The benefits of reading to toddlers Reading is one of the most beneficial activities for everyone, so it is important to get children into the habit of reading at an early age. In most cases, children start reading when they are in school, when the teacher teaches them their first stories to familiarize them with reading; however, it is not necessary to wait until children arrive at school to acquire a taste for reading, as parents can read stories to them at an early age and allow them to let their imagination run wild. Also, if books take up space in the children's room and parents set an example and encourage daily reading at home, they can develop good reading habits in children. If you want to know the benefits of reading for children, this article is for you

Develop imagination and mental abilities

There is currently a wide variety in children's literature, so finding books suitable for your child's age will not be a problem. When we read a story, we are able to visualize in our mind the smallest detail that the author gives us; if the text describes a small chocolate house and mentions the smell of gingerbread cookies in the air, we are able to perceive this sensation and visualize this small house, we can even arouse our hunger, and this is because reading allows us to transport ourselves to other realities, because it develops our imagination and creativity.

The mental development that reading provides to children is essential at the school stage; in fact, the rate of success and failure in school is strongly related to the child's ability to read and understand what he or she reads. Reading helps increase children's attention span and improves their ability to think clearly, since stories, by following a structure of principles, development and outcomes, help the brain to think in sequences, connecting causes, effects and meanings.

Reading enriches children's vocabulary

If you want your children to know the meaning of many words at an early age, reading children's stories will help them discover new vocabulary in a fun way. If your child is too young to read on their own, you can tell them stories so they can learn to listen, understand language and analyze word play.

Reading aloud to our children promotes their cognitive development and, along with play, is one of the best ways to spend time with them at a young age. Shared reading of books between a child and an adult is a very effective practice for language and literacy development because, in addition to all of the text and pictures in a children's book, after reading a story to a child, there is an extra-textual discussion, an opportunity to discuss what has been, as well as to answer concrete questions about their own story. When we read books to young children, not only do they hear more words, but their brains have the opportunity to train themselves to create images associated with those words, along with the rhymes and more complex sentences that are part of the stories.

Love for literature

When the habit of reading is encouraged, the brain gradually becomes accustomed and a love of reading is born. By listening, imagining and analyzing what their parents tell them in books, stories or poems, children tend to feel encouraged, inclined to discover for themselves the benefits and pleasures of reading.

Improves concentration

Recent studies on the benefits of reading to children have shown that reading aloud is a habit that teaches them to concentrate better and helps young children pay more attention to language.

Emotional Development

So far, I've already mentioned some of the intellectual benefits that reading provides to children, but in addition to that, it also provides them with healthy emotional development, because when a parent tells stories to their child, they are also giving them quality time and creating emotional bonds.

Culture

Literature does not come out of nowhere, it is born from the mind of an author, who is influenced by the context in which he or she lives; therefore, even if at first glance we cannot perceive it, every literary production, including children's stories, conveys a message and allows us to learn about the history, customs and traditions of different parts of the world. A child who enjoys reading acquires a powerful tool to shape his or her cognitive, social and emotional development.

If you want your child to enjoy the benefits of reading, encourage this good habit from an early age. Remember, reading is one of the best ways to encourage language development in children, and there's nothing like a personalized book to motivate your child