Placing the needle on the vinyl of my 45, I’d cozy myself into the little rocking chair listening to The Brer Rabbit. Then, in grade school I progressed to books on tape. Popping in the cassette into the boom box and enjoying Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Fast forward a few more years and I was using books and cds in my classroom. Kids these days are now listening to audiobooks on a variety of devices. Technology resources to build literacy skills sure have evolved.
Now, it seems like the resources and capabilities for listening to books digitally are endless. And, the list of benefits of listening to audiobooks is just about as long.
But, why should we use audiobooks with children?
5 Benefits of Listening to Audiobooks for Kids
Full Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
#1 A Surrogate Reader
Reading aloud to kids is the single most important thing we can do to help children become readers. However, there are times when we just can physically make that time or be present to read aloud.
Kids can still get many of the benefits of a read-aloud through audiobooks. They get to listen to great stories and hear lots of sophisticated vocabulary.
#2 Great for Auditory Learners
We all have preferred modes of learning. Some people are auditory learners and excel in receiving information through listening. Audiobooks match well with this type of learner.
#3 Makes a Road Trip Seem Faster
We have spent many of road trips listening to an audiobook. The time just seems to fly by when you get lost (not physically lost we hope) listening to Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Check out these audiobooks paired with your destination for your next family trip.—>AUDIOBOOKS FOR YOUR NEXT FAMILY TRIP
#4 Kids Can Read Along
Try pairing an audiobook with the physical book. Kids can read and follow along in the book. This is beneficial for learning words and for building reading fluency.
Audible has a feature called Whisper Sync that allows you to see the text and hear the book read aloud at the same time.
Did you know you can try Audible for free? Try Audible and Get Two Free Audiobooks
#5 Adds More Read Aloud Time Into Your Child’s Day
My 5-year-old is in love with The Boxcar Children audiobook series. He listens while he eats breakfast, builds with Lego, riding his bike, and while laying in bed at night. In fact, we have had to set the sleep timer for his audiobooks to shut off at night or he would stay up all night listening to Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny solving mysteries. I consider these all bonus ways for him to soak in the love of books and reading.
Just like actual books, not all audiobooks are worth a listen. Get started with our favorites.—>Best Audiobooks for Children
What audiobooks have you already enjoyed listening to with the kids?
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Amanda says
What device do you use? Ipad?
Jodie Rodriguez says
We have a Kindle Fire for my son. If we are in the car, we listen through the speakers and use my iphone.
Sarah says
Just curious – where do you get most of your audiobooks? Our library doesn’t have many of these on Audio, and I know you can get some on Audible, but can get expensive. Just curious if there was another source you used?
Jodie Rodriguez says
Hi Sarah, our most frequent and free place to get audiobooks is through our library’s online digital system. Our library uses Hoopla. Others use 3M. Ask your library is they have a digital download system. We can then play them on the computer, cell phone, or Kindle. I also take advantage of ordering cds through the library from other libraries. If you are an Amazon Prime member, you can also download a few free ones. I’m researching more ideas and will have a post with more very soon. 🙂