The Importance Of Reading To Your Child

The more you read, the more connections are created, and the more existing connections are strengthened.
You may think that reading to your child is just a soothing bedtime ritual, but it is much more.
Reading to your child can make a significant difference in how smart your child is, and how well she does in school.

A child’s brain is not fully formed at birth, but rather responds to what it experiences. When you read to your child, brain cells in your child’s brain form a new connection.
This continues during your child’s first three years of life. After age three, connections that are regularly used continue to grow stronger, while connections that aren’t used begin to wither away. By age 10, most of the “wiring” in your child’s brain will have been completed.
One of the strongest predictors of future academic success is having been read to as a preschooler. This also improves a child’s intelligence and allows the child to form positive associations with reading as well as forming a stronger attachment to the person who is doing the reading.
Reading to your child is a simple and pleasant process. If you do not have a lot of books in your home, getting a library card at your local public library is easy and inexpensive if not free. Books can often be bought inexpensively at yard sales and thrift stores.