When my children were little, storytime was a high-ranking ritual on my Mommy List. I wanted to foster a love of reading in my children, so from the time they were babies until third grade, I always read a book to them before bedtime.

We want our kids to get excited about reading, and to gain the skills needed to read independently. We are proud when they start reading chapter books, and encourage them to read on their own. 

After a hiatus of reading to my novel-loving daughter, we set out on The Story Road together. I revisited some of my childhood favourites with Teagan, then had fun discussing the topics that came up in the stories. Reading aloud to her was a rewarding experience for both of us. 

Here are the top five reasons why parents should read to their middle-grade children:

5.     Older kids may not have a reading level that equals their listening level.

When GreatSchools.net Interviewed Jim Trelease, author of the Read-Aloud Handbook, he explained: “A child's reading level doesn't catch up to his listening level until eight grade. You can and should be reading seventh-grade books to fifth-grade kids. They'll get excited about the plot and this will be a motivation to keep reading.”

4.    Kids learn new words and expressions that facilitate reading more challenging books.

    In an article for Archives of Disease in Childhood, researchers show that “Reading aloud familiarises children with the language found in books and stimulates vocabulary growth… Children with greater vocabulary knowledge and understanding of spoken language tend to have less trouble with reading.”
 

3.    Most kids, the little and the big, associate books to a special, worthy experience. 

The evidence-based, non-profit organization www.reachoutandread.org promotes the “one-on-one attention from parents during reading aloud” time because it “encourages children to form a positive association with books and reading later in life.”
 

2.    Reading aloud offers both you and your kid a chance for closeness.

When reading together, parents take time off their busy schedules of work, meetings, and errands, while kids get to have down time away from school, activities, and computer screens. Both get to snuggle close and spend quality time together. When our kids grow up, we tend to give up a storytime routine. But according to SheKnows writer Abbi Perets, this tendency “means giving up a chance to end each day with some closeness and reassurance right when your child needs it most.”
 

1.    It’s fun!

Sometimes, kids aren’t interested in the books they read in school because they view them as work. Writer Shannan Younger reminds us that if kids “see a parent enjoying reading, the chances of them enjoying it too go up. Also, by reading aloud, parents can be great salesmen of both reading and particular books.”
 

So grab your middle grader, find a book, and get reading!

CAROLE BESHARAH

Once upon a time, Carole Besharah catalogued picture books as a library technician in primary schools. With a B.A. and a lifetime of reading under her belt, she now writes children’s stories of her own. Carole lives at the foot of the enchanted Gatineau Hills with her husband and their two children.

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