I believe that education is one of the most valuable gifts I can offer to my children. For my kids to learn effectively in their later academic lives, they must learn how to read and understand at a young age of two years old. This can be achieved through reading books to them two to three times a week.
There are many benefits of reading to young children. Below, I had listed down three key benefits which I had experienced with Kayden when he started his reading journey at a young age.
Firstly, reading helps Kayden to build up his concentration and listening skills. This is important because if a child fails to develop his concentration ability at a young age, it will significantly affect him when he grows up.
Secondly, reading helps Kayden to enhance his ability on language and vocabulary. When reading to him, he will unknowingly pick up some easy to read keywords and put them together to make a sentence. Well, his first few sentences were not perfect, but as his vocabulary library grew, he got much better.
Lastly, reading will help young children to calm down when they are emotional, and this is true. There were several incidents when Kayden got emotional such as throwing tantrums, I tried reading a book to him, and this helps to shift his attention away as he puts more focus on the storyline.
Parents are regularly advised to spend time reading to their young children because reading goes beyond educational development. It helps to build the intimate relationship between parents and their children.
Tips On Buying The Right Books For Your Little Ones
Today, choosing books is easy. With the aid of the internet, any parents can search for "highly recommended" or "award-winning" books for their young children. Sharing below are my four tips to help you in choosing the right books for your little ones.
Books With illustrations
Probably an essential requirement when purchasing storybooks for young children. It is true that children are attracted to colourful pictures. They will tend to read more books with illustrations than books with little or no pictures.
Books That Are Catchy
When a book has an interesting storyline, it captivates not just the child who is listening but also you, as a parent, who is reading it. So you should always look out for books with interesting plots for your child. Usually printed on the back of the storybook will have a summary of the storyline.
Books That Are Easy To Read
When words in a book such as "car", "truck" and "rain" are easy to read, understanding the storyline becomes easy and fun. Avoid buying a book which is like a written puzzle!
Books That Has Interesting Ending
Every good adventure they say gives birth to another adventure. When your child reads books with a beautiful ending, they will always want to read more. Children enjoy it more when there are a twist and a victory at the end of the story.
Having said all that, parents may now ask me the question “Do you have any books to recommend for a start?” Here are my family's top five favourite books which we love the storyline.
- The Colour Thief by Gabriel Alborozo
- What The Ladybird Heard by Julia Donaldson
- We’re Going On A Bear Hunt by Micheal Roson Helen Oxenbury
- How To Catch A Star by Oliver Jeffers
- Mr Huff by Anna Walker
This post is in collaboration with Friso.
“Kids learn from experiences whether big or small, good or bad. That’s why Friso provides the right nutrition for your child to be strong inside to take on challenges.”
For more information, please visit Friso.com.sg, https://www.facebook.com/Frisosingapore & https://www.instagram.com/frisosg.
