Why Audiobooks Are So Good for Your Child

Written By: The Good and the Beautiful Published On:

Looking for recommended audiobooks? On goodandbeautifulbooklist.com, you can test your child’s reading level in just a few minutes and access a free book list that is organized by level and also includes an icon to indicate if the book is available as an audiobook. You can also sort the list by just books available as an audiobook.

  • Discover the benefits of audiobooks. Find out how and why audiobooks significantly improve children’s academics and character in this powerful video from The Good and the Beautiful.

Incredible Benefits of Audiobooks

Audiobooks promote:

  • Rich vocabulary
  • Strong attention spans
  • Proficient writing skills
  • Oral reading skills
  • Heartfelt empathy
  • Listening skills
  • Critical thinking skills
  • Beautiful imagination 
  • Powerful creativity
  • World culture
  • Mental well-being
  • Emotional intelligence
Incredible Benefits of Audiobooks

Hi, I’m Jenny Phillips! As the creator of award-winning language arts programs that have taught millions of children how to read, I am a huge fan of audiobooks. 

Let me tell you how and why you can use audiobooks to significantly improve your child’s academics and character at any age. You can keep your child busy and entertained with audiobooks in a way that is actually beneficial for their minds and hearts—unlike other forms of entertainment, such as video games or screen time, which can sometimes be damaging and addicting. 

I’ll also explain why I suggest not allowing children to listen to certain kinds of audiobooks. I am so excited to share this great information!

Benefits of Audiobooks

Strong and Rich Vocabulary

The first benefit children gain through listening to audiobooks is a stronger and richer vocabulary. This is actually more important than you might think.

  • According to research, vocabulary is the number one indicator of a person’s overall intellectual ability.

  • “Vocabulary knowledge proves to be the strongest predictor of students’ academic success.”
    —SAGE Open (2022)

How do audiobooks improve vocabulary?

One reason audiobooks improve vocabulary is because they expose children to more words in general, but children can also listen to audiobooks at a much higher level than they can read, which exposes them to a more advanced vocabulary. In addition, researchers agree that children who listen to audiobooks show significant improvement in both reading proficiency and reading comprehension.

  • Audiobooks shouldn’t replace children’s reading, but when used in addition to reading, audiobooks improve reading skills. 

    The explanation of how audiobooks actually improve reading skills is fascinating, but it takes quite a bit more explanation, so I won’t get into that here. However, if you want to develop very strong readers, audiobooks can really help.

Which audiobooks should my child listen to?

In order to truly benefit from audiobooks, your child needs to listen to certain types of audiobooks. Some audiobooks don’t offer all these benefits, and some can actually be detrimental. 

Before I dive into that, let me just quickly list several more benefits that come to children through listening to the right type of audiobooks: 

  • Significantly increases attention span. 
  • Improves writing skills. 
  • Increases oral reading skills, including punctuation and fluency. 
  • Creates stronger empathy in the child. 
  • Develops better listening skills. 
  • Improves critical thinking skills. 
  • Increases imagination and creativity. 
  • Increases knowledge about people, places, and history. 
  • Increases mental well-being and emotional intelligence.

Did you know that when you listen to a story, you imagine the story in your mind, which creates neural pathways strengthening your brain?

What type of audiobooks are beneficial, and which ones can be harmful? Let’s look at three steps for choosing quality audiobooks for your children.

3 Steps for Choosing Good Audiobooks

  • 1. Choose Morally Uplifting Audiobooks

    First, if your child is listening to books that go against your moral, political, or religious views, or make disrespectful behavior seem funny and normal, your child’s character and empathy levels are actually being harmed by those types of books.

    Children learn from what’s modeled in what they read, and books play a huge role in shaping their worldview and their character. 

    Unfortunately, the majority of popular modern children’s chapter books, middle-grade books, and young adult fiction are packed with inappropriate behavior and material.

  • Children learn from what’s modeled in what they read, and books play a huge role in shaping their worldview and their character. 

    Unfortunately, the majority of popular modern children’s chapter books, middle-grade books, and young adult fiction are packed with inappropriate behavior and material.

    Be sure to offer your child audiobooks that align with your values. I’ll share a fantastic resource that can help you find those books in Step 3.

2. Choose Audiobooks That Challenge Reading Levels

You will also want to pay attention to the reading level of the book your child is listening to. If your child is listening to an audiobook that is at or below their reading level, it won’t give them as many academic benefits, like improving their vocabulary. 

I always recommend children listen to audiobooks that are one to three levels above their reading level. 

3. Choose Audiobooks Using a Trusted Book List

On goodandbeautifulbooklist.com, you can test your child’s reading level in just a few minutes and access a free book list that is given by level and also includes an icon to indicate if the book is available as an audiobook. You can also sort the list by just books available as an audiobook. 

The beauty of this list is the standards. We do not include books with any profanity, crude language, or even potty language. 

We don’t include books that normalize morally offensive lifestyles or children saying things like “shut up” or “stupid” or exhibiting behaviors like rolling their eyes.

  • The text "A free searchable, downloadable list of book recommendations" over an illustrated background of a cozy home with a bookshelf of books | The Good and the Beautiful

  • The Story of Our Ever-Growing Book List

    We started The Good and the Beautiful Book List about 10 years ago, and we review over 200 books a month, only adding books to our list that we know will grow strong and beautiful hearts and minds. This is an incredible resource that allows you as a parent to find trusted, clean books that are sorted by reading level.

    You can check out our Book List on goodandbeautifulbooklist.com. 

The Good and the Beautiful Book List Does NOT Include

⛔ Profanity

⛔ Crude language

⛔ Potty language

⛔ Morally offensive lifestyles

⛔ Children exhibiting rude behavior

⛔ Eye-rolling

⛔ Insults

The Good and the Beautiful Book List DOES Include

✅ Faith-building lessons

✅ High moral character

✅ Kind and loving behavior

✅ Powerful examples of courage and determination

✅ Beautiful and rich language

✅ Original titles from The Good and the Beautiful

  • Why Audiobooks Are So Much Better Than Screens

    Many of us prefer to limit our children being on devices. After all, studies show that playing video games or too much screen time can have a negative effect on a child’s development. Screens can become addictive, and addiction can kill children’s creativity. On the other hand, audiobooks increase academic success and creativity.

I encourage you to use audiobooks more with your children. This is an easy and beautiful way to dive into the world of good and beautiful literature, which opens up a pure, creative, powerful world to your child.

At The Good and the Beautiful, we want to help parents build good and beautiful lives for themselves and their families.

Check out our faith-inspiring original books in our Bookshop. Then check out our award-winning homeschool curriculum on goodandbeautiful.com.

FAQs about Audiobooks

Do audiobooks count as reading?

Audiobooks shouldn't replace reading, but when used in addition to reading, audiobooks improve reading skills. Listening to audiobooks also gives children access to a higher vocabulary level than they may be able to read on their own yet, and researchers agree that children who listen to audiobooks show significant improvement in both reading proficiency and reading comprehension.

Where can I find audiobooks for my child?

To find clean and wholesome audiobooks for your child, check out The Good and the Beautiful Book List. This incredible tool allows parents to search for books that can easily be found as audiobooks using the “digital format” button, and also allows parents to sort audiobooks by reading level. Parents can also find beautiful and uplifting audiobooks for themselves using the Parent List!

Why are audiobooks good for children?

Audiobooks are incredibly beneficial for children because they strengthen vocabulary, increase attention span, improve writing skills, promote development of listening and critical thinking skills, foster a beautiful imagination and creativity, impart precious knowledge of foreign cultures and perspectives, improve mental well-being and emotional intelligence . . . and so much more.

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