To celebrate Fathers’ Day we have invited daddies and grandads to come into nursery to read with the children; either in small groups or to a whole class.

Research suggests that reading with children has a positive effect on their learning, behaviour and development.

It’s good for adults too! Research by the University of Sussex shows that reading is one of the most effective ways of overcoming stress. In just 6 minutes it can lower a heart rate and relax muscle tension.

Dads who are seen to read at home newspapers, books, magazines or bedtime stories send a positive message to children about the pleasure of reading. When men read to children they often challenge children to use their imagination or remember things. This is good for language development and it is more cognitively challenging.

It is not just language and literacy that benefits when dads read to children; research has shown that children whose fathers read to them regularly display better behaviour and concentration at school/nursery and they perform better in maths.

………which book would your daddy choose to read?