The one thing I always loved to do was buy books for my two young children.  Every night there was a bedtime ritual.  One night, I would read to my son for a half-hour before bedtime and my husband would read to my daughter for the same time period.  The following night, we would switch off and I would read to my daughter and my husband to my son.  Reading to our children every night benefited them in ways I never thought it would.

First of all, by reading to your children every night, you are bonding with your children.  This is showing your child that he or she deserves special time with you and you are only dedicated to them for those thirty-minutes to an hour.  They will look forward to this time every day that you set aside for reading to them, whether they are read to at bedtime or another time during the day.  You are increasing their self-esteem by showing them they are worthy of your time.

Reading to your child will also entice your child into learning to read themselves.  While they love you to read to them, it will encourage them to read on their own.  Nothing is better than a parent listening to their child read.  It causes an immense pride like no other.  Of course, the child will see this and they will feel proud of themselves, as well.

There is a lot of research that has shown that when parents read to their children, they are giving them a head start for success in school.  The child will increase their vocabulary simply by listening to their parent read to them and be enticed to not only read on their own, but understand what they are reading.   They will also develop better listening skills. 

Make sure that you have a wide variety of books to choose from, however, keep in mind that most young children will stick to just one or two books that they want you to read.  Set up a special time every day or evening for you and your child.  Not only will your child look forward to it, you will, too.  When you add up the benefits of reading to your child, you’ll find that taking that extra thirty-minutes at bedtime is the right thing to do.