Reading is also a fundamental skill and literacy is one of those gifts that also gives you a sense of accomplishment in giving. There's also a host of studies stating that the early you start reading to your child the faster they learn to read and spell. Furthermore the difference between reading to your child since birth and age three can be exposure to hundreds of thousands of words. Delaying reading until entry into school can result in a difference of hundreds of thousands more. Theoretically, all these extra words add up to better vocabulary, spelling, and grammar.
However, on of the more tangible joys is in the moment you notice your child loves to read, which is why the picture below is such a payoff for me. A few months ago I took my daughter to a bookstore to buy a book, since she had received a gift certificate as a present. She choose a book about monkey pirates. Sometime shortly after we started reading the book together, she felt strong enough as a reader to want to read on her own. I caught her, one quiet afternoon, sitting in this chair, reading to the stuffed sock monkey my wife had made her. My daughter had also scavenged the pirate outfit from one of her teddy bears and is what made the moment so special, for not only did she enjoy reading, but she also enjoyed our moments reading together.
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