Reading together 

Why reading to our kids is important. (As featured in the Panorama Magazine, July 2025)

Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash

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.

Young children absolutely love repetition. Asking for the  same favourite story over and over is par for the course at this age.  The National Literacy Trust U.K. has noted that although parents seem to be aware of how important reading is in relation to academics, they forget about reading for pleasure.

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’.

Educational psychologist Keryn O’Neill and the American Academy of Pediatricians (AAP) also endorse the idea that literacy begins at birth. So, be it Nutbrown Hare, Bluey, Harry Potter or Charlotte’s Webb - reading aloud together is a wonderful way to bring comfort and calmness to your Photo by Picsea on Unsplash                            home. 

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