Reading aloud to your child: why it matters and how to do it well

Read aloud to your child most days, and talk about the book as you go. Books bring words and ideas that daily talk rarely reaches. A 1995 review of many studies found that kids who were read to more often had stronger language and early reading. This was true across family incomes.^[1]

You do not need special books, a perfect voice or a full hour. Ten or fifteen minutes on most days is a good start. Use whatever language your family speaks well. Below is what the research says, where it is weaker than you might think, and how the habit changes from age 3 to 12.

Why reading aloud matters

Books use words that rarely come up over dinner: "enormous", "whisper", "meanwhile". A 2019 study counted the words in 60 popular children's books. It then estimated how many words a child would hear from being read to.^[5]

These numbers are estimates from a model using United States data. They are not counts from real homes. Still, they show how a small daily habit adds up.^[5]

Reading together is also about closeness. The American Academy of Pediatrics asks doctors to tell all parents that reading aloud with young children can strengthen the parent-child bond. It also helps young minds get ready to learn language and early reading. They advise starting in infancy and going at least until kindergarten.^[6]

That warmth matters as much as the words. A child who links books with your lap and your attention is more likely to want more of them.

Dialogic reading: let your child do the talking

Let your child tell the story while you listen and ask questions. This is called dialogic reading. Over time, you and your child swap roles. Your child becomes the storyteller.^[8]

It was first tested in 1988. Parents of children under 3 learned the method at home over one month. Their children could say more words and spoke in longer phrases than children whose parents read as usual.^[9][8]

Those four steps come from the U.S. Department of Education's guide to the method.^[8] For the prompts themselves, it uses five kinds. You can remember them as CROWD:^[8]

• Completion: leave a blank at the end of a line for your child to fill. ("The cat sat on the ___.")
• Recall: ask about a book you have read before. ("What happened when the rain came?")
• Open-ended: ask them to tell you about a picture. ("Tell me about this page.")
• Wh- questions: ask what, where, who, why and how. ("Where is the puppy hiding?")
• Distancing: link the book to their own life. ("We saw a boat like this at the beach. Do you remember?")

You do not need every prompt on every page. One or two questions a page is plenty. Some pages can just be enjoyed.

Does it work? A 2008 review of 16 studies found dialogic reading helped vocabulary more than plain shared reading. It helped most with the words kids could say. The gain was much smaller for kids aged 4 or 5, and for kids at risk of language or reading problems.^[2]

A 2007 U.S. Department of Education review of preschool studies found positive effects on spoken language.^[8]

Talk about the pictures and the words

Start with the pictures. They carry much of the story for young children. Point and wonder out loud: "Look at her face. How do you think she feels?" Let your child turn the pages and linger where they want.

Explain new words quickly, in the moment. "Enormous means really, really big, bigger than a jeepney." Then use the word again later in the day.

Now and then, run your finger under the title or a repeated line. This shows your child that the marks on the page are what you are saying.

Reading in the language you speak best

Many Filipino families speak Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano or another language at home, as well as English. Some parents worry that reading in the home language will hold back English. The research is thin, but what exists is reassuring.

A 2008 study in the United States followed 33 preschoolers who spoke Hmong or Spanish at home. They took home storybooks in their first language or in English. Reading at home in the first language was at least as good for learning English words.^[4] It was one small study, so it is a reason for confidence, not a final answer.

A 2018 review of 54 U.S. studies found that shared reading helped young kids learning English as a second language. It improved their English language and reading skills.^[10] We could not find studies with Filipino families. These findings come from other countries and languages.

So read in the language where you can read with feeling, ask questions and explain words with ease. A lively story in Cebuano will likely hold your child better than a flat, halting one in English. If you have books in both languages, use both.

Keep reading aloud after they can read

Keep reading aloud even after your child can read alone. The 1995 review found the link with later outcomes got smaller once kids could read on their own.^[1] That makes sense, since they now have their own way into books. But smaller is not zero.

Reading aloud to older kids does different work. You can pick books a little above what they can read alone. The story pulls them along while you handle the hard words.

In a 2019 study in England, 20 teachers read two hard novels aloud to classes of 12 and 13 year olds over 12 weeks. Students gained an average of 8.5 months on reading tests. The weaker readers gained 16 months.^[11] It was one study in one region, so treat it as hopeful, not settled.

Choosing books

• Follow their interests. A child who loves trucks, sharks or Lola's cooking will sit longer for a book about it.
• Reread favorites. Recall and completion prompts work best when your child knows what comes next.^[8]
• Mix stories and facts. Picture books, simple books about animals or space, poems and folk tales all count.
• Look for pictures worth talking about. Busy, detailed pictures give you a question on every page.
• Use the library and swaps. Borrow, trade with cousins, and reread. You do not need a big home library.

Short daily routines by age

Tie reading to something that already happens every day. Try after bath, before lights out, or while waiting for dinner. Here is how it can look at each age.

Talk to your pediatrician if your child has more trouble hearing, speaking or following stories than other kids their age. Reading together is good for every child, but it does not replace a check-up.

In Tala, little learners aged 3 to 5 hear short stories read aloud and answer a few spoken questions. It is a small taste of the back-and-forth in this post. It works best alongside the books you read together.

This guide is general information for parents, not medical or professional advice. Spotted an error? Email us from the report page.