Reading Tips for Parents and Guardians
Every day, parents face many responsibilities and pressing tasks. It can be hard to find the time to read to your child when there's dinner to be made, bills to be paid, laundry to be done and more. But reading with your child is one of the most important, powerful things you can do to ensure your child's success at school and later in the world of work.
The Pearson Foundation's Early Childhood Education Perception Poll found that most Americans agree that developing early childhood literacy is an incredibly important issue that isn't getting the attention it deserves. And while they agree that reading to children is an effective way to develop literacy skills, they don't realize that most low-income families don't have children's books in their home. Using We Give Books to read to your child can help bring the quality children's literature needed by these families to put their children on the path to success.
Why Reading with Your Child is so Important
Reading & Your Child's Achievement
- The U.S. Department of Education found that children who were read to at least three times a week by a family member were almost twice as likely to score in the top 25% in reading as children who were read to less than three times a week.
- Children who have been read to several times a day as a young child did substantially better in kindergarten than youngsters whose parents read to them a few times a week or less often.
- Out-of-school reading habits of students have shown that even 15 minutes a day of independent reading can expose students to more than a million words of text in a year. (Anderson, Wilson, & Fielding, 1988)
Reading & Your Child's Success
- Workers 18 and over with a bachelor's degree earn an average of $51,206 a year, while those with a high school diploma earn $27,915; those without a high school diploma average $18,734. (U.S. Census Bureau, 2005)
- Literary readers are more likely than non-readers to engage in positive civic and individual activities - such as volunteering, attending sports or cultural events, and exercising. (National Endowment for the Arts, The Arts and Civic Engagement: Involved in Arts, Involved in Life, 2006)
Reading & Your Child's Future
- Nearly two-thirds of employers ranked reading comprehension "very important" for high school graduates. Yet 38 percent consider most high school graduates deficient in this basic skill. (The Conference Board, Are They Really Ready to Work? 2006)
- 85% of all juveniles who interface with the juvenile court system are functionally illiterate. (National Assessment of Adult Literacy, 2003)
- 50% of the chronically unemployed are not functionally literate. (U.S. Dept. of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education, Presentation: Dr. Susan Sclafani, 2005)
Tips for Reading with Your Child
- Make reading time special: Set aside 20-30 minutes every day to read with your child. Find a special place, hold them close, and give them your full attention. Create a routine that you and your child follow to get ready for reading time. Your child will associate reading with quality time with someone they love. They will also learn that reading is important enough to do every single day.
- Make reading time interactive: Have your child help you turn pages and track the words on the page. Ask your child to preview the book by looking at the pictures before reading and guessing what will happen in the story. When their reading skills improve, split the reading responsibilities.
- Make reading time thinking time: Ask them questions about the pictures in the book, or what they think of a character's choices. Prompt them to come up with an alternate ending. These engage critical thinking skills that will help your child in school and later in life.
- Make reading time a family activity: When your child is old enough to read independently, model good reading habits. Read a book of your own nearby while they read their book. Ask them about their book, and whether they would recommend it to their friends or teachers. Show them that daily reading is a life-long enjoyment.
- Make reading a year-long activity: Children who do not read over summer vacation lose some of their reading skills. To prevent "summer slide," make sure your child keeps up their daily reading. Enroll them in a summer reading program at your local library. On the flip side, regular readers can gain skill and reading levels by taking advantage of extra time for reading.
- Make regular trips to the library: This ensures your child always has books that interest them. It also helps communicate how important reading is to you and your family. If you care about reading, your child will too!
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