Comments on: Want to Raise Smart, Kind Kids? Science Says Do This Every Day

By: Ruth

Ruth

Great Article! When I was a kid my Mom read to me and I loved it. I knew I wanted to read to my daughter. I’ve been reading to her every bedtime from around age 1 through the present at age 11. We start getting ready for bed early to make time for reading. Her nightstand always has some books piled on it. We just keep finding new books that interest her. Sometimes she reads to me. We have fun doing it and her grades in English are great!

By: Ashfak

Ashfak

In reply to Jan. I agree with you

By: Terri

Terri

As a grandmother who loves to read to my grandkids but they don’t live nearby, I often read to the children on FaceTime while Mom is fixing dinner or putting baby to bed. Is this acceptable? I show the pictures, ask their opinion and I let them choose the book from my library. If it’s Christmas and we’re in March, I still read it with the excitement of Christmas. They put their favorite books in a basket when they visit so I know what they like.

Also as a Mom of 4, I would “ partner read” with my older kids to the younger ones. Always their choice, but if my older kids wanted to read aloud we would switch off pages etc.

By: Elisa

Elisa

In reply to Kasandra Kurutz. Ever since middle school, I ask what the assigned reading is for my daughter’s Language Arts Class and I read it myself so we can discuss and have a mini book club. It is one small way I can relate!

By: Margaret Birchall

Margaret Birchall

Any suggestions for parents with poor literacy?

By: Kathy

Kathy

I read to my girls (5 years apart in age) for many years. When my youngest daughter ended up in hospital in the ICU at age 29 I read aloud to her almost every day of her one month stay, it was an amazing experience reading Chris Hadfield’s “An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth”.

By: Ann Tracy

Ann Tracy

In reply to S Hara. This is so important! I am a school librarian and of course I read aloud to my students every day! But it is sad how many parents do not. They especially want the children to take chapter books out as soon as possible, but I tell them that picture books are actually written at a much higher level (as they are designed for adults to read TO children). It is a way of modeling fluent reading and introducing vivid vocabulary. Some libraries even have a section for "picture books for older readers" (these may deal with challenging topics, such as racism, immigration, bullying, etc but in a short, picture book length). Most of our teachers (even those in 4th & 5th grade) read aloud to their students every day (including novels). Even older children love to be read to (as it takes the burden off them) and they can often enjoy the story more when they are not struggling with "decoding." It is also important for your children to see YOU read. Then, they will know it is an important activity!

By: S Hara

S Hara

Incredible article! I am a retired teacher who had studied the statistical analysis comparing results of school success for those who were read to daily versus those who weren’t. At the time I was just a student with no tangible evidence the stats were true. Fast forward a few years after I had been teaching in settings known as inner city schools with diverse cultures, social and economic diversities etc.. I began to dutifully record on charts those students who had been read to daily, faithfully returning honestly signed back and forth books versus those who did not. Over time as I did this month after month and year after year almost without exception ( there were a very few exceptions) those who honestly participated in the daily reading program were succeeding better in most academic and social levels than those who did not. I was amazed! Lightbulb moments! Stats were right! I knew it was challenging especially for some households to do all this 15. minutes per day reading assignments so during interviews I suggested other ways they could share the value and experience of reading with their children….read signs in stores while shopping, make and read lists together, leave them love notes, read the milk carton or cereal boxes, have books and magazines readily visible in the home. Another stat I read indicated that having at least 20 or more books visible in the home makes a difference. It shows reading is important to you, if they see you reading a book, scriptures, newspapers etc it impacts and leaves impressions on their minds. I so appreciate your article and all the valuable suggestions and ideas you so readily share to excite and promote reading with children. The comment “ I am rich for I had a mother who read to me” so truly applies!

By: Bett Huffaker

Bett Huffaker

Thank you for this article. Reading aloud has been pivotal in my life. My mother read aloud to us into our teens. I was a teenager when my adult sisters came home to help my mother with her spring cleaning. One brought a novel and we took turns reading aloud while the others worked. With my own children, we read picture books until the age of 7. That year, for each of the three, we read the Hobbit and the entire Chronicles of Narnia together. By the end, they were hooked on novels. The other kids listened in, so the oldest heard it three times. When my kids were young I listened to audiobooks of my own choosing while I did housework, knowing the kids would hear it as well. Redwall by Brian Jacques in audio caught my son’s imagination. The book is read by the author and involves multiple British accents – different for each type of character. This twelve-year-old son fell in love with the story and went from “I won’t read anything that doesn’t have pictures” to 300-page novels as long as they were written by Jacques. He has since branched out.

By: Laura Brown

Laura Brown

Our rule for repeated readings was once a day by a single person. If you could find someone else to read it, great! There were even rare occasions when we hopped into the car to go visit Grandma and Grandpa so *they* could read the book, too.

And one more thank you to my mom, for reading me all of The Jungle Books and all of the Just So Stories, as well as many, many chapter books in addition to the hundreds of picture books we got from the library by the time I got to school. We weren’t well off, but Mom gave us an education through reading well beyond that of many of our peers!

By: Esther

Esther

I agree with the content that you are sharing. Could you please provide the journal articles that you are basing your article on?

By: Patricia

Patricia

My grand daughter is 2 yr and lives with us. I try to read to her but she just keeps turning the page forward & backward and I’m not even able to get through the page let alone the book. Sometimes, she just takes the book out of my hand and flips the pages. It’s very frustrating.

By: Nikki

Nikki

Love the article! My friend who taught 3rd grade for years always told me that reading aloud to kids is THE best way to help them become good readers.

By: Jeanette

Jeanette

In 1992 I became pregnant with multiple son. Every night I read Green Eggs and Ham to him in the womb. I had read that reading aloud to a fetus was calming. My husband thought I was crazy as he fell asleep listening. When we came home, scared and excited we didn’t know what to do when he became fussy, he was fed, dry, etc. So, I began quoting the book he’d heard every night, immediately he calmed down and soon was back to sleep.
I read to both my children every day. They are both smart, compassionate adults now.

By: Lynn Smith

Lynn Smith

So very true!! I read to my daughter even before she was born. I was getting my Master’s in English at the time and read Shakespeare and Chaucer to her in the womb (usually so that I could stay awake!!!). We read to her daily as she grew up and she is now Dr. Smith and still reads for pleasure every night.

By: Grandma

Grandma

In reply to Daphne. You can order from your local bookstore the nature books written by THORNTON BURGESS. Each book is about a specific animal. Also, I had a horrible time getting my son to read until we found THE ADVENTURES OF TIN TIN. There are about 12 books in that series and he read them every night until he left home!!! And had them memorized with a different voice for each character.

By: ZhEV

ZhEV

A second mind developer that is really a ‘must do’ and that has many benefits for many years later in many ways; from compassion for others to developing an awareness for finesse in many areas. It is also so much easier to do, now. Inexpensive, and even done while engaging in other activities. {P.s. when doing things with your little child-children being towed along you can also add to the reading experience : Read labels and directions so they can here you. Read a poster or similar notice and point to the few words. “PLEASE CLOSE THE DOOR” “EMERGENCY EXIT”} Expose them to foreign language sounds, even without translating. It will help develop an ear for vocal sounds that are not a part of their normal language Many examples here: FLIED LICE, ROTS A RUCK. COR-da-ba versus cor-DO-ba. BE-tza versus PE-tza

By: Felicia Barra

Felicia Barra

Is there any way I can get a printable copy of this to share with my 1st grade parents?

By: Felicia Barra

Felicia Barra

Is there any way I can print this article to share with my 1st grade parents?

By: Martha

Martha

I went to a workshop by a reading expert who was teaching homeschool parents about reading – she said, “They’re never too young, they’re never too old – read to them.” It helps in so many, many ways. It does build vocabulary, and parents can read books that are interesting to kids that would be above the kids reading level- so kids are being introduced to books at their interest level that they could not necessarily read for themselves. This helps to build a love of reading, a love of books, a desire to read. And if kids read well – they will be able to learn anything.