Reading together can be a wonderful, shared activity. It is not only beneficial for children’s wider development, but it is an opportunity for parents and carers to guide children through the wonderful world of books. It creates opportunities to immerse in new worlds as you travel through new landscapes, meet astonishing characters or encounter themes that can shape and support your child’s wider development.

Reading, writing, listening, and talking all form the basis of early literacy. Children who have access to books and get to experience and enjoy reading with others develop a positive attitude towards books and reading. Children can get playful with developing stories and gain confidence in their own voice by sharing these and retelling stories. This supports children’s sense of belonging and places value on their ideas and experiences. You can support your child’s language development as they learn sounds and words and taking turns. Stories can also help children explore, learn about and express emotions. Reading stories together is a great way to support children’s language development and pre-reading skills. Children learn to hold a book, turn pages themselves and begin to understand that we read from left to right. They develop imagination and gain an understanding of different social situations, cultures and family structures.

For more information visit https://first5.gov.ie/userfiles/pdf/reading-together.pdf