How Early Should You Start Reading to Your Child?

I’m Virginia-based school assembly presenter Joe Romano. For the last 30+ years, I’ve delivered impactful educational school assemblies in VA, MD, PA, NY, and Washington DC. Educators love how I integrate lessons and messages into my programs.

Each month I write articles like this to help busy parents and school faculty. Because reading is near and dear to my heart, this particular topic is important to me. So, when should you start reading to your child?

Start Reading to Your Child at Birth

Surprised? Don’t be. There are plenty of benefits to reading to your little ones as soon as they enter the world. First, interactive reading helps strengthen the bond between parents and children. Having a strong bond with parents is crucial to a child’s development. And the first six years of your child’s life are the most important time for development.

But reading at such an early age offers more than just bonding. Reading can lower stress levels. Like any person, children experience stress. And babies and very young children experience a lot of stress because they often don’t know what is happening around them.

Not only is reading highly effective for lowering stress, but according to some experts it’s actually more effective than music and other stress-relievers!

Reading for Toddlers

If you read to your young child, this helps them link pictures to words. The repetition of hearing the language and seeing the pictures helps children develop a sense of recognition and eventually understanding of basic language concepts.

As your child grows, reading helps in other areas. For toddlers, interactive reading helps their concentration. As they bond with parents, toddlers learn to focus on what the parent is saying. For such young children, developing the ability to focus on something is beneficial.

Then there are the obvious vocabulary benefits. Toddlers engaging with interactive reading can expand their vocabulary much faster than those who do not. Reading leads to increased language skills too.

Reading for Preschoolers

Preschoolers experience even more benefits from reading. Aside from a higher vocabulary and language skills, reading helps their emotional development. Reading helps develop emotional skills such as empathy. Hearing the plight of characters they care about can help them develop these valuable skills.

Reading to preschoolers helps their creativity. Reading stimulates their brains and encourages cognitive development. They begin to learn independent thinking and even a love of reading itself.

Reading for Kindergarteners

As children enter school, the benefits of reading increase yet again. Reading to your kindergarten child continues their emotional and cognitive development. As with earlier ages, children increase their vocabulary and language skills the more you read to them and with them.

As they embark on their educational journey in school, reading helps them in new ways. They begin to develop listening skills. They increase their ability to focus on one task or assignment.

And as with earlier ages, continuing to read interactively with your child helps you bond with them. With reading as a constant companion, their love of reading grows too.

Reading for Elementary Children

The older your child gets, the more reading continues to benefit them. As with early ages, reading helps their language development. They experience an increase in cognitive development.

These continued good reading habits help your child academically. The more they read, the more they gain critical thinking skills. Reading helps their problem-solving capabilities. They develop more independent thinking skills too.

With continued reading, children develop superior communication skills. With better communication skills, they will have the ability to function more effectively in groups settings like jobs, college classes, and even personal relationships.

Reading for Adults



The more your child reads and is read to in their early years, the more likely they are to continue reading as an adult. As technology continues to evolve at a dizzying rate, more and more jobs will require continued learning to keep up with these changes.

The ones who embrace reading and continued education will flourish. The people who are not read to much as children will struggle to keep up with the demands of an ever-changing world.

Reading for Your School

Want to get your child’s entire school excited about reading? My reading school assembly “Books! The Magic is Real!” is filled with amazing magic, kid-friendly humor, join-in fun, and more. The entire show is a celebration of reading and why it’s so important. Want more information? Contact me today while you’re thinking about it.