by Alishia Fox

Created on: October 29, 2009   Last Updated: October 30, 2009

"My friends' 11 month old son, giggles and claps loudly, as he stands in his cot to listen to me read Pamala Lofts:"Wombat stew". He bounces up and down and laughs ecstaticly as I sing In dingo's voice : "wombat stew, wombat stew, ooey, gooey yummy chewy....' even at this age, the joy and learning benefits that a child receives by being read or sung to is undeniably great.

Reading aloud to children, has long been known and proven to be one of the greatest tools for parents and teachers to use, to make a vital contribution to children's development. Even at what may seem to be, the earliest of ages (to some), reading aloud to your child, even if it's a nonsense story or rhyme you make up in five minutes, can have an unsurpassable benifit for your child and you, in several ways.

Working in various child care centers, 'story time' and different reading activities have always been a prominate part of our daily routines. I can remeber the excitement of having my favourite stories read to me at a very young age, ( I still read those stories now), and I often see the same excitement, reflected in the faces of the children whom I have taught. I remember fondly a research assignment, thought up by my kindy children, at an emergant curriculum center. I was amazed at how eagerly children went to the libraries to find resources on reptiles, and how raptly and intent they listened to the little facts (of course I paraphrased for their benefits), as we learned about our scaly friends.

There are many debates, especially when you enter the world of early care and education centers, about exactly which "skills" are the most important for children to learn and develop at a young age. Child care centers offer varying curriculums, with different programs and philosophies, that can leave parents often bishevled and confused. I believe strongly that at a young age, each category of skills or "learning area", eg: Creativity, Numerical, Linguistical, Social, Physical etc., is just as important as the last, in the overall development of your child. As your child/ren get older, their personality begins to unfold, and they soon let you know what their own personal interests are. In saying that it is important to expose, your children to as many positive experiences as you can, to enhance their development and foster their curiosity.

Which brings us back to how reading aloud to children, even your brand new baby, can be a valuable experience not to be over looked. Many people often have

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