Just ten minutes of stories a day builds language, imagination and a lifelong love of books.

What ten minutes a day actually does

Reading aloud is the single most useful thing most families can do for a young child’s language, and it costs nothing but time. A shared book gives children words they would never meet in everyday conversation — nobody says “enormous” or “shivered” while making breakfast.

• Vocabulary. Picture books use richer and more varied language than daily speech, and children absorb it effortlessly in context.
• Attention. Following a story from beginning to end is genuine practice at sustained concentration.
• Comprehension. Predicting what happens next and asking why a character did something is early critical thinking.
• Empathy. Stories let children rehearse feelings — worry, jealousy, bravery — from a safe distance.
• Closeness. Ten quiet minutes on a lap is often the calmest part of a young child’s day.

Children who are read to daily start school having heard millions more words than children who are not. Very little else in early education has that kind of return.

How to read so children lean in

1. Slow down. Most of us read far too quickly for a child who is still studying the pictures.
2. Use your voice. Different characters, a whisper, a pause before the page turn — the performance is half the pleasure.
3. Let them interrupt. Questions mid-story are a sign of engagement, not bad manners.
4. Follow the pictures as well as the words. “What is the cat doing back there?” often produces more talk than the text itself.
5. Stop before they are done. Ending while they still want more keeps the next book easy to start.

Choosing books they will ask for again

Repetition, rhyme and rhythm are what make a book stick at this age. If your child wants the same story every night for a month, that is the book doing its job — each rereading lets them notice something new and predict what comes next.

• Rhyming stories, for the sound patterns that underpin early phonics.
• Books with a repeated refrain your child can join in with.
• Non-fiction about whatever they are obsessed with this month.
• Stories where children like them see themselves on the page.

Our teachers weave this into every day at kindergarten. Book a visit to see it in action.