What is a good age to start reading to my child?

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CreativeRac... , Child Professional, Teacher asks:

I know expectant mothers read to their unborn babies in the womb, but I'm wondering what is a good age to read to my child so he or she understands and is engaged in the content?

In Topics: Cognitive development

> 60 days ago

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Louiseasl

Jun 30, 2009

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What the Expert Says:

Parent and child enjoyment of reading usually begins when a child can attend, even momentarily, at picture books. Introducing books to a child can start at any age. Many parents prefer not to "read" to their children until they can sit up a bit in their lap and view the book as well as "help turn the pages". When you use picture books be creative and you can "make-up a story" if there are no words. As a child gets older ask questions such as..."What do you think will happen next?"

I applaud you asking this question as research has demonstrated that parents who read to children when they are young are helping create their ability to focus as school aged children.

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tuffykenwell

Jun 26, 2009

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from a fellow member

We start reading specifically to a child at about 10 months of age. I currently have 3 children so before 10 months of age they still are present during the older children's story time but they get stories geared specifically to them at about 10 months.

When we first start reading books it is more about looking at the pictures and getting them used to the idea of how a book works (we start at the beginning of the book and turn one page at a time until the end)....that sort of thing. That doesn't mean it isn't valuable time because these are important skills to learn.

My kids all adore books and I can't imagine waiting until age 5 to start reading to them. My kids all started memorizing their stories around 18 months old so they could "read" to themselves so I would say they were definitely engaged in the content. Sometimes it was more about the rhyme and cadence (Sandra Boynton was an early favorite with all of my kids) then the meaning of the actual words but that doesn't mean they aren't engaged in the material....just perhaps in a different way then you would original think of.

Steph

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Additional Answers (3)

hlevitan , Teacher writes:

Rachna,

Your question addresses a pertinent issue. There really isn’t a magical age where children suddenly become engaged and fully understand textual content, but comprehension rather depends on the individual child and his or her prior experiences with reading. A good age to start reading to your child would be as early as you can and often. Reading aloud to your child and having them see you read is a great way to expose them to reading at an early age. Whether or not you know that they comprehend the text, they are becoming exposed to the reading practice. Young toddlers whose parents read aloud to them may understand the oral language while not always comprehending the text on the page. However, through time, they may come to associate the words and the images in the book with what their parents express orally.

The age that children start to become engaged and understand text really depends on having the building blocks for reading. Helping your child acquire these pre-reading skills is essential for helping them piece together knowledge to read for understanding
An example of a pre-reading skill is correlating an image with a meaning and a sound. Young children and toddlers start to attribute these meaningful images as symbolic representations. For instance, a toddler may attribute the physical logo of a store with the oral expression of the store’s name and the physical store itself. The following article about reading for meaning concerns how identifying phonemes is essential for preparing kids for reading:

http://www.education.com/reference/article/reading-comprehension-for-meaning/

The following article also addresses the role of decoding in comprehension development:

http://www.education.com/reference/article/current-issues-reading-comprehension/

I hope you find these articles useful.

Best,

Hayley

> 60 days ago

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hlevitan , Teacher writes:

Here is another article that shows the developmental progression of children's reading capabilities. It shows reading behaviors one would expect at each age from birth through adolescence.

Resources:

http://www.education.com/reference/article/developmental-reading-different-age/

> 60 days ago

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