5 Reasons to Read with Elementary-aged Children
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United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County

5 Reasons to Read with Elementary-aged Children

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December 9, 2016

Written By Meghan Marsden Parsche, United Way Volunteer 

It’s no secret that early childhood literacy is key to future success. Yet, in the State of Wisconsin, 49% of youth do not read at a proficient level. The benefits of reading start with the first book a baby hears, continuing into childhood and throughout the child's life. By taking just an hour a week to read with your child, or as a volunteer Reading Buddy in a local school, you can greatly enhance a child’s learning potential. Here’s how: 

  1. Basic speech skills - By listening to you read, children learn critical language and enunciation skills.
  2. Better communication - Witnessing the interactions between the characters in a story can help children learn how to express themselves and relate to others in a positive way.
  3. Help children learn about the world around them - Reading enhances a child’s ability to grasp abstract concepts, apply logic in various scenarios, recognize cause and effect, and use good judgment. As children begin to relate the scenarios in books to what’s happening in their own world they will become more excited to read and learn.
  4. Enhanced concentration - The more you read to kids the more likely they are to learn to stay put for the duration of a book. A longer attention span leads to increased memory retention, both important skills for school.
  5. Knowledge that reading is fun - By experiencing fun and adventure through the books you read to them children begin to see reading as a preferred form of entertainment as opposed to a chore.

Feeling inspired? Help close Milwaukee’s literacy gap and spend time with MPS elementary school students as a Reading Buddy.


Meghan Marsden Parsche is a proud United Way supporter, stay at home mom to her four young children, and volunteer writer for United Way.

Meghan enjoys telling the stories of the programs and people making a positive impact on our community.

 

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