The Importance of Reading Together

Written by Mario El Boustani - Early Childhood Teacher and Practice and Pedagogy lead at Kids College

Reading with your child is one of the most valuable and impactful things you can do to support their early learning and development. Decades of research show that shared reading strengthens language, communication, emotional wellbeing, and long‑term academic outcomes [1][2]. It is a simple daily ritual that builds your child’s brain, nurtures your relationship, and fosters a lifelong love of learning.

There are many benefits of reading together with your children…

1. Language and Communication Development - Children who are read to regularly develop stronger expressive and receptive language skills. Shared reading exposes children to new words, sentence structures, and concepts that they may not encounter in everyday conversation.

This early language exposure is linked to later literacy, school readiness, and academic achievement. Books introduce children to thousands of words that are rarely used in daily speech. Research shows that children who are read to daily hear significantly more unique words, which supports vocabulary growth and comprehension.

Even for younger children, reading builds essential pre‑literacy skills including:

• print awareness

• phonological awareness

• understanding that text carries meaning

• recognising letters and sounds

• predicting story patterns

These foundational skills are critical for later reading success.

2. Concentration and Creativity - Reading encourages children to sit, listen, and follow a storyline — skills that support attention, memory, and self‑regulation. Over time, even short reading sessions help children build longer periods of focus. Stories transport children into new worlds, characters, and ideas. This imaginative engagement supports creative thinking, problem‑solving, and emotional exploration.

3. Emotional Understanding and Social Skills - Books help children understand feelings, relationships, and social situations. Reading about characters experiencing joy, frustration, fear, or kindness helps children develop empathy and emotional literacy. This process encourages children to recognise and label their own emotions, improving emotional regulation and social interactions. Additionally, shared reading provides a safe space for discussing complex feelings and social challenges, fostering stronger interpersonal skills and emotional resilience.

4. Cognitive Development - Shared reading supports early cognitive skills such as memory, sequencing, prediction, and symbolic thinking - reading from infancy is linked to gains in cognitive development by toddlerhood.

5. Stronger Parent–Child Bond - Reading together creates warm, connected moments. These shared experiences strengthen attachment, build trust, and create positive associations with learning . This nurturing interaction also supports your child’s sense of security and belonging, laying a foundation for healthy emotional development and resilience.

What are some easy practical ways in which families can make reading meaningful, enjoyable, and developmentally rich?

Let your child choose the book…Children are more engaged when they select stories that interest them. Choice builds motivation, autonomy, and enjoyment.

Use dialogic reading…is a basically about asking questions to deepen comprehension and encourage children to think critically about the story, encouraging children to talk about the pictures, and engage in back‑and‑forth conversation. This approach significantly boosts language development.

Try:

• “What do you think will happen next?”

• “Why is the character feeling sad?”

• “Can you find the dog in the picture?”

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Talk about the pictures…Pointing, naming, and describing pictures helps children connect words with meaning and strengthens vocabulary.

Make reading interactive…Use expression, change your voice for characters, and show excitement. Children learn more when reading feels playful and engaging.

Connect the story to real life…Linking story events to your child’s experiences helps build understanding and emotional literacy.

Read every day — even for 10 minutes…Short, consistent reading sessions create lasting developmental benefits. Daily reading is more impactful than occasional long sessions.

Re‑read favourite books…Repetition strengthens memory, language patterns, and confidence. Children learn deeply through repeated exposure.

Create a cosy reading routine…A comfortable space, predictable time of day, and relaxed atmosphere help children associate reading with comfort and connection.

Reading together doesn’t require special skills, expensive books, or long sessions. Just a few minutes a day can shape your child’s language, imagination, emotional wellbeing, and future learning. Most importantly, shared reading creates warm, joyful moments that strengthen your bond and build a lifelong love of stories.

Kids College book suggestions

For children:

The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson

The Hairy Maclary collection by Lynley Dodd

Spot by Eric Hill

The very hungry caterpillar by Eric Carle

Books about transport: 

Bapa’s last canoe by Maree Mcarthy

Freight train by Donald Crews

Want to play trucks? by Ann Stott

The wheels on the bus by Penny Dann

Books about animals: 

A is for Australian animals by Frané Lessac

Animals in my garden by Bronwyn Houston

Boo! by Margaret Wild

Cheeky animal by Shane Morgan

Crocodile beat by Gail Jorgensen

Moo, baa, la la la by Sandra Boynton

Books about emotions: 

Listening to my body by Gabi Garcia 

In my heart by Jo Witek 

My elephant is blue by Melinda Szymanik 

The misadventures of Frederick by Ben Manley 

References

1. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) – Early learning and cognitive development: Impact of shared reading in infancy. https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/early-childhood-development/shared-reading-impact

2. Dialogic Reading Research / National Literacy Trust – Benefits of interactive shared reading for language development. https://literacytrust.org.uk/resources/dialogic-reading/

3. Raising Children Network – Reading with children: Why it matters and how to do it. https://raisingchildren.net.au/guides/reading-with-children

4. UNESCO Early Childhood Literacy Findings – Early literacy development and reading behaviours. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000370704

5. Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) – Child emotional development and the role of shared reading. https://aifs.gov.au/publications/child-emotional-development-shared-reading