Spanish children’s books are a great way to nurture your child’s love of reading, to bond with them and to teach them a foreign language at the same time. If these aren’t reasons enough then we’re afraid we might not be able to convince you. But if this has peeked your interest, then keep reading.
To Teach Them Spanish
The number one reason to read Spanish books with your children is if you’re trying to teach them Spanish. This may seem obvious but many people don’t put too much emphasis on books when teaching their children a foreign language. Instead they sing, play, watch TV shows and try and talk in the language. Which is great! These are all fantastic ways to help a child learn Spanish but reading books with them can help them a lot too.
The great thing about children’s books is that they are normally quite repetitive and are written in a way that children can get used to language patterns. It also exposes them to the written word in a fun way so they’ll slowly start to learn how to read in Spanish as you read along together. This will be very useful for their future study of the Spanish language.
To Bond With Them
When you read a story together with your child you’re bonding with them. It’s a special time for you both where you spend time together and engage in an activity. And this is important regardless if you’re reading a Spanish book or an English book. If you want to teach them Spanish anyway then reading story books can be a very special bonding time for you and your child.
To Give Them A Love Of Reading
A love of reading begins when your child is very young. If you never read to your child then they’re never going to develop a reading habit of their own. You can’t expect to take no interest in books when your child is young and then expect them to pick up books by themselves when they’re a teenager. The best way to give them this love of reading is to start reading with them when they’re a child and to teach them how to read for themselves so they can find books they like and take this hobby into adulthood.
Children Have An Optimal Age For Learning Languages
Don’t worry, if your child doesn’t start learning Spanish until they’re a teenager they can still learn. There’s no one age for learning a language however there is an optimal time. When your child is only a toddler their ears are trained to listen out for phonemes. The ones that they hear at that age will help them to speak languages as they grow. As they get older it becomes more and more difficult for them to hear these phonemes. Reading out loud with your child in Spanish is a great way for them to get used to listening out for these phonemes which will help with their foreign language development as they get older.
If we’ve convinced you then take a look at our next article: Where can I buy Spanish children’s books?