A child’s reading skills are undeniably one of the most essential competencies they need to master to succeed in academics, work, and life. To aid with language development, there are many activities that your little one can partake in before they learn how to read. By introducing books to them in the early stages with activities like pretend reading and page flipping, you can cultivate a young reader. Over time, you can inculcate the habit of reading and nurture an avid reader who enjoys discovering the world around them through books.
Introducing reading to your toddler has many benefits. Aside from getting good grades in school, raising a reader can help them develop cognitive and emotional skills to nurture them into well-rounded individuals when they grow up.
Reading also promotes brain development, allowing them to use their creativity and imagination, improve their focus, and absorb more information from their immediate environment. Reading also enhances your child’s vocabulary, allowing them to uncover new words and make the crucial connection that there is another form of language – written works. With an expanded language, your child can use the new words they learned to better express themselves.
As your child listens to the stories you read, they can acknowledge and understand complex relationships and emotions. This is because reading provides them with the opportunity to empathise with how the characters in the stories feel. This, in turn, teaches them how to recognise different emotions and relate to other people’s feelings.
Reading to your child also creates opportunities for parents to form a stronger bond with their children. Moreover, it’s a great way to take a break from your daily routine and spend time with your child.
Learning how to raise a reader at an early age involves patience because it’s not something you can achieve overnight. Consistency with the reading sessions with your child is key to naturally developing a reading habit. To make it easier for you to raise a reader, you can consider these helpful tips:
Create a reading schedule to ensure that your child gets used to the idea of reading. Whether you plan on reading with your child daily or weekly, you need to establish a routine to help your child become a habitual reader. One way of nurturing the habit of reading is to read to your child before bedtime. Aside from helping your child learn new words, bedtime stories can promote memory consolidation and information retention.
Toddlers can outgrow their board books easily, which is why you need to continue supplying them with different types of reading materials. Aside from board books, you can introduce picture books, alphabet books, rhyming books, and even e-books as they grow older.
When it comes to making reading fun for toddlers, it’s not just all about the colourful pictures. Learning how to read to your child more expressively and dynamically is key. Demonstrate the characters’ emotions by changing the tone of your voice and your facial expressions. Try reading “The Book with No Pictures” by B.J. Novak with your child. It’s literally a book without any pictures but is still a fun read as parents can read and act out the story to make reading time more engaging for kids.
Instead of exposing your child to more screen time when traveling, you can bring books to encourage their reading habit. Aside from keeping them busy, having your child’s favourite book with you enables you to follow through with your pursuit of raising a reader.
Raising a reader can do wonders for your child’s overall development. Regardless of your child’s age, you can help them develop a love for reading by providing them with the support they need to start inculcating the habit. You can also facilitate your child’s language development with an English tutor.
FamilyTutor is a home tuition agency in Singapore that can fill in your child’s reading and learning gaps and address them using our tried and tested teaching methods. In our one-on-one preschool tuition programme, we follow the MOE Nurturing Early Learners (NEL) Framework to provide your child with a safe learning environment in the comforts of your own home.
Find an English tutor for your child today. Fill out our Tutor Request Form, and we’ll help you find a match that suits your child’s needs.
Carelle is a teacher who has been through the ups and downs of the teacher and learner life. She wishes for every learner to gain educational satisfaction that will help embody the people they want to be in the future.
FamilyTutor is an established home tuition agency in Singapore! We match suitable home tutors for our clients not just to improve the students' academic grades, but also to build a strong rapport and meaningful relationship with the students and even the their whole family. FamilyTutor put every student in good hands!
If you need an excellent home tutor, feel free to call/WhatsApp us at +65 8777-2168! Our matching service is free!
Japanese Tuition
Korean Tuition
German Tuition
Social Studies
Chinese Literature Tuition
FamilyTutor is an established and the people’s favourite home tuition agency in Singapore! We match a suitable tutor for you not just to improve the student’s grade, but also to build a good rapport and meaningful relationship with the student and even with the student’s whole family! With FamilyTutor, every Singaporean son & daughter is in good hands.