November is National Family Literacy Month and we at Charlotte Speech and Hearing Center are using this opportunity to talk about family literacy, what it is, why it is important, and how to promote family literacy at home!
What is family literacy?
Family literacy describes parents and their children learning together. This is a family-focused approach to learning, increasing the literacy of parents and their children together. For this reason, family literacy encourages parents to prioritize their own education, so they can be more involved in their children’s learning and literacy development.
Why is family literacy important?
Family literacy is so important because the single greatest indicator of children’s success is the literacy level of their parents (National Institutes of Health). Additionally, children of parents with low literacy skills have a 72% chance of being at the lowest reading levels themselves. These children are more likely to get poor grades, repeat school years, or even drop out (National Bureau of Economic Research).
For these reasons, we at Charlotte Speech and Hearing Center stress the importance of family literacy and we encourage families to learn and read together.
How can you promote family literacy at home?
There are countless ways to promote family literacy, but some of our favorite suggestions are to:
- Set aside time each day for reading.
- Keep books visible around the house.
- Make regular visits to the library.
- Read the book version of your child’s favorite movie.
- Organize a children’s book club with friends in the neighborhood.
By incorporating some of these into your routine, you can help your child learn the importance of reading and family literacy.
For more resources regarding improving your child’s literacy, visit our Resources page, and follow us on Facebook or Instagram.
Finally, if you think your child is in need of speech-language services, contact us. Our expert Speech-Language Pathologists provide evaluations and therapy services, and we would love to serve your family!