The importance of an evening reading ritual has become increasingly apparent as The Girl creeps closer to the ripe old age of one. (Have I used that line before? Ah, well.) I may have previously written here the details of this particular habit but I’ll reiterate: each evening following bath-time, we cuddle up in the chair as a family and read a story. Sometimes it’s a chapter from a big book, sometimes its a few pages from something shorter, sometimes a picture book, and occasionally its something as simple as casually flipping through a board book and pausing to talk about the pictures. But, always — or as often as humanly possible — each evening is capped with a book in hand. And the importance of this ritual — to parrot my opening line — has become apparent not only as part of a routine that calms The Girl before we plunk her into her crib, but also important as nurturing a blossoming love of books in a young mind.

How do I know this? Spend an afternoon in our living room and just try and not trip over one of a dozen books spread across the floor, having been pulled from the shelves each day, their pages (often heavy cardboard pages, of course) poured over meticulously by a set of young eyes or held aloft towards dad or mom in prompting for a read. Spend an afternoon in our living room and just try not to be begged with those little eyes to read a few pages from Sandra Boynton, Dr. Seuss, or some little Golden Classic. It’s my anecdotal evidence, and I’m sticking to it.

Does all this reading make her smarter? Probably not.

Does all this reading improve her language skills? Not likely.

Does all this reading prepare her for greatness? Ha!

Perhaps someday there will find conclusive proof that the young mind inundated with countless hours of “Goodnight Moon” has some advantage in intelligence, but for now reading is just a great way to spend a few extra minutes with your skepkid anytime of the day — and it probably won’t hurt their inclination to keep that tradition alive with (or without you) as the years press on.

For some great suggestions on what to read with your kids, check out our friends’ suggestions at Claire’s Booklist Blog (Link no longer available)!