It is our favorite time of the day, right after the nightly bubble bath, just before bedtime snuggled up in—our rocking chair with a pile of story books. As far as my 20-month-old son knows, this time is all about cuddling, telling stories, singing songs, and having fun. But I know better. The truth is, I am giving him an invaluable gift—a head start towards success in kindergarten, grade school, high school, then college and a career.
Despite our busy schedules, my wife and I have read to our son nearly every night of his young life. We do this because we have read the parenting books and research that say it is what we are supposed to do. But we also do it because we both have parents who instilled in us the value of education, starting by reading with us when we were very young.
Why is reading to young children so important? Put simply, the number of words a preschooler knows is among the most accurate predictors of success in school and reading aloud to our little ones is the best way to build their vocabulary. Statistically, my son is likely to hear more than of 30 million more words by age four than his peers from low-income households. Furthermore, more than 60 percent of low income families don't have a single age-appropriate children's book in the home. So, it is no wonder that, when children from low-