I have been enjoying reading author Meghan Cox Gurdon’s book The Enchanted Hour: The Miraculous Power of Reading Aloud in the Age of Distraction.
As a parent, I knew intuitively that reading to my daughter when she was a child would be an expression of my love and a way to show her that she mattered. I also knew it would help her to become a better reader and improve her ability to express herself. By being introduced through stories to people, places, and experiences outside of her day-to-day surroundings and interactions with others, she would gain a larger vocabulary and knowledge of the world.
Ms. Cox Gurdon’s book confirms what I experienced by reading to my daughter and in addition has added much to my knowledge about how children gain from being read to by others. The author writes about her personal experience reading to her children, presents findings of many research studies, and shares what she learned from her interviews with experts in child development and related fields. For example, studies have shown that children listening to audiobooks by themselves gain very little as compared to being read to by someone in person. Similarly, research shows that electronic reading toys and tablets have few benefits. Parents and caregivers should not be influenced by misleading advertising that suggests otherwise.
It is recommended that reading to children begin when they are babies. Some adults might question this because babies are too young to understand the actual words. But research has shown that listening to reading causes connections to take place in children’s brains even at a very young age, and of course the physical closeness to the person holding them as they are reading is a valuable nurturing experience.
Another fact that made an impression on me was that it is not only the reading of the words of the book that has a positive influence, but also that looking at the illustrations adds to what a child takes in. There are and have been for many years numerous talented illustrators of children’s books. Talking to children about what they see in the illustrations, and pointing to objects, people, animals, etc. that appear on the pages, add to children’s knowledge and to the enjoyable interaction.
The author sums up her experience of reading to her children as well as what she learned in researching her book in this way: “Reading every day with children can’t guarantee perfect outcomes for any family—not in grades, not in happiness, not in relationships. But it is as close to a miracle product as we can buy, and it doesn’t cost a nickel. As a flawed, fallible person with an imperfect temper, I know that reading every night is not just the nicest thing I’ve done with my children but represents, without question, the best I have been able to give them as their mother.”
I encourage parents, guardians, grandparents, and others who have close relationships with children to share the gift of reading with those children. The benefits are great, both for those being read to and for those doing the reading.