reading is difficult, boring and stressful.

However, when children read to dogs, reading becomes a fun and non-stressful experience for both the children and the dogs. Dogs do not criticize, judge or laugh at the children's reading ability. Reading with Rover and other programs like it have been a huge success, resulting in improved reading skills for a significant number of participating children with reading problems. In addition to making learning enjoyable, when children read to dogs, it increases their sense of worth and self-confidence.

As part of the Reading with Rover program and others like it, the children read to dogs who are registered therapy dogs. These are dogs that have been trained and temperament tested and, along with their owners, have become registered therapy teams.

A recent research study of children with reading problems was conducted by University of California Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in conjunction with Tony La Russa's Animal Rescue Foundation of Walnut Creek, California. The study concluded that when children read to dogs, it can increase their reading skills by up to thirty percent.

The lead researcher of this study was quoted as saying, "The dogs, in contrast to a human, don't judge the individual, aren't grading the individual, and hopefully that allows the children to build some confidence in their reading skills."

Children with reading problems who took part in this study have remarked, "I feel relaxed when I am reading to a dog because I am having fun" and "The dogs don't care if you read really, really bad so you just keep going."

Click here to read about the study.

When children read to dogs and improve their reading skills, it becomes just another example of how wonderful dogs are and how important they are to our society in general and to our own well being.

References:

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/186708.php

http://www.readingwithrover.org/