We love reading in our house. Since Otis and Micah were born they have had at least one book read to them every single day- let’s face it though, most of the time it’s never just one book. That’s a whole lot of words!

For me, as a teacher, reading is so important for my babies as I want them to develop a love of books so they read for pleasure and not find it a chore when they get to school. School is looming next year for Otis, so I guess we’ll find out soon enough if our efforts have paid off!

Some interesting stats…

Proven power of reading

• Reading for pleasure is more important for children's cognitive development than their parents' level of education and is a more powerful factor in life achievement than socio-economic background. ⁶
  16-year-olds who choose to read books for pleasure outside of school are more likely to secure managerial or professional jobs in later life. ⁷
• Having books in the home is associated with both reading enjoyment and confidence. Of children who report having fewer than 10 books in their homes, 42% say they do not like reading and only 32% say they are 'very confident' readers. For children who report having over 200 books at home, only 12% say they do not like reading and 73% consider themselves 'very confident' readers. ⁸
• Children who read books often at age 10 and more than once a week at age 16 gain higher results in maths, vocabulary and spelling tests at age 16 than those who read less regularly. ⁹

(https://readingagency.org.uk/about/impact/002-reading-facts-1/)

Starting to read early can only be a good thing in order to foster positive reading habits for later on.

I know sometimes by the time it gets to bedtime, getting the books out is the last thing on your mind, but the bath, book, bed routine has been a lifesaver for smoother (quicker!) bedtimes for us. Reading has also helped us address new milestones with the boys, whether that was potty training, becoming a big brother, dealing with toddler tantrums or helping them deal with their plethora of emotions. Books have been the cornerstone of each one.

Our particular favourite at the minute is The Colour Monster! A great book to help little ones articulate their emotions and let them know that it’s OK to show their emotions when they come bubbling to the surface! I’m a huge fan of Pop-Up books (risky with a grabby baby, but so far no major incidents to the beautiful pages) Take a peek, I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Finally, these last 2 facts are my faves! 

• Read 20 minutes a day, and you’ll read 1,800,000 words per year. That’s a lot of new vocabulary our little ones are taking in!

•  If you read just one book at day to your child, they will have read 1825 books by their 5^th birthday! (I’m not sure how that calculation changes when you have to read The Gruffalo 27 times a week…)

And, of course, if you get time yourself, there is no better way to gain a little bit of head-space than settling down with a hot brew and a good book - who am I kidding, hot cups of tea don't exist these days! Happy reading everyone!

Jude x

^{6 [Sullivan and Brown (2013) Social inequalities in cognitive scores at age 16: The role of reading]↩
7 [Taylor (2011) Reading at 16 linked to better job prospects]↩
8 [McGrane et al. (2017) Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS): National Report for England p. 16]↩
9 [OECD (2010) PISA 2009 Results: Learning to Learn: Student Engagement, Strategies and Practices p. 32-4]↩}