Reading To Your Children; The Greatest Gift of All

READING TO YOUR CHILDREN

Reading to your children is not only important, it is the greatest gift of all.  With the rain falling onto the rooftops and the parks closed over this past weekend, I pulled out the last two copies of Saltwater Taffy I have (we have sold through 5000 copies so far and onto our 2^nd printing) and began reading the adventure to my daughter.  At first, she was more interested in her stuffed animal ‘Bunny,’ but when I tapped into my days of being an actor in high school in college, I began to change my voice and read the story as if it were some kind of play.

Her eyes instantly lit up like the lights on the Christmas tree.  After a while, when my throat was getting dry from all the different voices, I put the book down and went into the kitchen for a glass of water.  When I turned around, there she was, standing in the living room holding Saltwater Taffy and wondering why I had stopped reading.  It was the cutest thing I had ever seen, so grabbed the book and went back to the couch.

Almost on cue, Emery crawled into my arms and played with the book as I continued reading to her.  We had the best time together and the experience inspired me to again write about the importance of reading to your children.

For years, research show clearly shows that children are more likely to succeed in life when their parents actively read to them at an early age.  Helping them learn how to walk is just as important as helping them learn how to read.  Even if they aren’t interested in the activity, because you think they are too young, don’t give up.

The most important thing we can do for our children is to help them develop strong reading skills and it starts from the minute they open their eyes.  They hear our voice.  They see the pages of the book and soon, with practice, they begin to pick up books all by themselves.  When we read to our children, we are giving them a tremendous advantage in life.  Start with Saltwater Taffy…it’s a SAWEET read.