Reading to our children begins when they are babies. We start with short, chubby boardbooks which have only a few words per page. Then we read nursery rhymes or preschool picture books that are more word-play than story. When a child reaches the age when he or she can sit still a little longer, we read picture books with a story plot—a beginning, middle, and happy ending. As our library of children’s books grows, our reading time increases. Mom is often at her child’s side as he or she begins to read simple stories designed for beginning readers. Then the day finally comes when a child can read on her own.  She progresses from beginning readers to first chapter books, to middle grade readers,  and then young adult novels. Does that mean the mother-child reading days are over? Definitely not!

When I was in the fourth grade, my favorite time of day was that first fifteen minutes, right after lunch, when my teacher would read to us. Sometimes it was a Bible story. Sometimes it was just one chapter from an exciting book, and we would have to wait until the following day to see what happened next. The bottom line is that children love to be read to, and they need to be read to—long after they learn to read. I continued reading stories to my children at bedtime until they were twelve years old. We also had devotions at our evening meal when we would read a Bible story, or stories from a book with biblical lessons. One of their favorite books was a collection of true stories written by a missionary and his wife. Each story was an amazing “God-story” that left my kids saying, “Wow! Can you believe that!”

When reading to your children, you can choose books that are above their reading level, yet have content that they can understand and relate to. Short chapter books work well since you can read one chapter per sitting and pick up where you left off the next day. Reading to your children helps to improve their vocabulary and often generates questions or discussion. But the best benefit is that it offers much one-on-one quality time and keeps you connected with your child before those turbulent teen years. Just because your child is too old to sit on your lap, doesn’t mean he is too old for a good story. So keep reading and turning those pages!

Crystal Bowman