20 Minutes

By Sue Mattson

Twenty minutes reading aloud with your child helps strengthen relationships, encourages listening, promotes attention and curiosity, and establishes a strong reading foundation.

Once your child begins to read, it is essential to continue reading aloud together. With lots of help from another person and practice, reading is mastered over a period of time. There is practically no way to do it wrong, but there are ways to do it better. The routine of sharing books together creates lifelong readers.

Any adult can do it, in just about any place, at little or no expense. It doesn't matter what language is spoken. Non-reading parents can make up stories to go with the illustrations. All that is needed is a scheduled time with books and a positive attitude.

Make reading together the most important and happiest 20 minutes of your day!