I just finished reading Alice in Wonderland to my 5 year old daughter. I got the idea after talking to a few teenagers, who recounted with fondness how their fathers had read novels to them as children. I’m a firm believer in imitating the actions of folks who are successful, so I resolved to take up reading novels to my kids. We started weeks ago, reading a chapter or two every night at bedtime. I didn’t think it would go over well. The book didn’t have any pictures and some of the material went over her head. Occasionally, I had to stop to explain things to her. She still loved it. She picked Alice in Wonderland over her children’s books with simple stories and pictures. When we finished, she asked me if there was more. So, we started reading Through the Looking Glass (the sequel). After we finish, we’ll read the Jungle Book. Apart from my little girl relishing time spent with me, there are all sorts of other benefits to reading to my children. Kids who are read to by their parents 3 to 4 times a week learn the alphabet faster, they learn math faster than their peers, they learn to write earlier, and perform better in school in general. Over the long term, kids who are read to regularly are statistically more likely to develop stronger reading skills later and to become avid readers later. Interestingly, the benefits don’t stop with just reading to your kids. Growing up in a household with a wide variety of reading material available makes kids statistically more likely to score well on standardized tests. Beyond the educational benefits, spending quality time with your kids on a daily basis yields huge results for your future relationship with your kids, as well as their emotional development.
As I researched this topic, the thing that jumped out at me is that it’s such a simple thing. Spending 20 minutes reading every other day is easy. It doesn’t seem like a world-changing activity. Small things, undertaken regularly over the long term, can make a huge impact on your children. Beyond that, the more you undertake small activities, like eating meals together or reading to your kids, the easier it gets to do more. The key to starting this sort of change is committing to do it. Pick one or two small activities and take them on. Once they become habits, add more. Small changes are easier to implement and maintain than big ones. This is especially important when it comes to our children. We help them grow and succeed. We shape them over the long term. In this equation, the little things we do daily add up, eventually becoming large totals.
