By Lavelle Carlson
Oh, the worries of being a parent!
Then, someone comes out to tell parents to read, read, read to their children and adds more worries.
Another way to worry parents is to quote numbers on how many words a young child needs to hear before entering school.
Get ready! Here is the number – sorry. Young children who hear five books – yes, five books – read each day will have heard a million-plus words before entering school. That is asking for a lot of time reading. But, hearing it increases the likelihood of successful language and reading in school.
When I was a young parent, I remember the begging and pleading from my young children who did not want to go to bed. One more! One more! I did it, but it was often tiring. However, it paid off as my daughters did well in school.
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Preston Hollow
Let’s try to simplify it. If you cannot read that many books each day, try to bring the story into your conversation during your drive or while cooking a meal.
Here are a few other suggestions to make the most out of reading time.
Paired reading — The adult read part of a phrase, and the child takes a turn and “reads” another. Books high in repetition lend themselves to this. Also, reading a book multiple times facilitates this action.
Questioning — Ask simple questions after a page or after you have finished the story.
Interaction — Make stories interactive by using puppets or allowing child to act out some of the actions in the book.
No words — Wordless books encourage children to tell their own story.
Employ cues — Use print referencing of verbal and non-verbal cues. Example: Verbal cue – Look, the bee says “bzz.” Non-verbal cue – following the print with your finger as you read and even having your child put their hand on your hand as you move it across the print.
Repetition — Read a story many times — yes, even though that could be boring to you if done too often.
Crayons — Coloring storybooks can be beneficial to the speech and language aspect as well as fine motor skills.
Lavelle Carlson is a retired speech-language pathologist and award-winning author who crafts engaging books for young children. Her passion for literacy lives on through stories that spark learning and laughter.
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