Children need to hear language before they can pick it up to speak. The quantity of words that children hear is important for language development but so is the quality of the language they hear. Books provide a great opportunity to expose them to rich language. Although parents may speak to their children in their everyday setting, it’s the same words and the same patterns of speech they will hear. Books, however, expose children to new and different words and grammar that adults would not otherwise use, such as names of plants or animals and stories about different characters in other settings other than their immediate surroundings.

When children hear new vocabulary and phrases in books, it helps them expand their “word bank” and learn how to use language effectively. Reading to your children also helps them understand text and structure such as how a narrative and story is pieced together, with a beginning, middle and end. It helps children develop other comprehension skills, such as inferencing, predicting, and understanding characters’ actions and motivations.

Research[1] has found that young children whose parents read to them daily have been exposed to 290,000 more words by the time they enter kindergarten than kids who aren’t read to regularly. All this exposure makes it easier for children to understand the variety of texts they’ll need to read as they get older, both inside school and out.

These are some of the benefits of reading to a child. Let’s explore a few more benefits below.

1: Builds Concentration

Focusing on a story, characters and plot is good practice for a child and an interactive way to develop focus. Concentration and focus are very important skills that children need in school. Even if your child is not yet school-aged, reading aloud to them will help a child learn to sit still and listen for long periods of time. This will benefit them when they start schooling where they will be spending many hours a day listening and interacting with their teachers in school.

2: Improves Memory

To follow a story, the child will need to remember it. When a child listens to a story, they actively engage their brain to remember characters, plot points and details which strengthen their memory function. To help build a child’s memory skills, you can read an extended story over a number of days and ask for a recap of what you have read to them previously before you read the next chapter.

3: Teaches about the World

Reading to a child teaches them about the world by exposing them to different cultures, perspectives, experiences and emotions through the stories. When they listen, they create the world they are reading about in their heads which helps them develop awareness, empathy, understanding of diverse ways of life and gain knowledge about different concepts, all while stimulating their imagination and critical thinking skills.

4: Expands Vocabulary

Hearing stories read to them can expose children to a range of new vocabulary and phrases that they may not have heard otherwise. By reading to a child daily, they will learn new words every single day.

5: Improves Literacy

Reading to a child improves literacy by exposing them to new vocabulary, along with helping them understand the structure of language and develop comprehension skills which result in the ability to communicate effectively. By pointing out sounds and letters in words, children start to connect spoken language with written words. Additionally, reading improves writing skills. As children immerse themselves in various books, they unconsciously absorb these linguistic patterns which later influence their writing. Studies[2] have shown that children who are read to regularly are more likely to develop early literacy skills that can lead to good academic outcomes in school.

6: Develops Empathy

When reading stories, we put ourselves into the story in front of us as we experience the lives of other characters and identify with how they are feeling. For example, Tom, a character in a story, is feeling sad that he lost his favourite toy. Children can then identify with Tom’s sadness and understand how he is feeling and then use this understanding to empathise in the real world with other people. This helps children gain a greater understanding of emotions and relate to others’ points of view which can help them understand their own emotions and those of others in the real world. Learning about empathy is one of the most important social skills and helps with children’s social-emotional development.

7: Boosts Critical Thinking

Reading to a child boosts critical thinking as it exposes them to complex narratives, characters and situations that encourage the child to analyse, question and interpret information. Ask questions along the way as this will develop their ability to think critically about the story and draw their own conclusions. Apart from boosting comprehension skills, skills like making predictions, understanding cause and effect and evaluating characters’ motivations are also developed.

8: Fosters a love for Reading

When children are exposed to books and stories from a young age, they are more likely to develop a love of reading as they get older. This is because reading to them helps kids associate books with the joy of bonding with their parents, being given attention and being read to in a warm and loving environment. Reading also takes children places and teach them things ─ the child dips in to real and imagined worlds, meeting interesting characters, learning something new or deepening an understanding of something they are already fascinated by. All this creates a positive memory linked to books which makes children more likely to want to read books themselves later on.

9: Promotes Creativity and Imagination

Reading to a child significantly boosts their imagination and creativity as it exposes them to new worlds, characters and situations which encourages them to form pictures of characters, visualize their settings and environment, actively engage with the story and guess what’s coming next. This essentially impels children to “paint pictures” in their minds, thus stimulating their creative thinking and the ability to imagine beyond the boundaries of reality.

10: Builds Stronger Relationships

If a parent reads to a child on a regular basis, they will undoubtedly develop stronger relationships between them. Reading provides parents with an opportunity to have regular, shared moments of warmth which helps with bonding. The child will feel close to you. These feelings of attention, love and reassurance encourage positive growth and development.

Tips on How to Read to your Child

· Choose books that are appropriate for your child’s age and interests

· Allow your child to choose books that interest them, especially as they get older

· Make your reading expressive, interactive and fun

· Talk about the pictures as you read

· Build vocabulary by focusing on and talking about new words

· Connect the story to your child’s world

· Ask questions about the story and encourage your child to ask what they are wondering about

· Make reading aloud a regular part of your routine. Just 15 minutes a day can make a big difference in raising a reader

Morinaga Chil-kid

In order for reading to take place effectively, children need the sustenance that can provide and support their everyday nutritional needs so they can focus, remain calm and attentive, learn, remember, think and absorb information.

Morinaga Chil-kid is a nutritionally optimized growing up milk that supplies balanced nutrition to support children’s nutritional needs. Just two servings a day will provide their daily Recommended Nutrient Intake when complemented with food.

Formulated with a subtle vanilla taste to appeal to children’s taste preference, the new and improved Morinaga Chil-kid features a balanced ratio of 45 essential nutrients[3] such as ARA, DHA, Inositol, Omega 3&6 LCPs, GOS, 5 Nucleotides, Protein, 21 vitamins and minerals, and no sucrose. All of these are designed to support the growth and developmental trajectory of Asian children aged one to seven.

Morinaga Chil-kid is a Japanese formulation that is backed by 100 years of R&D and the latest scientific research. Wholly produced from dairy farms to the packing process in the Netherlands, the milk is fully imported and goes through a double inspection process with samples sent to Japan for a second inspection before it is shipped to Malaysia.

[1]The importance of reading to kids daily. (n.d.). College of Education and Human Ecology. https://ehe.osu.edu/news/listing/importance-reading-kids-daily-0
[2]Kern, M. L., & Friedman, H. S. (2009). Early educational milestones as predictors of lifelong academic achievement, midlife adjustment, and longevity. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 30(4), 419–430. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2008.12.025
[3]Product - Morinaga Milk Formula | Morinaga Malaysia. (n.d.). Morinaga Malaysia. https://morinagamilk.com.my/product.php