The Benefits of Reading to Older Children

We all know that reading to younger children is important to their academic and social development.  It helps with language skills, forms bonds, encourages creative thinking, and develops concentration skills.  Pediatricians, teachers, and other experts agree that it is one of the most important activities in which to engage young children.
 
But while many parents and guardians heed this advice with their pre and early readers, reading together often drops off once children can read on their own.  Many parents believe that once children are capable of reading independently that it should become a solitary activity.  However, according to a recent study by Scholastic, kids feel differently.  Over 70% of the middle grade children polled said that reading with their parents was a special time for them, and over 60% considered this time to be fun.
 
And if bonding and enjoyment aren’t the only reasons to read with older children, then continued skill development is.  As Allison McDonald blogs on the Scholastic Parent Page of Scholastic.com, that when parents read with their older children, children learn how to correctly pronounce new vocabulary and how to read with expression.
 
Even when your kids are too old, or too cool, to snuggle up beside you with a good book, you can still find ways to read together.  Magazine articles or blog posts can be shared at the dinner table, and even a few pages of a good book can be snuck in during half time of the big game.  And if your children have  “boring” reading assignment for school, why not switch off reading pages with them to make the assignment a little more bearable?  In addition to fine-tuning their reading skills, reading together will provide a variety of topics to talk about with your children.
 
If you get creative, occasions to read together are endless.  Planning everything from family dinners to vacations are opportunities to read, so take advantage of them.  The more your children read with you while they are developing, the better their skills will be, providing them an advantage for future success.

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