The importance of reading aloud to young children

Key takeaways for caregivers 

• Early reading can be difficult, so young readers appreciate parents and teachers continuing to read aloud with them, as in the preschool years.  

• Young readers report that hearing stories read aloud is enjoyable and a way to spend special time with their parents.  

• For early readers as well as young children who are not yet reading, shared book reading enhances motivation to read on their own. 

• Shared book reading with older children continues to foster vocabulary learning, just as occurs with younger children, which in turn helps children’s early reading skills.  

• The type of books to read aloud range from picture books to chapter books to graphic novels – whatever caregivers and children enjoy the most. 

• Reading with children of all ages is especially important in today’s world of heavy screen use. 

 

“I like it when my mom reads to me. I enjoy the time together and we get to read harder chapter books. I can’t wait to see how the story ends.” 

–Rosie, age eight (Scholastic Books, 2019) 

Why do some parents stop reading to their children once children can read on their own?  

Even parents who read books with their children frequently during their first five years sometimes cross this task off their parenting to-do list after their child starts elementary school. Parenting surveys in the United States and other English-speaking countries consistently show a decline in shared book reading with children beginning at age six and especially after age eight. 

The surveys also indicate that nearly all parents want their children to become successful readers, but some parents believe that children no longer need to hear stories read aloud to them once they can read independently. Evidence shows that this belief is simply wrong. 

Young readers’ enjoyment of books is at risk 

Learning to read can be tedious. Young children must first grasp the concept that printed words on the page contain meaning and that each individual letter corresponds to a sound. Then they need to understand that these sounds form words and sentences. 

To make matters even more difficult, for speakers and readers of English, many letter groupings have different sounds in different words (e.g., through, thought) or different letters that create the same sounds (e.g., team, teem). Most children require several years of reading instruction and practice to read fluently and with understanding. 

It is no wonder that many children dislike their reading homework. Children who loved stories and books as preschoolers may balk when it comes time to read aloud to their parents each night. Even children who can read independently may not choose to do so in their free time. 

The unfortunate result is that many children are at risk of losing their enjoyment of books and of reading in those first few years of learning to read. If books and stories are no longer fun, children will not read in their spare time. 

How to foster a love of books and reading 

Research consistently shows that one of the best ways to foster children’s love of books and their enjoyment of reading is to share books interactively with them in early childhood. Interactive reading occurs when the adult discusses each page with the child and asks questions about the story. 

A review of 46 experimental studies from multiple countries and continents (though mostly conducted in the United States) concluded that interactive reading during children’s first five years boosts language, literacy, reading enjoyment, and motivation to read. Both reading skills and motivation are critical: The 28-year Fullerton Longitudinal Study showed that shared book reading with toddlers predicted children’s and adolescents’ later reading achievement and motivation to read, which ultimately predicted higher levels of education as adults. 

Fewer studies have been conducted on the long-term benefits of reading aloud at home with older children. However, older children tell researchers that hearing stories read aloud increases their enjoyment of books and stories. 

Interactive reading occurs when the adult discusses each page with the child and asks questions about the story. 

In a study of over 200 Australian children (ages 6-10 years), more than 75% said they enjoyed being read to at home and at school, reporting that it made them feel “happy,” “relaxed,” and “good inside.” Hearing a story aloud increased their sense of immersion (“When I listen, I feel as if I’m in the story”) and visual imagery (“I get to sit back, relax and picture the story in my head”). 

Young readers need to expand their vocabularies 

Another risk of discontinuing shared book reading during the early school years is that children’s vocabulary development will stall if they are not hearing longer and more complex stories. The stories most children can read on their own typically contain simple vocabulary and story lines that do not expand their word knowledge or understanding of the story. Vocabulary development at this age depends on other sources, such as being read to aloud. 

A potential plateau in young children’s reading skills

At the extreme, the constrained content of independently read books could lead to a plateau in children’s reading skills in later elementary grades, when children with adequate decoding skills (sounding out words) have poor comprehension skills (understanding text) because of their limited vocabulary. 

In other words, some children can pronounce words correctly but have difficulty understanding the meaning of what they read. Successful reading is the product of decoding words and understanding those words. If either decoding skills or comprehension is poor, children will not become good readers. As a bonus, a larger vocabulary boosts early decoding skills, perhaps because familiar words are easier for children to sound out. 

How to continue to expand children’s vocabularies 

A significant amount of research shows that interactive shared book reading is one of the best ways to expand young children’s vocabularies. Picture books contain many new words that young children are unlikely to encounter in their everyday conversations. For instance, the ever-popular book Where the Wild Things Are repeatedly uses the word rumpus, which most children have not heard before. By reading even one picture book with their young children each day, parents expose their child to an estimated 78,000 words over a year through shared book reading alone. 

Reading aloud with older children is also a very effective way to continue to expand children’s vocabularies. In a study of German 8 and 10-year-olds, children who heard an adult read a story aloud learned more new words than children who read the same story silently on their own. Perhaps the effort required to silently pronounce new words distracts even proficient young readers from figuring out their meaning. 

By reading even one picture book with their young children each day, parents expose their child to an estimated 78,000 words over a year through shared book reading alone. 

In the study with Australian 6 to 10-year-olds, the children’s responses indicated that word learning was one of the perceived benefits of hearing stories read aloud at home and at school. Children reported: “It makes me learn new words” and “If there are hard words (the adult) can pronounce it and tell me what it is.” 

Who, what, and how to read to older children 

Although mothers tend to be the primary reader in many households, children also enjoy reading aloud with their fathers, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and older siblings. Caregivers can read anything both parties enjoy, including chapter books, favorite picture books from younger ages, and graphic novels. 

The importance of reading non-fiction books to young children

Caregivers should also read non-fiction books to their children. In a study of primary-reader mothers and fathers in New Zealand, parents enjoyed sharing both fiction and non-fiction books with their offspring, and children sometimes enjoyed non-fiction even more than fiction books.

Yet the question of how to read with school-age children is still largely unanswered. Research on interactive reading with older children does not show the same benefits as occurs with younger children. 

Instead, it is more effective for vocabulary learning when adults use a reading style with fewer interruptions, preview the book with children, read in a dramatic style, and engage in a brief discussion afterwards. Adults should be sure that children can see the text of the book while reading so that they can follow along if they wish. 

The differences in attention span play a part

Older children have longer attention spans than younger children, so they can usually wait until the end of the story to discuss new words and concepts and their emotional reactions. However, parents and other caregivers should make sure their children know they can stop them to ask questions along the way. 

Conclusion 

Continuing to read aloud to school-age children can increase their motivation to read and expand their vocabularies. Shared book reading is also a way to reduce children’s heavy use of low-quality screen time, which is consistently linked to slower language development in children up to age 12.

Young children enjoy being read to

However, perhaps the most compelling reason for caregivers to read to children for as long as possible is that most children want them to do so. The Scholastic survey of U.S. 6- to 14-year-olds from a range of family incomes, ethnicities, and household types found that 83% loved it when their parents read aloud to them at home. Most of the children told researchers they wished their parents read aloud to them more often. 

Their top reason? Like Rosie from the opening quote, it was having special time with their parents. So parents and other caregivers should feel free to cuddle up with their young readers and read aloud to them a story of their choice. 

For more tips, see my books Tell Me a Story: Sharing Stories to Enrich Your Child’s World and How Stories Change Us.