Why You Should Read to Your Children 20 Minutes a Day

Parents, when you help your children learn to read, you help them open the door to a big, exciting world. As a parent, you can begin an endless learning chain like this: You read to your children 20 minutes a day, they develop a love of stories and poems, they want to read on their own, they practice reading, and finally, they read for their own information or pleasure. When children become readers, their world is forever wider and richer. Some ways to help your child read:

Talk About It. When reading or telling a story, pause to talk to your child about it. Ask him open-ended questions, like "What do you think will happen next?" or "What would you do?" Put things in your own words to help make the story clearer for your child.
Read It Again. Children need to hear favorite stories over and over. This helps them recognize and remember words. It also helps them learn how to predict what's coming next. Most importantly, as kids become familiar with a story, it gives them confidence about reading.

Keep It Active. Let your child touch and hold the book. Ask her to help you turn the pages. And you don't always have to sit when you read or listen to a story. Try clapping out a fun rhyme or dancing to a silly poem.

Be Creative. Too tired to hold a book? Tell a story that you know, or make one up together. Making up a story with your child stimulates creativity. It's also a nice change.

Read stories out loud. Stories influence children's learning for life. Some research suggests that the more stories children hear before entering school, the more likely they will be successful academically. Listening to books benefits their vocabulary and comprehension.

Encourage your child to write. When children write, they naturally begin to pay attention to the sounds words make and the letters that form words. And it doesn't matter how they spell! Recent research shows that young children who are allowed to write often with invented spelling, develop the ability to become good readers.

There's nothing like sitting down with your child to share a good book. You get to know your child better and watch your child progress, so you're both learning and having fun. With families more and more pressed for time, reading is a great way to relax together and establish intimacy. toung