Reading To Your Children is the Greatest Gift

You may have tangible wealth untold;
Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.
Richer than I you can never be-
I had a mother who read to me.
~Strickland Gillilan

Reading aloud is an essential part to bringing up and educating a child.
Reading out load to your child increases her vocabulary and comprehension. This will also serve as a natural way to learn Language Arts. When a child is hearing quality vocabulary and writing she will become a natural at writing and speaking.
If you read quality books with virtues you will give your child the tools she needs to live with others. There are many things to learn from the stories we read in books, such as, forgiveness, compassion, responsibility, persistence.... Wouldn't it be nice to be familiar with the things that happen in our lives and the ways that others have dealt with them before we have to face them ourselves? By reading quality books to your child you are giving her a foundation that will give her the advantage in life.
Unfortunately, I wasn't consistent about reading aloud to my children when they were young. However, I believe it is never to late. We spend a lot of time reading in our home. I read aloud to my children at least four days a week. I choose books that are well written and have many virtues to learn from. Everything I have read about this subject has given me confidence that my children are reaping the benefits of reading aloud regardless of their age.
My hopes for posting this is that others will see the benefits of reading aloud to their children and start today.

"The hand that rocks the cradle
is the hand that rules the world"


There are lots of wonderful books written on this subject. One of the best books I have read on this topic is the Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease. Other books that help you pick out quality literature are Honey for a Child's Heart and Honey for a Teens Heart by Gladys Hunt