The Importance of Reading - Is Your Child Reading Enough?

The Importance of Reading - Is Your Child Reading Enough?

When was the last time your child read a book?

With the advent of newer technologies and increased use of the internet, our reading habits have somewhat changed. The paradigm is swiftly shifting from reading physical books to online resources and e-books. That’s not to say there’s a decline of reading ethics, but somehow reading an old-fashioned paper book is to some extent losing its influence and appeal over digital reading. Personally, I prefer actual books to e-books however, we’re looking at the act of reading, so whatever form is used it will benefit your child.

Regarded as one of the most basic skills that forms the core of a child's learning process, reading can never be under-estimated for success in education, for any career and in developing a good self-image.

Here are the top 6 reasons describing why children should read.

1. Reading – An Important Tool For Academic Success

Research has shown that the habit of reading on a regular basis improves a child's vocabulary. It works as an exercise to make children read and thereby builds a passion for reading. This in turn, improves their fluency and comprehension.

Development of reading skills from a very young age is like empowering your child with language tools which are a base for your child's future academic success. This habit can be initially cultivated by reading to them from a very young age and slowly teaching them and encouraging them to read alone. Initially they may not understand longer sentences or unfamiliar words, however the beauty about language comprehension is the ability to come to conclusions about new words from the context of the material. Reading aloud with your child, helping them to understand phonics and blending, to read fluently with confidence enables them to become confident readers.

Non-fiction allows your child to understand different subjects and everyday life at an early stage. The importance of reading cannot be emphasised enough and as parents, we need to ensure reading is timetabled into a child’s schedule for them to broaden their knowledge of the world.

Reading fiction through the growing years also builds empathy and compassion in your child. When a child visualises characters in a story, it helps them to develop empathy. They identify with characters and feel what they are feeling. Reading enables children to begin to understand and relate to emotions of others. Several studies have shown that people who read frequently tend to be more empathetic than people who are not keen readers.

2. Reading Develops Communication Skills

Mastering a language stems from four main language skills – reading, listening, speaking and writing. The former two are important receptive skills, whereas the latter two are productive. As an English language teacher, I believe the act of reading is an important tool, in both acquiring and developing a child’s language skills. As an essential receptive skill, reading regularly flows onto building strong productive skills. Reading, therefore enhances a child’s ability to communicate effectively, improving both written and speaking skills.

A voracious reader has the added benefit to read carefully and critically, which in turn enables them to speak with confidence recollecting information from their bank of knowledge. Almost every higher education institution will require that from a student.

3. Reading Builds Independence, Self-Confidence and Improves Concentration

The attainment of knowledge and experience through reading weeds out the fear about the world and invokes their curiosity level further motivating them to read further. They discover facts they never knew, and this helps to build their sense of self-confidence.

Reading regularly either with or to your child, makes your child learn to concentrate and sit attentively for longer periods of time. When your child is reading they are focusing on written words. By sitting still and reading, they are subconsciously training their body and mind to slow down, relax, and focus on what they are reading, increasing their patience level. This will help your child to focus and concentrate on other activities too.

 

Nurturing attention from parents during reading time encourages children to form a positive association with books and develop an interest in reading and increases the bonding with parents too.

4. Reading Enhances Imagination

Reading takes your child to places they have never been and enhances their imagination. An array of information about different places, cultures, history, science and ideas can be grasped through reading. It enables them to make more sense of the world around them.

Children are exposed to so many wonderful things through reading. This helps their imagination when it comes to creating and thinking. During the reading process, children are painting pictures of the stories in their mind.

Reading may also develop their interest in different cultures, languages or a particular field. Nothing is better than seeing a child who loves to learn.

5. Reading Improves Writing Skills

Receptive skills improve productive skills – reading, therefore helps your child to improve their writing. They absorb and come across different styles of writing through reading a wide variety and genre of books which helps them improve their own writing style. They will become more appreciative of the power of the language and how to use it effectively by observing the patterns of writing by different authors.

When a child reads from a young age, they observe the nuances, new vocabulary and literary devices used in writing and incorporate these into their own writing. They consciously and even sub-consciously become aware of spelling, grammar and punctuation, and use it correctly in their written work.

6. The Practice of Reading Makes Children Wise

“Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.”

― Albert Einstein

Reading literature like analytical magazines helps children to develop a broader mind. They begin to appreciate the depth of information relating to any given field. Through reading, children realise the importance of situations where multiple perspectives can come valid and true at the same time. This is important in their growing years and leads to innovation, creativity, and flexibility in thinking.

Avid child readers display greater knowledge of how things work, increased vocabulary, quicker language development, as well as greater information on people, places and the world around them.