31 Days: Day 23

The Discipline of Reading

I love to read, I only wish I had more hours in a day to read more!  When I can read a little every day, it energizes me.  Reading broadens my limited perspective and challenges me to think outside my little corner of the world.  It also is very relaxing, helps me unwind, and fills me up.  

I also love reading to my boys, I read to them while they were in the womb.  As infants I began reading the Word of God out loud during my devotional times then between 6 months and a year I started reading children's Bible stories and other books to them.  

Reading aloud to young children is the single most effective thing parents can do to help prepare their children to succeed in school. Unfortunately, fewer than half of U.S. children ages 5 and under are read to every day, placing them at risk for reading delays and school failure.


Why is reading aloud to young children so important?

• Children who live in print-rich environments and who are read to during the first years of life are much more likely to learn to read on schedule.
• Reading aloud to young children is not only one of the best activities to stimulate language and cognitive skills; it also builds motivation, curiosity, and memory.
• Early language skills, the foundation for reading ability and school readiness, are based primarily on language exposure - resulting from parents and other adults talking to young children.
• Research shows that the more words parents use when speaking to an 8-month-old infant, the greater the size of their child's vocabulary at age 3. 
• Books contain many words that children are unlikely to encounter frequently in spoken language. Children's books actually contain 50% more rare words than primetime television or even college students conversations.
• The nurturing and one-on-one attention from parents during reading aloud encourages children to form a positive association with books and reading later in life.
• Reading aloud is a proven technique to help children cope during times of stress or tragedy.
• Reading difficulty contributes to school failure, which increases the risk of absenteeism, leaving school, juvenile delinquency, substance abuse, and teenage pregnancy - all of which perpetuate the cycles of poverty and dependency.

Studies show that a child develops 80% of the attitudes, values, fears, and loyalties that he will carry through life from birth to first grade. It is a tremendously important time in a person's life. Also it is the time of the greatest learning curve. A child is learning primary relationships, eating, balance [walking], language, and a hundred other foundational things. There is no reason why, when a person's mind is so open to learning, that they should not be taught to read.

I believe because we have been disciplined to read to my two year old (almost 3 year old) he has an impeccable memory, a gift for details and a vocabulary to match. He knows several Bible verses by memory and can even quote entire Bible stories because of the frequency in which he's heard them. Never underestimate the power of reading for yourself or reading to your kids.