Reading Aloud: Why It Matters Long After Kids Can Read Themselves
Most parents stop reading aloud to their children around age 6 or 7, once the child can read independently. This is a mistake. The benefits of being read to actually increase as children get older — because their listening comprehension outpaces their reading level until about age 13.
That means a 9-year-old who reads at a 3rd-grade level can listen at and comprehend a 6th-grade level. Reading aloud gives them access to richer vocabulary, more complex stories, and deeper ideas than they could reach alone.
The Data
How to Keep It Going
Graduate the material, not the activity. Stop reading picture books aloud (unless they want them) and start reading chapter books, middle-grade novels, even age-appropriate non-fiction. The child is not outgrowing the activity. The material should grow with them.
Read things they cannot read alone yet. This is the superpower. A parent reading a book that is two or three grades above the child’s reading level gives them access to ideas and language they would not encounter for years otherwise.
Talk about what you read. "What do you think will happen next?" "Why did that character do that?" "Has anything like that happened to you?" The conversation after reading is where comprehension and critical thinking develop.
"A child who reads will be an adult who thinks. A child who is read to will become both."
— Jim Trelease, The Read-Aloud Handbook (2013)Do not stop reading to your child just because they can read to themselves. The best part is just getting started.
Build thinkers, not just readers
3 Jars Academy turns math practice into games where every correct answer builds toward family experiences, investing, and giving back.
Start Playing Free →