Let's talk about something magical: reading with your little ones. We all know it's important, but do you ever wonder just how much it can shape those early years? Spoiler alert: it's kind of a big deal. So let's dive into why reading and asking the right questions are like secret weapons in your parenting arsenal. Let's unlock some serious potential together!
Quantity vs. Quality of Questions
Children’s minds need to be engaged and challenged during reading time in order to encourage development. Asking questions that lead them to make inferences about the reading based on what they have read is a great way to get their gears moving.
For instance, if you are reading Una Noche sin Dormir from our Spanish Sprout Box, it might be more beneficial and impactful to ask your child
“Why do you think Elisa won’t stop crying?”
As opposed to asking
“What color are the buildings in page 1?”
Cognitive Superfood
Depending on your child’s developmental stage, reading and follow up activities can help develop multiple facets of their cognition.
For younger kiddos, books with lots of illustrations can help kids develop their shape and color recognition.
For toddlers, they require books that are a little more complex and stimulating. Books that can help them with their critical thinking skills even at a young age. This helps them to create links in their brain between the stories they read and the real world.
Guided questions such as
“What would you do if you were in this character's position?”,“how would you feel?”
and/or
“What do you think will happen next?”
can help your toddler with reading comprehension as well as with emotional intelligence and cognition.
What to Read?
Dr. Phillips highlights in an article by the Child Minds Institute that the benefits of reading to children vary depending on their developmental stage.
For newborns, exposure to any reading material is valuable for language development. Playing podcasts or even reading newspapers or articles to your child can help develop their language comprehension and abilities.
As children grow, the content of books becomes more significant, serving as a gateway to meaningful conversations about their experiences and emotions.
Choose books that resonate with your child's interests and preferences, creating magical moments of discovery tailored just for them.
Here at Curio, we select books that tailor different preferences, ages, character styles, plotlines, etc. to tailor to the likes of you and your child to make learning fun!
References