Many studies have shown that reading to your child has priceless benefits. As early as they are born, reading to your child already has its pluses. For example, reading to a fretful and restless baby can be very calming and therapeutic. And as they grow older, reading to your toddler holds more advantages. It promotes a longer attention span, develops listening skills, stimulates the imagination, builds your child’s vocabulary, and most importantly, develops a lifelong love for books. There is also a strong correlation between reading and excelling in school.

Another benefit of reading to your child is having an excellent parent child bonding activity. You can do it within the comfort of your home or you can turn it into a family trip. Below are two parent child activity ideas that will get your child to love reading.

Reading Hour

Set up a small library for your child appropriate to her age. Let her be comfortable with her own library, allow her to read her books on her own but also establish a “reading hour” with you. Let her pick a book and daddy or mommy can read it to her.

Book Day

Another idea is to have a “book day”. Similar to some families having movie nights, go out as a family to a nice bookstore and spend the day there. As an extra treat, let your little one pick a book she likes to bring home. Or she can be content with just spending the day surrounded by books. A purchase may not even be necessary.

Click here to read on about where you can spend Book Day with your child.