Starting Them Young

Reading to children while they are young transforms the entirety of their lives. Here is my own story of reading to my children, and the outcomes I have personally seen from it.

By Lindsay Dunn

When my oldest daughter was little, I decided to make sure to read to her every night right at bedtime. When she was an infant, I read my college textbooks to her to help me study... but as a toddler, we had shelves of adorable illustrated children's books that we read over and over and over again. By the time she was three - I had had enough. These picture books were slowly killing me. So, I decided to toss convention and just start reading novels to her. Not just novels, but series. Most people thought it was crazy, but I wanted both of us to enjoy story time, even if she didn't catch everything. I quickly saw the brilliance of my decision. Each night before we started the next chapter, I would ask her what she remembered from the previous night, and, if she didn't remember anything, I would give her a quick recap of the previous chapter. What happened next was amazing!!

Reading should not be presented to children as a chore, a duty. It should be offered as a gift. – Kate DiCamillo

Within days, she was listening harder, remembering more, and following the plot with ease! After a while, she was telling others about the stories we were reading. Bedtime became her favorite time of day. Tantrums about going to bed disappeared, and interest in books grew. It really was incredible. Together we read Fablehaven, Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, The Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings, and many other wonderful stories. I will never forget one night when my husband walked in to find both of us crying our eyes out because we lost a certain house elf. The saddest day of my whole life was the day, when we were about half way through The Return of the King, that she said that after we finished this book, she'd just start reading to herself. She was in third grade. I cried myself to sleep that night. (But at least I still had her little brother to read to!) Looking back, those bedtime reading sessions will always be the happiest of my motherhood memories. Now, both of my kids just read to themselves, and I am left to just read to myself. But there are several things that I can say with some level of certainty happened because I read novels to my children when they were little. Here are a few:

Concentration Skills

When the kids were really small, I was certain that they didn't hear everything I was reading. Especially my son, who would play or build Legos while I read. But that turned out to be wrong! There were certainly times when they missed things, but for the most part, when I asked what I had just read, they knew without missing a beat. Both of my kids developed the skill of listening and concentrating so that they didn't miss out on the story.

Recall

As mentioned above, as we read chapter by chapter, they became skilled at recalling what we read the previous night. I would just have to say, "what happened last time?" and they could recap where we were, even if a few days had passed.

Reading Comprehension

This is a big one. I didn't realize how important this was until they were in school, but from Kindergarten on, their reading comprehension tested well beyond their grade levels. Their teachers were always floored by how much the could remember and how much they could understand in their class and on tests.

Vocabulary

I remember at about age 4, I took my son in for a well check up with his doctor. The doctor commented, clearly impressed, that my 4 year old spoke like a 12 year old. (Insert Mom Pride!). Both of my children have an impressive vocabulary and have used big words correctly from a young age.

Love of Stories, Imagination, and Storytelling

I personally believe that stories and storytelling are essential for learning and for maintaining our society and families. We all learn well though the use of stories. My kids both have developed a deep appreciation for stories and love being storytellers. My daughter now wants to be an author and teach others through her words and stories. Both are voracious readers and love sharing truths, lessons, and morals that they learn from the books that they read. Also, because of the many stories that they have read, my kids (especially my son) have developed big imaginations and use them to create stories of their own.

There have been many studies about the importance of reading to our children. Although my own story is mostly anecdotal, I have seen for myself the difference reading together has made. I have a bond with both of my kids, build through words on many pages, that I will cherish forever.