Reading together
Why reading to our kids is important. (As featured in the Panorama Magazine, July 2025)
When I look
back on my own children’s early years, I recall that there was nothing more
special than the times we sat tucked up on the couch sharing picture books together.
Sometimes we would read each word aloud. At other times we would pour over the
beautiful illustrations, chatting about what might be happening here and there.
It turns out
that cherished reading moments like these are also hugely beneficial to
literacy and learning. In the simple act of reading a book to a small child you
are passing on a gift. The process of building foundational literacy skills has
begun, and you have planted seeds that will grow with your child for the
learning years ahead.
In a recent
article, educational consultant Janet McCarroll makes the comment, ‘Reading
aloud might seem simple, but its impact is profound. It builds vocabulary,
strengthens comprehension, and deepens attention — all through joyful,
intentional encounters with language. When students hear rich, meaningful text,
they begin to internalise its structure, rhythm, and vocabulary — long before
they’re ready to decode independently’.
The research
on parental reading aloud and its benefits is well documented. Much less is
known about the bonus factor of building the muscle of ‘holding attention’. In
a world where concentration has become fragmented by screen time, the simple
act of turning pages and slowing down enough to read a book, is a gentle pathway
to regaining attention levels.
As
librarians at Pinehurst, we use reading aloud as a guiding principle, reading
the best of picture books and taster chapters of fiction to hook our readers in.
During the last weeks of the school year, I have read aloud an entire book to
the Year 7 cohort. Though my throat was all but dried up by the end, finishing
the story together was a highlight for everyone listening.
Our teachers in classrooms are also reading aloud to your children from Year 0 through to Year 13, introducing them to stories and written texts that have stood the test of time. Reading together is a practice we all love to pass on to our students.
Janet
McCarroll adds:
‘This is what makes reading aloud such a high-leverage strategy: it fills the well of language, especially for students who may not encounter this vocabulary in everyday conversation’.
Remarkably though, evidence shows that it is reading aloud at home that plays the most significant part in literacy development. Early childhood researchers encourage parents to establish a reading aloud habit from the early baby years. Reading board-books and favourite picture books before bedtime is a perfect way to start.
Author
Alison David adds: ‘Parents as a wide cohort, have typically not been
explicitly told about the importance of reading aloud to their child, the
benefits of relaxation, time together, the importance of building a routine and
love of reading’.
Reading aloud to your child plays a significant part in later childhood vocabulary development, reading comprehension and an understanding of the world around them. The added benefits of bonding and emotional wellbeing will also be good for you, the adult. I hope you can take some time to quietly open the pages of a book and share it with someone you love today.
Michele
Coombridge
Library
Manager
