If you don't make time in your household for reading to your children, you could be causing harm to your family togetherness, your child's creative abilities and his/her academic achievement.
Well, there's a downer to start the New Year.
In a new study, researchers are finding that fewer and fewer families are making time for the traditional "bedtime story" or any reading outloud time. Apparently, just under half of all parents surveyed for the study said they or someone in the household read to their children (ages newborn to 5 years old) on a daily basis. The survey showed wide variations between the states--Vermont was really big on reading, with 67 percent of respondents saying they read daily, while Mississippi was ranked dead last, with just 38 percent of respondents saying they read to their children daily. One observer of the survey said she believed the actual incidence of reading to be even less than reported. Parents reported they read least to their infants under age 1, and most to their 3-year-olds, while experts caution that children at all ages can benefit from reading outload. The youngest learns the rhythms of language and meaning of words, while the older ones can hear more advanced words and phrases than he/she might be able experience while attempting to read on his/her own.
What about you? Do you read to your young child? Write us with your comments by clicking onto "comment" just below.
