Most people love stories. Telling a friend a funny thing that happened to you, reading about a football match, sharing gossip, watching a soap opera, all allow us to share a story.

Children love stories too, and often they will like nothing better to share a story with you. Reading or sharing a story with your child on a regular basis is one of the best things you can do to help them learn and become confident, and can also be an excellent way of sharing some quality time together.

Here are some reasons why reading with your child is important:

1.   It’s fun. Stories can be silly, scary, funny, calming, and sharing them together gives you a chance to have some special time with your child and build your relationship with them.

2.   It helps them learn. Hearing stories over and over again helps your child learn new words and the rhythm of language so they will be better prepared for starting school.

3.   It helps them do better. If children start to love reading from an early age, they are more likely to be readers as they get older. This will help them do better at school and get a better job as an adult.

One of the best things you can do as well as reading with your child is show them that you love reading too. Make sure they see you reading a magazine or a book or something else you enjoy so that they know it’s not something you only do at school. It’s important that dads and male carers show that they love reading too – it’s not just for girls!