Get some basic, actionable tips for how many books to read to your child each day and when the best time of day to read to kids is.
“If we read a minimum of three stories a day [to each child] we could probably wipe out illiteracy in one generation” (Reading Magic, page 12).
Mem Fox feels strongly about the power of reading. She even believes many (if not all) children can learn to read simply by being read to–no training necessary. Her own daughter learned to read without being taught, and Fox attributes that to reading aloud to her (see chapter one).
Something great about Fox is she gives parents many specific guidelines for reading to children.
Post Contents
What to Read
As you saw in the beginning quote, Fox advocates reading three books a day to a child.
She says ideally, you will read one favorite story, one familiar story, and one new story–although the same story three times in a row is okay, too (page 17).
You of course don’t need to limit yourself nor your child to three stories a day–three is your minimum.
When to Read
As far as what age to ready aloud to your child, start right away. However old your child is right now is the age to start.
>>>Read: Reading Aloud: Start From Birth
She also encourages parents to read anytime and all the time (page 34), but she also highly advocates having reading happen before bedtime.
She goes so far as to say reading MUST happen at bedtime (page 36).
The things learned just before bedtime are processed over and over again in the night, so any new vocabulary words or lessons learned from the stories read will solidify in your child’s brain best if read just before bedtime.
The brain processes what it learned in the day while the body sleeps, so getting solid sleep is vital to really learning these new words.
Conclusion
I have commented before, but Reading Magic is a great, fast read for parents who want to get more information on why reading is important and is full of ideas on how to read to children (that post coming). Mem Fox is great at giving specific ideas to work with.
Related Posts
- How to Make Reading Aloud Enjoyable for Parents
- Reading Magic by Mem Fox Book Recommendation
- Teaching Children to Love to Read
- The Value of Reading Aloud to Your Children
- Why Read Aloud to Children?
