Significance of Reading Books to Your Children

Reading books is like a journey- we meet other cultures and get to know their ways of life. It is as if we live many different lives. When we read books, we learn literary language, new words, enrich our own vocabulary and gain knowledge about our surroundings, nature, different people and their culture, history, etc. The knowledge we gain we reading books helps us to better our understanding of the world around us. Books open our minds by opening the windows to different views and lives. They give us the feeling of relaxation and peace and also inspire us. Books can be perfect friends when we feel our life is grey and boring, as they take us to another world and make us discover new things. 

In 1920, a sociologist found that an average person spends a fifth of his/her waking time reading. However, during the last decades, the amount of time reading has shrunk drastically, especially among the adults who are now busier with their smartphones and laptops. Although we live in the “Computer Era”, the importance of reading books hasn’t shrunk. This is because the modern society still needs people who know how to read and understand what they have read so that they will be able to use all the information they get out of their reading habits. 

Those who have interest for reading and are mastering the reading technique by making it a habit have nothing to lose but gain a deeper understanding of themselves and the world around them. Isn’t this enough to understand why it is important to choose the right approach for making your children love reading books. As an adult, it is our responsibility to be a role-model for our kids in terms of book reading. It solely depends on us whether we make our kids fall in love with books or hate them for the rest of their lives.  

Importance of Reading Books to Your Children 

Reading books can promote your child’s brain and emotional development. While any positive interaction between parent and child is helpful, reading books ensure to gain a positive foothold into children’s lives.  

If parents consider reading as a pleasurable and satisfying hobby and are aware of the significance of book reading every day, they set an important example for their children to follow. Children start to show greater interest in reading books when they are motivated by their parent’s act of book reading. Children start considering the value of reading as they enjoy it and have a positive image of themselves as readers. Moreover, during school age, these children spend time reading voluntarily than their counterparts whose parents aren’t into reading.  

The way children consider reading together their parents depend on the parents’ ability to create a warm and intimate feeling while reading to young children. The way parent’s present their own reading experiences to children, the way they are able to satisfy their kids curiosity and how they answer their children's questions and how you respond to their experiences, comprehension and images, all make up for their children’s future inclination towards book reading. Parents can interconnect the world of books and the world of the small reader only if the connection is derived from their children’s knowledge and his/her interests. 

Nowadays scientists are stressing on the importance of right emotional atmosphere while reading books to young children. If your child feels warm and safe during reading session and wants to re-experience these moments, will start developing an interest in reading books. At first the reading interest will be together with family members and later this interest will be reading individually. Eventually, when parents are successful creating a warm and nice atmosphere of reading, children will improve their concentration skills.  

All in all, as a parent you will be able to spend some quality time while reading books to your children. Reading various children’s literature encourages your children to develop a positive attitude towards reading books and language. Also, this will be the first step towards your child’s balanced development for his/her habits and lifestyle. 

Do’s and Don'ts of Reading Books with Children

Reading books is important because it helps to expand the mind and develop imagination. In today’s society, reading ability is one of the vital skills in being able to function well. So, it is undeniable that a child’s reading skills are important for their success in school, at work and in life. That is why reading books with children at a very early age ensures their success.

In this post, I’ll be discussing about the do’s and don’ts of reading books with children.

List of Do’s While Reading Books with Your Child 

• Start reading books to children as soon as possible.
• Before you start reading a book, always say the name of the book, introduce the author and illustrator, no matter how many times you have to read the book.
• Read and re-read books which are predictable and contain repetition.
• Choose Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes and songs which stimulate language and listening.
• Set a time every day aside for book reading.
• To encourage children’s involvement in book reading, have them turn the pages for you.
• Use plenty of expressions while reading books, it helps to build imagination for your children.
• Keep them involved as you read books by occasionally asking them about what they think is going to happen next?
• Lead your child by example. Let them see you reading and they will soon start to copy us.
• Regulate the amount of time spent watching television and using smartphones.
• Read books to your child, like you mean it. Change your pitch and volume to show different characters or create a mood.
• Reluctant readers often find it difficult to sit still, so try giving a pencil and paper to your children during the read-aloud experience to keep their hands busy.
• Occasionally read books that are above your children’s intellectual levels. This is a great way to challenge their minds and expose them to new experiences.
• Incorporate the following six simple and powerful early literacy practices into your everyday activities so that it helps your child to learn early literacy skills: 
  

• Reading: Reading books together is the most effective way that helps children to become proficient readers. Your child’s interest in reading is a significant predictor of later reading achievement.
• Talking: Talking, telling stories and stretching conversations with children help them to learn new information, vocabulary and other early literary skills.
• Counting: This is a great way to teach your child to reason logically, solve the problems and make connections between mathematics and everyday life.
• Singing: It develops listening skills in children and help them to pay attention to the rhythm and rhyme. Singing helps children to learn new words, it adds to their general knowledge and is plain fun!
• Writing: We already know that writing and reading go together. Both reading and writing are ways to represent spoken words and to communicate information.
• Playing: It is one of the primary ways young children learn about how the world works and learn language. It helps children understand that written words stand for real objects and experiences.

List of Don'ts While Reading Books with Your Child 

• Don’t be fooled by awards. An award-winning book may not necessarily be a good read-aloud for your children. 
• Don’t read stories that you yourself don’t like as your dislike will show off. 
• Don’t get too comfortable while reading books to your children. A slouching or reclining position is the most apt way to bring on drowsiness. With less blood being pumped, less oxygen reaches the brain which causes drowsiness. 
• Never use the book as a threat such as “If you don’t clean your room then no story for you tonight!”. This will foster a negative attitude about book reading on your children. So, refrain from making the book reading experience a negative one for your children. 
• Don’t be unnerved by questions from very young children during the book reading session. Answer the question patiently if they pop up not for the purpose of distracting or postponing your bedtime. Though there is no time limit for reading a book however, understand that there is a time limit on a child’s inquisitiveness for it. So, foster your children’s curiosity with patient answers and then resume your reading. 
• Don’t stop reading aloud to your children once they start reading by themselves, because reading and listening skills don’t begin to converge until about 8th grade. 

Now that we know about the do’s and don’ts of book reading with children, you can start with this activity to develop this skill at an early age. If you are still not convinced why you should start reading to your children then stay tuned to know the Significance of Reading Books to Your Children in my upcoming posts.
Let me know your thoughts on reading books with children in the comments below. 

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