The Importance of Reading for Children: Key Benefits & Tips for Encouraging a Reading Habit

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Reading is one of the most enriching activities you can introduce to your child, and it’s never too early to start! Even before your child can fully understand words, reading together provides the perfect bonding experience and a chance to spend quality time with younger children. The benefits of reading for children go far beyond academic success—it nurtures imagination, enhances critical thinking, and fosters emotional intelligence. Encouraging your child to read regularly can profoundly impact their development, and it’s the perfect way to cultivate a lifelong love for books.

At Weston Green School, a leading prep school in Surrey, we’ve compiled a list of the key benefits of reading for children, plus helpful tips to encourage your child to develop a regular reading habit:

4 Tips for Teaching Your Child to Read

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AD: Reading is one of the very first things that your child will work towards at school and it is such an important skill since it will open up a whole new world of possibilities for your child. Reading is a life skill that will not only help your child educationally but in many other ways too. Children who learn to read and enjoy reading often have fantastic imaginations and storytelling abilities too, opening up their minds to a whole new range of images that can be created in their minds from the words on a piece of paper. But before all of that, children will start by learning the different letters and the sounds they make before attempting to blend and make words. If your child is at this stage and you feel that they are struggling, these tips may help. 

The below were put together by an independent school in Surrey.

The Growth Mindset Workbook from Daddilife Books **REVIEW**

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AD: As parents, we all want the best for our children in life right? But the reality is that starts at home and with the way we instill things into our children as they grow up such as values, confidence, and their mindset about themselves and life in general. Just like many other aspects of parenting, getting this right can feel like a bit of a minefield, but unlike other aspects of parenting where there is "no manual" thanks to Daddilife Books when it comes to instilling a good growth mindset, we have the next best thing... a workbook! 

The workbook titled "The Growth Mindset Workbook" is a must-have for both parents and children and is packed full of helpful advice, information, and, of course as the name suggests, worksheets and tasks for you and your child to work through.  

Colours Colours Everywhere book **REVIEW**

Evelyn adores books and whilst she can't read herself, yet reading is something we have done together for quite some time now. However, she does like to browse books herself and so we are always on the lookout for bright simple board books that she can look at herself.

We were recently given the opportunity to try out a new book called "Colours Colours Everywhere" which is illustrated by Samantha Meredith and is packed full of beautiful colour images. I knew Evelyn would love this and we eagerly awaiting the books arrival.

When it arrived, the book was an instant hit with Evelyn! The thick board pages are perfect for her as she can be quite rough, and these don't rip or tear when she turns the pages. The colours pop out of the book right from the front page which make the book really eye catching especially for young children.

Each page inside the book features a different colour and a whole range or corresponding objects and animals that match that colour. Evelyn is now talking with single words and loved being able to point out each object/animal and learn its name then repeat it back to us. The book also features some raised 3D pieces to which children can run their fingers over and feel the raised shapes which Evelyn enjoyed.

Colours Colours Everywhere is aimed at children aged 0-3 years and is priced at £8.99 which we think is great value. The book is sturdy and strong to withstand lots of toddler reading. The colours are bright and really pop out of the book. There are not many words in the book which again make it great for toddlers who may wish to look at books themselves. This book helps children discover the wonders of the rainbow through fun pictures and short simple rhymes and gets a big thumbs up from myself and Evelyn.

If you want to check out this book a little more or purchase your own copy you can do so via the Little Tiger website here - www.littletiger.co.uk.

Do your young children like books too or do you read together?

xXx


**I was not paid for this post, I was sent this item in return for an honest review. 
All thoughts and opinions in this post are my own and written by me. **

Our current top 5 children's story books.

I had never been in to books much until I had kids, now I still don't really read for myself (I struggle to find any time) but I do adore ready to both James and Evelyn and have done so since they were tiny babies.

I love how children can get lost in a story and how it fuels and nurtures their already wild and vivid imagination. James has always loved books but since starting school and learning to read for himself books have become a real passion for him and we read together each night. When we are not reading together I often find him reading story books to his sister as she often sits and listens intently, its a real pleasure to watch. 

So I recently asked James (aged 6) to share with me his favourite 5 books at the moment from his book shelf and here are the 5 he chose -

Cinder the Bubble-Blowing Dragon

Tyrannosaurus Drip

Aliens Love Underpants

Harry and the Dinosaurs go to School

Mr Nosey and the big surprise

I adore that James loves reading as it was one of my main concerns before he started school as he was showing no signs of being able to read or wanting too! Despite my best efforts at home a few months at school and he was excelling and I haven't been able to stop him since. Its a real joy to watch him reading and really getting in to the story of a book and telling me all about it afterwards. James even reads to his sister now who adores his reading just as much as I do.

Do your children love reading? What is your childs favourite book to read at the moment? 

xXx

My Little World, One, Two, Baa, Moo book **REVIEW**

We own several books from Little Tiger press and the My Little World series but I have to say this pop up book is one of our favourites!

The books features the classic My Little World bright, bold and colourful pictures that really manage to capture a young child's attention and imagination. However this books features something even more... pop up features!

Evelyn is still to young to read but I love reading to her and she really seemed to enjoy this book as it was a little interactive for her rather than just listening, with each page she eagerly awaited me to turn it and for the animals to "pop" out of the book (she let out a little chuckle every time!). The book definitely can withstand some degree of manhandling from children as Evelyn tugged at the paged and poked at the pop-up sections but they are all still perfectly in tact.

One, Two, Baa, Moo is aimed at children aged 3-5 years although as I mentioned above Evelyn is only 14 months old but loved having this book read to her and thoroughly enjoyed the pop-up features.

There are 2 books in this pop up series the other is called "Red car Blue Car" and both are priced at £6.99. I love that these books are hard wearing and sturdy featuring an extra thick hardback front and back cover and large chunky pages, even the card used for the pop-up features seems quite thick and sturdy.

For slightly older children this is a great book to introduce children to reading simple words, numeracy and identifying different animals and it also features a lovely rhyme throughout the book making the short story flow.

If you want to find out more about any of the My Little World series pop over to the Little Tiger Press website here - www.littletigerpress.com.

You can also stay up to date with all the new Little Tiger Press news and new releases via their website and emails. 

xXx

* I was not paid for this review. All opinions given are my own.

* If you would like me to review your product or service, please email me on xJessLegresleyx@hotmail.com.

Collins Big Cats books **REVIEW**

When James started school in September he couldn't really read at all but he loved having books read to him. When he started school he showed a really keen interest in learning to read and quickly learnt and now according to his teacher is above expectations for his year and you simply can't stop him from reading!

James brings home a book a week from school and we also make regular trips to the library as he just can't get enough of reading. So when we were given the opportunity to try out some Collins big cat reading lion books I knew they would be a hit with James.

Collins big cat reading lion books are a huge selection of topical fiction and non-fiction books written by the best authors and illustrators known for creating beautiful books and engaging stories that are loved by children. These books have been used in UK schools to help children learn to read but they are now available for you to purchase from the high street to use and read at home, making them more accessible and making learning phonics fun at home! 

We received a lovely set of books from Collins big cat that were tailored to James stage of reading. That's the great thing about Collins big cat is that you can purchase books that are at the right level for your child rather than guessing or worrying if the book is to easy or hard. 

The different levels available are - 

Big Cat Reading Lions – Level 1: First Reading at Home

Big Cat Reading Lions – Level 2: Practice Reading at Home

Big Cat Reading Lions – Level 3: Supported Reading at Home

Big Cat Reading Lions – Level 4: Confident Reading at Home

Big Cat Reading Lions – Level 5: Independent Reading at Home

Big Cat Reading Lions – Level 5: Fluent Reading at Home

The set we received was the Collins big cat reading lions supported at home Level 3 for ages 6-7. As well as the story these books also contain helpful activities that encourage your children to answer questions about the book or the words within the book to help them understand and enjoy learning even after the story has finished. 

The books are not only fun to read for children but they help build reading, listening and speaking skills. 

The set contains 6 books and is priced at £24.00 for the set. It contained the following books - 

What’s that Building? by Richard Platt
Unusual Traditions by John McIlwain
How to be a Knight by Scoular Anderson
Chewy Hughie by Jane Clarke
Twinkle, Twinkle Firefly by John Agard & Grace Nichols
Mountain Mona by Vivian French

Here is a clip of James reading one of his favourite books in the set "Chewy Hughie".

We also received the Collins picture atlas which was fantastic, even I as an adult enjoyed browsing through it. Its not like a traditional atlas, its much more fun! The pages are packed full of colourful eye catching images to go with the snippets of facts about the different country or continents. It also helps children learn about different people, animals and the different cultures around the world. 

I think this atlas would be the perfect learning tool for children learning about different places and as it contains images as well as writing its easy to understand even for younger readers. It is aimed at children aged 4-8 although I think children even older than 8 would still enjoy reading it. 

Here are some of the colourful pictures you can find within the Picture Atlas. 

If you want to find out more about the whole Collins collection you can visit their website here - www.collins.co.uk. 

Do your children enjoy reading? Whats your child's favourite book? 

xXx

* I was not paid for this review. All opinions given are my own.

* If you would like me to review your product or service, please email me on xJessLegresleyx@hotmail.com.