I recently posted about reading, why children may not enjoy their school reading and approaches you can take to it. Whilst I happily state I really do not care what a child reads, whether it is games, websites, books, comics of even the Argos catalogue, I really do believe they should be reading something. So today, we are going to explore five of the reasons why it is important to read.
- Vocabulary
Reading helps a child expand their vocabulary. Think of all the different genres and the different types of words you will find in therein. They will discover words they never knew existed and then begin to add them to their vocabulary. How many kids love dinosaurs when they are young due to the fancy sounding names? That magic of words never leaves you!
- Success
There have been studies conducted which show that children who read and were read to achieve better results all the way through to university! Did you realise that short 15 minutes together a day could make such a difference over such a long period of time?
- Improvement
Children who read are exposed to different ways to write. This can improve their writing, grammar and spelling. I have seen whilst tutoring that improvements can be made through an increased time in reading books children enjoy.
- Confidence
The more you do something the easier it becomes and the more confidence you become at it. This is true for reading! Even reading to your child helps improve their technical reading skills. As they grow more confident they will become more independent and be able to read alone. This also has the advantage of keeping them occupied and out of mischief.
- Exploration
Reading exposes children to cultures different from their own. It opens their eyes to the possibilities that exist in their world. This increased understanding of others can help a child develop empathy. So often children at young ages are playing violent games. This can have a detrimental impact on them. Carefully chosen books can do the opposite and help create children who care for their world.
I may have said five reasons but here is an extra one – it is free! We are lucky in that we really do have some great libraries and they are free to borrow from. From books to graphic novels, magazines to audio books, you can borrow them for free! So why not get along and visit your local library?
