The Importance of Reading With Our Kids
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 13 hours ago
How reading with our children now impacts their lives forever
by Lindsay Zielinski
It’s been over a decade since I began my career as an early childhood educator.
In that time, I’ve transitioned to the library, back to the classroom, and back to the library again. I’ve offered community story times in Thailand, the US, and right here at KAUST. I do it because I love it, but also because in my time in public and private schools, I have seen the impact that reading has on a child’s ability to navigate the classroom and the wider world.
This much I know: what parents do at home matters more than anything any one teacher or librarian can do in a school setting.
Reading doesn’t begin when a child starts sounding out letters or bringing home leveled books. It begins much earlier, before we realize it counts.
From birth, babies are already listening closely, taking in the rhythms of language, the rise and fall of a familiar voice, the pause before a page turns. Reading aloud in these early years isn’t about getting through a book or finishing a story. It’s about offering language, presence, and connection during a time when children’s brains are growing faster than they ever will again.
The first five years of life are a period of amazing brain development. Millions of neural connections are forming every second, shaped by what children hear, see, and most importantly, experience.
Research consistently shows that children who are read to regularly in early childhood are exposed to significantly more words by age three than other children— a difference that matters. Those early language experiences strengthen the brain systems responsible for vocabulary, attention, memory, and later comprehension. This isn’t about pushing academic skills early. It’s about feeding the brain what it needs at the exact moment it needs it.
What makes reading especially powerful is not the book itself, but the adult on the other side of it. When parents read aloud, point to pictures, name what they see, pause, and respond to a child’s sounds or movements, they are building early communication skills long before formal conversation begins. These moments also deepen attachment.
Reading becomes a shared space — predictable, calming, and relational — where children learn that language is something we use together. Reading becomes a time of one-on-one connection, a feeling of comfort and love. Even short, imperfect reading moments matter more than long, idealized ones.
The impact of early reading stretches far beyond babyhood. Children who grow up in homes where reading is part of everyday life tend to develop stronger language skills, better focus, and greater confidence as learners.
Books help children make sense of routines, emotions, and relationships, giving them language for experiences they are still learning to name. Over time, these early encounters shape how children approach learning itself — whether they see it as something stressful and external, or familiar and inviting.
Maybe the most lasting gift of reading early is not a skill, but a feeling. When books are woven into daily life — read in any language, in short moments, without pressure — children begin to associate reading with closeness, curiosity, and connection.
They grow up knowing that in this family, we read. Not because we are trying to get ahead, but because reading is how we slow down, connect, and make meaning together. In the long game of parenting, there are few routines that offer as much benefit for such a small moment of time.
Over the next few weeks, I’ll be diving deeper into reading at home. We’ll look at specific books for your baby’s age as well as how to create a reading culture for your family.
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Until then, happy reading!
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