The Different Tools You can Use to Read Aloud and Encourage Your Child's Love for Reading

Parents and children are an inseparable bond that has been created by God for centuries. The love between the two is unconditional and lifelong.

When children are small, parents do everything for them so that they grow up to be good human beings. And when parents get old, children do their best to keep their parents comfortable and happy.

Some parents, right from infancy start reading books to their children so that he/she may fall asleep better. Sometimes, children also enjoy stories during the day.

Instilling a love of reading in children is a good way to form a habit of reading. Once children pick up this habit, then they will enjoy books to the fullest and would love to read more and more books.

Thus, it is important to read to your child as many books as you can during their first 5 years of life. Because habits developed during this period, go a long way in shaping the personality and habits of the child.

Nowadays, there is a variety of read-aloud tools that parents can use to keep their children engaged with a story. In this blog, we will be discovering some such ways.

Read Aloud Tools that can be used by parents to read stories to their Child

1. Firstly, to make reading aloud a part of your child’s life, it must be developed into a routine. Make sure you devote an hour daily with your child to reading stories and other books.

2. Make sure that the book you are about to read or purchase is interesting enough for your child or not. Book preview is an important part of reading aloud. Also, think of the discussions and conversations that can spring up after you finish reading the book.

3. Keep discussing the book with your child when you are reading it to him or her. This way it is interactive and the child enjoys the story whole-heartedly.

4. Try to maintain fluency and expression throughout the story. Your child should be able to understand the story from cover to cover. Do not mumble or speak too loudly when reading a book. Just maintain the appropriate tempo and pitch of your voice.

5. Try to add as many fun elements as you can. This will keep your child asking for more.

6. Ask your child’s friends to bring books of different genres as birthday gifts for your child. Doing this small activity will introduce your child to a whole new world of genres, themes etc. Also, you can check out your local library, bookstore or book fairs where the child can avail of a variety of genres.

7. Be a good role model to your child by reading books yourself. This behaviour will allow the child to copy the same. Take your child to your nearest bookstore and select books for both yourself and your child.

8. The best way to enjoy reading time together is to listen to audiobooks. This enhances the habit of listening and both of you can enjoy the story at the same time. Usually, these stories are read by the authors themselves nowadays. Very rarely does the author employ the services of professionals.

9. Always keep books handy for your child wherever you go. Keep a box or bag in the car, in your child’s room etc. where they can easily access them and read while you do your different errands.

10. Rereading is a good way for your child to memorize their favourite stories. Allow your child to daily pick out one favourite and reread the story all over again to feel its magic.

11. When you read aloud to your child, then he/she gets motivated, while also getting a lot more curious to know more about the story.

12. Reading aloud helps your children to destress and dive into an imaginary world. This can be a very useful tool for children who sometimes become cranky all of a sudden.

13. Your child will blossom academically when they read books right from an early age. They will perform better at reading comprehension exercises as they already are avid readers of books.

14. When reading books with your child, allow them to read small sentences and then big paragraphs. This will help them to acquire much-needed language skills.

15. It is a very much proven fact that reading helps create strong bonds between family members. So, use your reading time to create lifelong bonds.

16. Reading aloud to your child also helps them build up an active imagination and they also think of very creative ideas which they then use in other activities.

17. Even adults can reap the benefits of reading when they are reading with their children. A sense of reading is instilled even in parents.

18. Reading a variety of books is entertaining for you and your child. Keep reading a variety of genres that both you and your child will admire.

19. Reading aloud also sharpens the habit of maintaining focus in your child. Your child listens to every word of yours attentively and in turn, it allows them to better focus on the story being read.

20. A story can also help to connect your child emotionally with a story and they can also express the same emotions which are present in the story. It is a very safe space for them in which they learn to become emotionally intelligent as well.

21. Reading also helps to exercise our brains in the best possible way. A child’s brain gets more developed when they are introduced to the world of books.

So, this is how reading aloud can help your child immensely. Enjoy this time to the fullest and help strengthen the bond.