Reading to children is an essential part of their development but it is also an excellent opportunity to bond with your kids. Babies, toddlers and preschoolers delight in simply hearing a parent's voice. This aids in their language development but there is also a strong social aspect as parents and children share the story together. Take this opportunity to point out things in the pictures and to talk about the story. For school age children, you can take it even further by inviting children to add to the story or to share their life experiences and thoughts about the story. This can help children in their reading comprehension skills but also helps children to relate aspects of the story to real life. You can add in the opportunity to play with your kids as well. For example if you are reading a story about pirates to your first grader then you might have a treasure hunt later in the day. Encourage your child to use their imaginations and to embrace the story in a variety of ways. You will form a strong bond with your child and also spark a love of reading and creativity in your child.
You can also use reading to bond with older children. My oldest son and I enjoyed reading the entire Harry Potter series together. We each took turns reading chapters in the books and then we got together to discuss what we read. We also compared and contrasted parts of the books to the movies. This gave us the perfect opportunity to share our thoughts and to do something together but it also taught me son to think about what he read, to discuss his thoughts on the story and to compare the literature in new ways.
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