Why You Should Read Aloud to Your Kids

Reading has always been one of my favorite pastimes. Ever since I first learned to read chapter books, I got lost in stories whenever possible. Books that made me laugh were at the top of my list when I was young, but through the years I have added many more genres to the list of what I enjoy. I will never forget the first book my sister read aloud to me, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume. I remember laughing hysterically as she read while I lay in my bed. I also remember her telling me I had to calm down and stop laughing so she could keep reading. Obviously, the experience was a good one.

Unfortunately, that is the only book I really remember anyone reading aloud to me until my ninth grade teacher read Animal Farm to my class. I don’t remember the story much at all, but I remember the ambience of the classroom and the way being read to felt like something good.

When my oldest son joined our family, reading aloud to him became an integral part of our time together. Reading to him was easy because he loved books right from the start. He would sit in my lap for book after book without tiring. I wasn’t so sure about the next three kids, as they wouldn’t sit still for a story to save my life until they were at least eighteen months old. Talk about worry!

Fast forward to today. My fourth child is four years old, and now they all love books. As soon as they all were old enough to sit still and listen to even a short book, we read aloud. We kept on, adding in longer books. Now I can even read chapter books to the two younger boys. What joy! The cherry on top is that my one-year-old daughter brings books to me, plops down on my lap or onto the floor, and expects me to read to her right then and there, which I do because she is the cutest thing.

My oldest two sons are twelve and ten years old, and we continue to read aloud together every single day, too. They are both like me in that when we have found a good story, we don’t want to put it down at night and get the rest we really need. The hours of enjoyment and time spent together reading good stories cannot be counted. I know we are building wonderful memories with the tool of reading aloud.

Not only are we building wonderful memories, but stories give us the opportunity to dive into difficult subjects or ideas. Fictional characters make scary things less scary. They make taboo issues okay to talk about. The bravery, generosity, and kindness of storybook characters inspire these qualities in us. Sad or upsetting circumstances in fictional stories help us process through sad and upsetting things when they happen in our own lives. Basically, we practice for our real lives using the ideas in stories.

My boys and I have procured some exceptional practice lately as we read through The Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson. This series probably ranks as one of my top favorites ever, along with Harry Potter. So many opportunities have presented themselves for us to laugh, learn, talk, and even cry (well, that was only mom, as my boys sat there and rolled their eyes at me).  The characters are lovable and relatable. We hated to put them back on the shelf. I will enjoy reading through both series again as my younger boys listen, and then my daughter when she is old enough.

Homeschooling affords us extra opportunities and time to enjoy good stories together. Sometimes I have to remind myself that math, science, and history are important as well. I have found occasions to read aloud in many other subject areas. I learn new things or relearn forgotten things every day in our homeschool, and it is delightful. Most mornings we begin our day with what we call “morning time,” where we pray, sing a new hymn and an old one, and read aloud a chapter from the Bible. I think this focused, consistent time in our day and in the Word of God centers me, even more than my kids, on the reasons we homeschool and on putting the Holy Spirit in charge of my parenting and my relationship with each child.

Reading aloud with my kids is a fix for a bad day and a delight on a good one. I believe God shows up in the times I read to my kiddos, using that time and those stories as a way to connect us together through memories built and conversation that might not otherwise happen. Even if you do not homeschool, reading aloud can be a tool for you to connect with your kids.

If your kids are young, begin with board books or picture books. Put books somewhere you can all see them, so it is not difficult to sit down together when time presents itself. Move on to chapter books when they can sit still for about fifteen minutes, but don’t put away the picture books because those will be good for a long time. If they don’t seem engaged by the longer stories, put those back on the shelf and try again later. There is no formula that works for every child. We must guess and test until we find what works for the children we are raising. This is one way of discovering who they are and what they need from us.

I hope you are encouraged to take some time to discover more about your kids through reading aloud to them, starting today!

Carla Clemens enjoys a crazy, beautiful life with her military husband, four sons, and a daughter. A baby interrupts her homeschool days in the best ways, and she is always attempting to live with mindfulness of each moment. She hopes to look at the world and each person in it in light of our amazing Creator, and therefore, to see each moment presented as an opportunity to love and serve him more. Carla relishes time to ponder God’s Word and have quiet moments with him and her coffee. She loves doing life with other mamas and encouraging them to simply be who God has made them to be.

Photograph © Annie Spratt, used with permission