5 reasons – why encourage children to read

It is natural for a non-reader parent to have doubts about the importance of encouraging his/her kid to read. These questions would naturally pop up - “What’s so great about reading?”, “Why do they stress so much about reading”.  Continue reading to know the top 5 reasons to motivate your kid to read more.

 “Reading is for the mind, as is the exercise to your body” 

1.            Getting ready for the future – As we understand kids will grow up and pursue their higher studies in the field of their interest. As the growth of technology speeds up, their success will depend on self-learning. In the process of self-learning of a new skill, the faster you can read, the faster you can comprehend, easier it is for you to implement the learned tricks. If the kid is exposed to reading at an early age, reading the books on the new skill will be an enjoyable journey. There would be a positive attitude towards “reading” about the topics. 

2.            Building language skills – Amidst all the debate, it’s a known fact that English is the significant language of the future. According to a study, if a child reads for 20 minutes a day, they would be exposed to 18 lakh words per year!! If the child picks up only 10% of the words, it is nearly 2 lakh words!!! Imagine the growth of vocabulary at this speed. We have noticed this happen in school kids. Children who read well, talk well and write well. Their expressions separate them from the crowd and their language makes them stand out from the non-readers. 

3.            Help increase mindfulness and concentration – In our tech-driven, fast world, we are seeing a sharp reduction in the attention span of kids. It is difficult to keep a child engaged without handing him/her a gadget. Books can work wonders in this regard. Give them an interesting, colorful book, you will be surprised to see how engaged the kid becomes.  Over a while, the overall concentration capacity rises, making them better at other activities that require careful attention. 

4.            High Emotional Quotient - The success of a person largely depends on his/her mental strength. The Emotional Quotient (EQ)   supports facing any problems and issues of adult life. Stories that talk about relationships build an understanding of various relationships. Reading can help you build emotional vocabulary that can come in handy in expressing feelings in critical situations. A reader can react to any situation based on the read material. If he/she is faced with a similar situation, the reaction and responses come naturally and easily. 

5.            Tickle creativity and imagination – You watch the imagination of someone else when you watch a movie. But you create your own wonderland while you read. I had read Harry Potter before I watched the movies; Harry Potter in my imagination was nothing like the one in the movies. I consider my HP better than the movie. The right side of the brain that helps build creativity is given ample triggers, it can grow leaps and bounds during reading. Creative problem-solving skills can take the child well ahead of others. What better way to guide kids to think out of the box than by exposing them to reading?

In a study conducted by Book Trust, it was inferred that early reading habits can help master social networking skills as an adult; this study also concluded that reading acts as a stable source of information throughout the child’s life. 

From Bill Gates to Elon Musk, we can see that early reading habits have given them an extra edge in achieving great success.

So, don’t you now think that it’s imperative to encourage your child to fall in love with books and reading?