The purpose of this article is to begin with the practical benefits of reading and then move on to the less tangible rewards of a life filled with reading.
Children Develop Vital Language Skills
Reading habit is an important skill that needs to be developed in children. As they grows older, it becomes a necessary skills for survival in the world of schools and (later on) universities, but in adult life as well. Reading give a person the ability to learn about new subjects and find helpful information on anything from health problems and consumer protection to more academic research into science or the arts depends on the ability to read.
The more we help our children to read, the better they become at reading. It's a very simple facts. The more enjoyable the things they like reading, the more they'll stick with them and develop the reading skills that they'll need for full access to information in their adult lives. Reading should be viewed as a pleasurable activity as well as a source of entertaining tales and useful and interesting factual information.
There are many reading source available such as books, magazines or websites which exposes kids to new vocabulary. Even though they might not understand every new word, they absorb something from the context that may deepen their understanding of it the next time the word is encountered. When parents make an effort to read aloud to children, the children also hear correct pronunciation as they see the words on the page, even if they can't yet read the words on their own.
Open Up New Worlds and Enrich Children's Lives
Through reading, children can also learn about people and places from other parts of the world, improving their understanding of and concern for all of humanity. This, in turn, contributes towards our sense that we truly live in a "global village" and may help us bring about a more peaceful future for everyone of us living in this planet. This is possible through nonfiction but, perhaps even more importantly, reading novels that are set in other places and time periods can give children a deeper understanding of others through identification with individual characters and their plights.
Reading stories and novels children can vicariously try out new experiences and test new ideas, with no negative consequences in their real lives. They can meet their favourite characters who they'll enjoy returning to for comforting and satisfying visits when they reread a cherished book or discover a sequel. Reading also give kids the opportunity to flex their critical thinking skills in such areas as problem solving, the concepts of cause and effect, conflict resolution, and acceptance of responsibility for one's actions. Mysteries book allow children to follow clues to their logical conclusions and to try to outguess the author. Even for a very young child, a simple story with a repetitive refrain or a simple mystery to solve gives a confidence boost. Young children can predict the patterns and successfully solve the riddles.
Enhance Children's Social Skills
In certain circumstances, reading habits can be a socializing activity. For e.g., a parent or grandparent who is reading a story aloud, whether from a traditional printed book or from an ebook, can be a great opportunity for adult and child to share some quiet, relaxed quality time together away from the rush and stresses of the business of daily living. They are sharing a few minutes of precious time, plus they share the ideas that are contained in the story. In addition, older kids can be encouraged to read aloud to younger ones as a means of enhancing their kins relationship.
Improve Hand-Eye Coordination
It may sound strange, but ebooks can be a way for children to improve their fine motor skills and their hand-eye coordination, as they click around a kids friendly website or click the backward and forward buttons of online story pages. At the same time, they may also be picking up valuable computer skills that they'll need in school and later in life.
Provide Children with Plenty of Good, Clean Fun
The love of reading can provide children with endless hours of fun and entertainment. All those pragmatic reasons above aren't at all necessary to justify reading's place in children's lives. Good stories can free up imaginations and open up exciting new worlds of fantasy or reality. They allow children to dream thier own dream and may give them a good start on the road to viewing reading as a lifelong source of pleasure; so read to your young children every day.
Reading Really Does Matter After All
As you can see, there are so many ways in which reading continues to be both a vital skill for children to master, and an important source of knowledge and pleasure that can last a lifetime. Nurture it in your kids. Make full used of all the resources that are available and waiting for you: printed books, online books, magazines and so forth. Encourage follow-up activities for your kids involving creative writing skills and the arts, as well, so that your children can reflect upon or expand on what they've absorbed and at the same time, develop their own creativity. As you help your childrens to appreciate the magic of reading, you'll find that there's a whole wonderful world full of kids literature out there that YOU as parents can enjoy too.
Relevant Reading:
Motivated
Minds: Raising Children to Love Learning
By Deborah Stipek Ph.D. and Kathy Seal
