Kaboutjie SA Mommy Blogs by Lynne Huysamen
I come from a family of great readers. When I was in school there was no internet to browse and find a good blog post to read, no eBooks or Kindle. We had to actually go down to the library and browse around.
I remember that we were each allowed 5 books and we could keep them for 3 weeks before they had to either be renewed or returned.
My mom, two sisters and I would each get 5 books and then we would read each others books. That was 20 books for us each to read in 3 weeks and we all usually read them all.
My older sister, the biggest bookworm would be staring over my shoulder wondering when I would put my book down for a break so she could swipe it and read it quickly. She read so fast that you could leave your book for just one hour and she would have devoured it!
Then long before the 3 weeks was up she would be pushing all of us to finish our books so we could go back to the library to get some more.
Needless to say as soon as my daughter was born I was buying her books. She couldn’t even hold her head up and I was reading her bedtime stories.
My husband a “non-bookworm” told me he just did not understand it. She can’t understand what I am saying and she can’t even see far enough to see the pictures or understand what they are.
Yes that is true, but books are not just about the pictures and understanding the story are they? Books are about bonding, spending quality time together and letting your baby hear your voice.
I love reading and I come from a huge family of bookworms. From the moment my kids were born I knew I would be reading to them and hopefully passing on my passion for reading.
The truth is that although I love reading, I have barely been able to read a book for years. An adult book that is. I am going through kids books like most people go through toilet paper. I buy each of my children a new book at least once a month.
I believe a parent should be reading to their child every single night and here are my reasons why.
***Disclosure -The links in this post contain affiliate links and Kaboutjie may receive a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on a link.***
1 Reading is Great Fun
Recently I read Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes to my children and they laughed like mad. If you haven’t read any Roald Dahl books well maybe you don’t know how fun reading can be.
My five year old daughter and I are currently going through all Roald Dahl’s books, we have covered George’s Marvellous Medicine and the Witches and we are currently reading The BFG. Yes she has watched the movie that came out last year but a book is a different thing altogether isn’t it?
My son’s favorite book at the moment is Dinosaur Roar which I got him for Christmas and while it is a really simple book it is great fun and he has started joining in while I read it. He is only three years old so simple is better. If you have a little boy you must get that book!
Reading together every night is fun for me and for my kids.
2 Reading Feeds the Imagination
Reading is so different to watching a movie. When you watch a movie you see everything as it is shown, there is not much left to the imagination. When you are reading you can really imagine these other worlds and characters.
My kids have vivid imaginations and this just feeds that creative side beautifully. My daughter loves to draw so she often later draws things from the books and it is amazing to see how she perceives everything.
Listening to a book also helps with concentration and with young children anything that helps them learn how to concentrate is a bonus.
3 Reading Time is Great Bonding Time
I wrote a post recently about tips for disciplining your child and positive parenting is really important. Children need attention and special time. Reading a story before bed is the perfect way to bond with your child and give them the one on one attention they need.
4 Helps your child develop language skills
People that read have better language skills. The more you read the better your vocabulary, writing and verbal skills will be.
Reading is so important, there is a huge amount of reading your child will be needing to do at school, college, university and most likely in his or her job one day.
Having a good grasp of language and a good vocabulary will help your child be a better student and a better worker one day too.
5 Reading Teaches Your Child Many Things
Along with great verbal skills, reading will teach your child so many more things. I have bought books for potty training, for learning about feelings, teaching table manners, doing chores and so many more topics.
Reading can be a wonderful way to teach your child the values that are important to you as a family.
The best part is that these lessons are given in a fun way that will make a positive impact on your child.
Im not a person to read alot of books but small stories or blogs or posts or headlines yes….im so exciting to read for my baby boy now he doesnt really know but soon soon he will….
He will still love the sound of your voice reading to him!
Yes he will i agree
I definitely agree that reading to your kids are of the utmost importance. My little one enjoys story time even at the age of 10 weeks.
I feel that if a child is not read to or introduced to books from a very young age (before school), it can cause problems.
I funnily enough heard a story yesterday about a girl who was given a iPad at the age of 4 and she was able to open any application, search the web and even read a story. All it took her to do was swipe across or tap the screen. She was never introduced to books. By the time she got to school and was given a book to read, the teacher saw her tapping & swiping across the cover not realising that she literally & physically needs to lift the page and turn it.
I enjoy reading to my boy and just hope that when he is older and able to hold a book himself that he will take a book and page through it even if he can’t read yet.
Thank you Lynne for the interesting articles ?
@ani1009 oh my word yes! My daughter figured out my ipad at 18 months old faster than I did (it was my first ipad lol). They are so quick to learn aren’t they? I do think that technology has a really important role to play, but screen time should be limited in my opinion.
I love a real book. I love the feel of it in my hands and I love turning the pages…can you tell I am a bookworm? Hahaa.
Books have such an important role to play and I love real books so much as opposed to ebooks or Kindle. My kids have loads of books and my hubby thinks I am crazy to “spend a small fortune” on books but I totally disagree, I think a book is better than a toy!
I totally agree with you @lynne. I would much rather buy books that toys. And my girl prefers books over toys so that suits us perfectly.
We also believe that watching television should be limited. My girl only watch television for about an hour in the evening while my husband and I am busy preparing dinner. We choose the programs carefully. We only let her watch educational programs and nursery rhymes. She is now starting to learn to count and to know the alphabet because of these programs. She also knows the melody of a few songs by now and then she sings her own words with these melodies. Very entertaining for us to listen to 😉
So my little ones ouma when to buy a few story books so now i can read alot of stories
reading is extremley good for stimulation my 11yr old has a new obsession “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” however I have only managed to get him 1. We dont go to the library so its difficult to get the next but I always encourage him and he then tells me what he has read about
its good for children’s brain. i agree
It’s true @thabilele kids brain adapt so quickly
Yes reading is good i would love to read for my son as well ☺️☺️
My son loves the book called beauty and the beast he says when he grows up here is going to be a good prince because he don’t want to be a monster
Thank you for this article I read every day for my 5 year old it helps him alot with his vocabulary
I enjoy reading and this has just inspired me more to encourage reading. Yes get their imagination going and learn a few skills while at it. Language , confidence , expression and so much more. This is superb.
Reading opens up a whole new world for kids and adults a book is way more better than the movies that come out it improves imagination vocabulary they way kids speak and write as well my son also loves dairy of a wimpy kid my 3 year old always brings a book to bed I have the Disney book collection for me to read to her her favourite is sleepy Ella I read this book to all my kids and know the story well one day at church she was fussing so I rocked her while telling her story she was out I have also notice how my kids get engrossed in a book they can’t put it down as soon as we come out of the library they have started reading in the car. I’ve set up a reward for them read a certain amount of books by the end of the year for a reward with the book reviews. Encourage read if they see you reading they will imitate you.
I really love to read to my girl. She is so happy around her books. If I want to treat her I can buy her a book, any book. She will walk around with it for almost the whole day. I especially like magazines with nice pictures of animals, for example national geographic kids. After we read the magazine I take the posters, laminate it and make puzzles.
Reading books with her is the fastest way for her to learn new words. She surprises me with new words every day. Sometimes she knows words that I cannot even remember teaching her. So she must have heard it from the stories we read.
We are real book worms and when we moved to a bigger place, we discovered we had been hoarding so many books in our old house, stacked under beds and in cupboards and the garage, that we had to invest in another bookcase!
I believe that reading to a child is one of the most valuable things one can do. It gives children so much more world knowledge as well as a better concept of history as each story is so embedded in the culture and traditions of its time. I also like the way it helps children understand the structure of a narrative and hopefully assists them in developing their own narratives; I have found that in difficult times, my daughter will ask me to tell stories that work through things that are bothering her, such as hospital stories when her granny was sick.
I have also recently had the opportunity to revisit some of my childhood favourites while reading bedtime stories and enjoyed re-reading “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”. There are so many children’s books that are so well written that they never lose their enchantment, regardless of whether one is grown up or not!
Reading to our children is a great way to help them now and in their futures. It opens a whole new world for them! These are some great reasons why we should be reading to our children everyday. It’s doesn’t just benefit them, it benefits us too by having some great bonding time with them!!
I totally agree with you! My kids are now 5 and 7 years old and bedtime stories after their bath is a very special time for us!
I Love reading and my daughter even more then me… some times im so tired and my daughter wants to read so I tell her read me a story to sleep. Its reall great bonding time and it feels so good knowing that it is also educating your child more and more each time.
You just got me so so motivated to go back to reading
I use to read everyday with my daughter but recently I havent mainly because there is just to much homework to complete!! but Reading is very important and I need to do better.