Does Reading at Home Improve Children's Reading Ability?
Reading at home improves children's reading ability, which enables them to be better familiarized with books and learning before tackling school projects. Many kids at first rely on their parents to introduce books to them, but as the entire family becomes involved in reading together, children learn to be more open to books and feel more confident about themselves both at home and at school. According to the Family Reading Partnership, a nonprofit community organization that promotes literacy through family reading, only 39 percent of parents in the United States read to their children regularly at home. The number is alarming, as reading is an activity that only improves with practice.
Other People Are Reading
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Reading at Home
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Reading is an activity that requires encouragement, but with time children learn to enjoy it, and it allows personal growth. As young, and even mature, readers venture into different literary worlds, they start to better understand what subjects attract them and to build up their traits and make life decisions around those topics of interest. Children, in particular, need more encouragement to read, as they are still in the process of understanding their learning skills and techniques.
Familiarizing With Reading
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Reading on a regular basis helps children become more familiarized with books and consequently with reading. It is one of the most important cognitive skills as it allows children to sharpen their interpretation and judgment of what is presented to them, and to understand different symbols. As they become more familiar with different readings, they become more confident about accepting school reading assignments, and as they mature they feel more inclined to explore more challenging material.
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Parents' Help
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Articulating and interpreting the language can also be a big challenge for young readers. Parents play a major role in their children's lives as they introduce books to them gradually through reading-at-home activities. The Family Reading Partnership points out that reading aloud to kids not only improves cognitive skills, but also strengthens family bonds as parents and kids spend time together. When parents read aloud they present reading patterns that encourage their children to follow them and to concentrate on these words.
When to Start Reading to Kids
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According to News For Parents, it is never too early to introduce reading-at-home activities. Parents are encouraged to read to babies, even though they still do not understand the content of the text, as a way to let them listen to sound patterns that will help them start articulating their first words. Reading to babies also helps create a stronger relationship between parents and kids as they pay more attention to each other during time spent together.
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References
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