They're Never Too Old!

As kids grow up, it’s natural for the parent-child relationship to change. While your very little ones depend on you for everything (and you know that I do mean EVERYTHING), older children are usually more self-sufficient. “Big kids” get excited to dress themselves, go potty all alone, and even read books on their own. While I certainly don’t want to discourage any of that (yes, please continue potty-training your children J), I do want to encourage you to continue reading aloud to your kids, even after they start to read on their own. The New York Times just published an article about continuing to read aloud to older children. Check it out here.

Here are a few reasons why it's great to keep reading aloud:

-Children are able to listen to books that are at a higher reading level than what they can read on their own. So, reading aloud can help with comprehension, especially if you’re discussing what you’re reading.

-As children get older, parents tend to have fewer chances to snuggle with their kids. This is a great opportunity to do that. You and your child will both benefit from that quality time together.

-Often times, kids skip over words that they don’t know when they’re reading. When you’re reading to your child, though, you’re right there to define those new vocabulary words and model proper pronunciation.

-Reading aloud to kids helps build that love of reading. Just because kids can read independently doesn’t mean that that’s the only way to read. Being read to will likely make them want to read more. For me, some of my fondest memories from my childhood are of my mom reading chapter books, like The BFG and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, to me at night.