Reading and Child Development

Why it's important to read aloud with your kids, and how to make it count - The Washington Post, 2/16/17

One of the most important things parents can do, beyond keeping kids healthy and safe, is to read with them. That means starting when they are new borns and not even able to talk, and continuing well beyond the years that they can read by themselves. Study after study shows that early reading with children helps them learn to speak, interact, bond with parents and read early themselves. Reading with kids who already know how to read helps them  feel  close to caretakers, understand the world around them and be empathetic citizens of the world. 

We (The Washington Post) spoke with Liza Baker, the executive editorial director at Scholastic, just released
its Kids & Family Reading Report.

"It's so important to start reading from  Day One,"  she says. "The sound of your voice, the lyrical  quality of the younger [books] are poetic ... It's magical, even at 8 weeks old they focus momentarily, they're closer to your heart." As they  begin to grow, families should make sure books are available everywhere in the home, like it's your "daily bread." (Amen.) But it shouldn't end  when kids begin to read on their own. "As they become independent readers, we tend to let them go, but even kids in older demographics love nothing more than that time with their parents," Baker says. "We're blown away that kids time and  again said that the most  special time they recall spending with  a parent is reading  together."