February 16, 2009

Gizmo Talk: The Power of AudioBook on Kids

"Anak !!! your radio is too loud !!! "- that's me hollering at the top of my lungs from the living room instructing my 4 yr. old daughter to lower the volume of her boombox! {No worries, she's not listening to ear-breaking, senseless music - well, not yet anyway}. She's at it again with her devious habit of turning up the volume of her CD player WAY TOO LOUD for comfort. She does this on occasions -like when she needs a restroom break- so as not to miss any part of the book she's listening to even while in another room. Yes, listening to one of her books...

My daughter is hooked on Audiobooks! We introduced the concept to her when she was 2 years old and has become an all-time favorite ever since.

I discovered Audiobooks when I worked at a good friends' Audiobook store. During my time there, I've chronicled outstanding testimonials from members. Teachers and Parents swore on the power of Audiobooks. Some of them even went on to say that even their family physicians recommended Audiobooks to help enhance the reading skills of their kids! Parents whose kids were on the "Audiobook treatment" has reported siginificant improvement on their kids reading skills in a month or two of regular listening.

Too good to be true? Consider these noted benefits:
  • Audio books allow children to hear correct pronunciation of words and how a reader should respond to punctuations.
  • Another benefit of audio books for children is the use of many voices. Some books use different voices for each character. This allows children to learn to separate dialogue and understand written conversation.
  • With audio books children learn to listen. The child will listen as the story is read and visualize the story. The use of imagination is paramount in creating independent readers. This is not an ability that you can teach your child in the traditional manner. That is one of the primary benefits of audio books for children. They will have no choice but to use their imagination and they will see how enjoyable it is. - excerpts from The Benefits of Audiobooks for Children
Ever since my daughter started with Audiobooks, her comprehension level and vocabulary including her grammatical skills have become impressive as noted and observed by other people who talks to her. Her speech is remarkable. She will start school soon and I'm thankful that Audiobooks has laid a viable foundation for her reading abilities.
We maximized the experience by giving her this Sandisk Sansa Shaker MP3 player where we download her favorite music and Audiobook stories which she listens to while out of the home or on the road. What I like about this is that it has built-in speakers, so she's not ''plugged-in'' all the time.

If Audiobooks is something that will benefit you and your kids, GIVE IT A TRY! audible.com was most recommended by listeners. If you're in Charlotte NC, Audiobooks of the Carolinas is the ONLY place to go.

As for me, please excuse me, I need to issue yet another "disturbing the peace" citation to a 4 year old!




Up Next: Audiobooks with 4-year olds' seal of approval

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21 comments:

  1. That's a cute MP3 player!

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  2. i hate that my kids are always plugged into something but i guess its a question of balance.. just like everything else!

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  3. This is great info, thanks for sharing. My boys love music and their MP3 players. I do have to say, Turn It Down. Alot!

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  4. Wow that is great info to know when I have kids! and when I have my nephew and niece come over! Thanks! :)

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  5. I have just started Xofia with Ariel and Snow White audiobooks, a gift from her Auntie. She's still 1.5 years old, and tends to crumple the pages, and because of that, I only pop the CD and let her listen to it without the book. I'll try again with the book when she's 2. Thanks for this article, really helpful for parents :-)

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  6. thanks for the info.My girls are so in to music and they love listening to high school musical songs.Actually I like to take this opportunity to thank you for the wonderful comment arigatou =)) I love to be your friend and congratulations,your blog is really interesting keep it up love to check it again God bless...

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  7. Im weird. I only like audiobooks of books i've already read. LOL

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  8. audio books are also great for long car trips, and good for adults - that treadmill is a lot less boring if your wrapped up in a good story!

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  9. Hi! Thanks for the info - very interesting!! Also, thanks for visiting my blog! :)

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  10. this is nice thanx for sharing and I agree my son has downloads of songs like Barney and all and he loves it plus he has developed his vocabulary maybe not much in english but in his daily language soon he will develop in english I know that c:

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  11. Hiya from SITS! I found this very interesting! My boy just turned 1, but this will be useful for us to explore! :)

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  12. I've heard about this but have never tried it myself. Now I am intrigued and like others have mentioned, that mp3 player is soooo cute! Enjoy your day as the featured blog on SITS. :)

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  13. ok I'm game- I think my 4 year old would LOVE it!! thanks for the info.-happy SITS day!

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  14. never thought of putting audio books on the sansa E got one for Christmas and would love that Thanks, Happy SITS day great blog!

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  15. The note about building listening skills is a great point.

    I'm off to do some investigating. Thanks for the links.

    Happy Saucy day - (I loved you already)

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  16. my kids love audio books...that is pretty much how i got my son to finally look at books is to have the ones that have the audio and the book.

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  17. My 4-year old daughter LOVES this thing too.

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  18. I love your blog. I have seen your picture so many times at the top of roll call. I will definitely be following along!
    abby

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  19. I love audiobooks, and I am trying to get my son to listen to them as well. So far it's not too popular with him as he is two, and prefers to look at the pictures, but I'll keep trying!

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