As of: February 5, 2024, 9:07 a.m
By: Sven Trautwein
Reading aloud promotes children's development, but many parents don't do it.
The Reading Foundation examines the reasons and provides valuable tips.
Current studies show how important reading aloud is.
The result is shocking: a quarter of primary school students cannot read well.
The benefits of regularly reading to children are numerous, including expanded vocabulary, increased creativity, and an improved reading experience.
Experts in the field of reading have examined the arguments against this practice.
Four myths that parents like to raise against reading aloud
Reading is important and strengthens bonds.
But many parents don't read aloud.
These are their reasons.
© Irina Heß/Westend61/Imago
Although parents recognize the importance of reading to children's development, according to the
Reading Foundation
, one in three children between the ages of one and eight are rarely or not read from books.
The reasons parents give for this vary from lack of time to misunderstandings about reading aloud, according to the German Press Agency (dpa), which we break down here.
The foundation reviewed four common reasons parents don't read.
Here are the results and their advice:
First reason not to read aloud: “My child is too restless”
Many parents lose the joy of reading when their children are restless and constantly interrupting them.
They come to the conclusion that their child is either not interested or does not understand what is being read.
Advice: Reading can be adapted to the child's needs.
Pictures and stories in children's books are intended to stimulate dialogue.
Not every sentence has to be read out loud.
You can also speak freely about the images shown.
Why not ask the children questions too?
This is how they come into the story themselves.
There is not just one “correct way to read aloud,” according to the experts at the
Reading Foundation
.
It is important to stay busy with the children.
Since children like to ask questions often, it can be fun to switch between the role of answerer and questioner.
A book that addresses questions about space in a child-friendly way is “Cookie Crumbs in Space”.
What parents like to say against reading aloud: “I’m not good at acting.”
Some parents think they have to act while reading aloud and feel uncomfortable with the idea of giving different characters different voices and adding extra emphasis to the tension.
However, these are usually high expectations that adults have, especially for themselves, according to the reading professionals at the
Reading Foundation
.
Advice: Readers can read aloud in their normal voice with peace of mind.
Most children appreciate the cozy atmosphere and spending time with their parents as it strengthens the bond.
Myth of reading aloud: “Reading aloud is old-fashioned”
Almost every family has smartphones and tablets that can do the reading aloud digitally.
This gives the impression that reading aloud is old-fashioned.
There are definitely useful apps and digital offerings that can help you learn to read.
But anyone who has ever learned a foreign language knows that direct exchange is the most effective.
This also applies to reading aloud.
Advice: Digital and analog reading opportunities should be used together.
Excuses for not reading: “I don’t have a book with me right now.”
Reading can also be done digitally and without a book.
Advice: Whether waiting at the pediatrician or on a bus or train ride: Families can use apps like “just read aloud!” to discover stories together during short breaks in everyday life.
Every week there are three new stories that have been checked by experts from the Reading Foundation.
Olivia Jones shows how important reading is.
She will receive the German Reading Prize 2024.
The editor wrote this article and then used an AI language model for optimization at his own discretion. All information has been carefully checked. Find out more about our AI principles here.