Parents often stop reading to older children once they have learned to read independently. This is a shame as there are good reasons for continuing to read aloud, even into your child's teen years. This is because your child's listening age will be at least a couple of years ahead of his or her reading age. What does this mean? If your 11-year-old has a reading age of eleven, it means his reading skills and abilities are exactly what a teacher would expect from an eleven-year-old.
But your eleven-year-old will have a listening age of at least 13 or 14 years old. This means he or she will understand and enjoy listening to you reading books which were written for 13-14 year old kids to read on their own.
Of course, this works for children of all ages. After all, we read books to babies and they can't read themselves!
5 Great Reasons For Reading Aloud To Older Children
Great way to spend quiet time with your child after you've all had a busy day at work and at school. Before bed is the traditional time to read aloud but any time that suits you both is fine. Try a quiet Sunday afternoon, for example. When your child is ill is another good opportunity. He or she will enjoy the one-on-one time.
Will allow your young adult to hear richer, more complex stories that he or she may not be able to read themselves. Among other things, this builds background knowledge (general knowledge) which will help them do better at school.
You will be extending your child's vocabulary because he or she has the opportunity to hear more complex language and to ask you about any words they do not understand.
You can get to know each other better - Discussing the story can build anticipation. You will find that you look forward to reading the next installment each night and wonder together in between reading session what will happen next.