Read Aloud to Kids Every Day

By Ellen J. Berlin

This week's guest columnist is Ellen J. Berlin, the Director of Finance and Administration for the national school readiness organization Reach Out and Read. She and her son (who is about to enter kindergarten) live in Needham.

There never seems like enough hours to get it all done. Many of us run around—from home to preschool to work to the market, etc.—and focus on getting everything we need to get done accomplished by the end of the day. Despite our busy schedules, it’s critical that we make time daily to read aloud to our children. 

Did you know that reading aloud to young children is the single most effective thing parents can do to help prepare their children to succeed in school? Unfortunately, fewer than half of American children ages 5 and under are read to every day, placing them at risk for reading delays and school failure. 

I am privileged to work with Reach Out and Read, an evidence-based nonprofit organization that promotes early literacy and school readiness in pediatric exam rooms nationwide by giving new books to children and advice to parents about the importance of reading aloud. Our organization builds on the unique relationship between parents and medical providers to develop critical early reading skills in children, beginning at 6 months of age.

Research shows that the nearly 4 million families served annually by Reach Out and Read read together more often, and their children enter kindergarten with larger vocabularies, stronger language skills and a six-month developmental edge over their peers. Six months! For a five year old, that is a huge difference. Wouldn’t you want your kids to have that advantage? 

Many of us know instinctively that reading aloud is important but have lots of excuses as to why we don’t—we are tired, we want to eat, we need time with our friends and family, the kids are cranky, etc. But, reading aloud is truly critical to your child’s future success for so many reasons. Among them:

• Children who live in print-rich environments and who are read to during the first years of life are much more likely to learn to read on schedule.              

• Reading aloud to young children is not only one of the best activities to stimulate language and cognitive skills; it also builds motivation, curiosity, and memory.                     

• Early language skills, the foundation for reading ability and school readiness, are based primarily on language exposure—resulting from parents and other adults talking to young children.                     

• Research shows that the more words parents use when speaking to an eight-month-old infant, the greater the size of their child's vocabulary at age 3. The landmark Hart-Risley study on language development documented that children from low-income families hear as many as 30 million fewer words than their more affluent peers before the age of 4.                     

• Books contain many words that children are unlikely to encounter frequently in spoken language. Children's books actually contain 50 percent more rare words than primetime television or even college students’ conversations.                    

•The nurturing and one-on-one attention from parents during reading aloud encourages children to form a positive association with books and reading later in life.                     

• Reading aloud is a proven technique to help children cope during times of stress or tragedy.                   

Reading difficulty contributes to school failure, which increases the risk of absenteeism, leaving school, juvenile delinquency, substance abuse, and teenage pregnancy—all of which perpetuate the cycles of poverty and dependency. The simple act of reading aloud can and will change educational outcomes for your children and they too will enter kindergarten ready to learn.  

Read, speak, rhyme or sing to your children every day!  

I do it, please won’t you do it too? By the way, Reach Out and Read has incredible reading tips, doctor-recommended children’s books, and literacy information for parents. To learn more, click here.