By Maya Payne Smart From the pediatrician’s office to parenting magazine columns, numerous voices tout the benefits of regularly reading aloud to young children for language development. But storytime quantity is just part of the equation. How parents read to kids (not just how often) matters too, and I don’t mean the pacing and performance qualities of reading aloud. No matter how thrilling the story or a parent’s delivery, a verbatim front-to-back reading of a book leaves out critical . . .
The Three Best Reasons to Read Aloud to Babies
By Maya Payne Smart Book enthusiasts have long credited family reading with healing and restorative properties, calling it a "magical elixir" or a "super multivitamin" for a range of personal and social issues. As 2020, the year of COVID, yawned to an end, one mom even declared that families reading aloud just might be "the panacea the world is looking for right now." In her estimation, reading with kids just a few minutes a day can combat feelings of pandemic defeat and allow parents to . . .
Five Reading Aloud Tips to Get Your Child Kindergarten Ready
By Maya Payne Smart The idea of reading to children daily is deeply entrenched in American culture, even if the practice hasn’t completely taken hold. Books advising parents on creating family reading routines, and recommending what to read to kids when, have flourished since the 1930s. Raise-a-reader stories are standard features of parenting magazines and blogs. Schools, teachers, and community organizations all tout the benefits of reading to kids. My local grocery store chain even runs a . . .