Everyone says reading is important. Libraries, schools, and teachers emphasize reading as part of children’s classroom education. It is better for children to read books than to watch television or play video games. But why should I encourage it? Here are some of the benefits of reading and why it is important to your child.
Encourage language learning
Reading is one of the best ways to learn a language. Children learn by exposure, and when they see grammar, punctuation, and correct use of words in stories and other written forms, they learn without trying to learn. They don’t necessarily have to study the rules of grammar if they’ve seen enough examples in the books they love.
Increase vocabulary skills.
How many times have you read a word in a book and looked it up in a dictionary? If you are like many people, probably not many times. Instead, you probably understood the meaning of the word based on the context it was in.
Children do the same. And because their brains are in a state of enormous growth and development, they are more likely to absorb what they read and understand it intuitively, without having to have things explained to them.
Summer reading programs for kids aren’t just silly, either. Researchers at John Hopkins University found that the difference in learning between children of various socioeconomic classes was not very large during the school year. But during the summer, disadvantaged youth did not read as much and experienced a greater “summer slip”, a loss of knowledge and skills during the holidays.
Having access to books and reading helped narrow that gap, so that the chances of the poorest children falling behind more and more as they get older diminish. Libraries are a great leveling tool; everyone can access a large number of books and reading material, free of charge.
Helps you earn money
A 2003 study of adult literacy by the National Center for Education Statistics found that adults with low levels of literacy were three times more likely to be below the poverty level than adults who could read well. Think about it: if you can’t read English fluently, you’ll have trouble with job applications, memos, instruction booklets, tax forms, and all sorts of things you’ll encounter in your adult life.
Getting children interested in reading from an early age lays the foundation for greater achievement and learning in the decades to come. It is no exaggeration to say that reading as a child can change the course of a child’s life and affect their learning and earning potential.
If you have a young one, start by reading stories to them. If your child is older, find material that he likes, no matter what the subject. The explosion of graphic novels on the market today means that there are books that will grab any child’s attention and get them to read. These are just a few of the benefits of reading, but clearly reading is important to your child’s future success in life. Help your child get off to a good start by encouraging him to read.