Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Benefits of Bedtime Reading


The Guardian's Science Correspondent highlights the importance of reading to your kids.

From the story:

Reading to young children stimulates their development and gives them a head start when they reach school, according to researchers who have reviewed studies on the effects of reading. Apart from helping their reading, sharing a bedtime story with a child promotes their motor skills, through learning to turn the pages, and their memory. It also improves their emotional and social development.

And this:

Most important, though, said Zuckerman, is that reading aloud is a period of shared attention and emotion between parent and child.

For me? Reading with my kid is a hoot, oftentimes more for me than for her. For instance, I read Mo Willem's wonderful Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus (the pigeon is pictured above) in a very poor accent that is similar to Speedy Gonzales. My kid says sometimes, "Uh, dad? Can you just read it normal?" Which is a shame, because I do a very good bad Speedy Gonzales voice and I also, when reading Sesame Street books, do a very good bad Grover voice.

Anywho, read to little people. It's good for them. It's good for you.

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