Reading provides benefits throughout life. It improves vocabulary, cognitive skills, critical thinking, memory, confidence, concentration, writing skills, analysis skills, and the list goes on. Look up the importance of reading and you will find exhaustive lists supporting the benefits of reading and its role in academic success. Yet, millions of students do not have reading proficiency at the end of third grade. So, to build reading proficiency as well as a love for reading, spend time each day reading with your child.

Reading is a gift you can give your child every day. Yes, it is a gift that helps with academic success, but it is also a gift of yourself. As you read about characters and their struggles, you have the opportunity to share your values as you discuss empathy, compassion, respect and understanding. You can also share your love for reading or your favorite childhood book.

Those who love to read understand the pleasures and the benefits of reading; it is never a chore or arduous task. Reading transports us to different worlds and allows us to experience different perspectives. We become immersed in fictional characters’ lives, and we acquire skills and new knowledge. When we find a good book, we want to share it with others because we want them to experience the same joy and satisfaction we felt while reading it.

However, for children who do not experience reading as pleasurable, and cannot read proficiently, their success in academia looks tenuous. Since reading is so important to academic achievement and personal growth, parents must create an environment where children have every opportunity to experience the joy and benefits of reading.  

Reading will help improve vocabulary, grammar, and writing skills. When children encounter a new word they do not know, they will ask or try to decode it through context clues. Grammar improves since students see how the author constructs sentences, and they learn how to follow punctuation. Improved vocabulary and grammar naturally improve writing skills. They begin to understand how to create paragraphs and communicate ideas.

In addition to improving lifelong academic skills, reading proficiently will also help children develop cognitively. Cognitive development involves how we see and perceive the world around us. When parents read to children, it helps them imagine the world around them. They develop background knowledge, which helps them make sense of what they experience each day.

When children read on their own, their ability only deepens, and they begin to make connections about what they read to what they hear and see. They also begin understanding more about places that they’ve never visited. Reading takes children to cities and countries they’ve never been. They meet people who face challenges they’ve never experienced, so reading helps to create a deeper understanding of humanity. It helps children understand the world beyond their own bubble.

Reading also helps develop empathy and build relationships. When students read stories, they put themselves in the characters’ situations. They learn more about emotions and how to respond to the world around them. When a child experiences a regular routine of reading with a parent, their relationship deepens. They share ideas about the stories they read, and the decisions characters make. The attention is comforting and supports the child’s overall wellbeing. And, when children are able to read to the parent and no longer rely on being read to, they develop a sense of independence. This independence also helps with their self-confidence. They begin to see the world through their own perspective.