Reading is a key part of life from the very first moment. It has huge impacts on a child’s development in many different ways, and the act of reading is a staple for childhoods around the world. Creating curious readers out of your children is a great way to introduce the world around them through books—when they can open up their imagination on the page, the possibilities are endless.
Parents and teachers are in the perfect position to instill a love of reading in children from an early age. We put together this article to explain five (of many) reasons why reading is a critical skill—it’s a seed that should be nourished and watered daily in order for it to grow.
At the end of the article, check out some tips on how you can encourage a love of books in your child so they can grow up as a bookworm!
Five Reasons Why Reading Is a Critical Skill
Children thrive on a sense of balance and routine, and a good routine is one that helps to develop a child’s education, social and cognitive development, and mental health.
Reading is an activity that you can incorporate into your child’s daily routine that will contribute to each of these important categories.
Reading helps a child better understand the big, wide world around them by shrinking it down to something that they can hold in their hands. It also gives them tools on how to interact with people and things in the world—even things they might be unfamiliar with. Children learn by seeing and mimicking, and reading gives them plenty of opportunities to do just that.
Reading also encourages engagement with text and builds language skills in children of all ages. Beyond that, it provides a steady source of education and entertainment on even the rainiest, most boring days.
Here are five reasons why reading is a critical skill for all children.
1. It aids cognitive development.
Cognitive development refers to the way a child perceives and interprets the world around them in the way of intelligence, reasoning, language, and processing. Reading books can help your child understand their world on a level that’s digestible for them.
Reading fills their brain up with knowledge that goes far beyond what they’ve experienced so far in their lives, and this use of imagination builds cognitive development.
2. Reading helps to develop empathy.
It’s natural to put ourselves in the shoes of the characters as we read, and doing this helps children develop their sense of empathy. When they can identify characters and how they’re feeling, they come closer to shifting this understanding into the real world.
Through books, children can also get a firmer grasp on emotions—their own and others’—which helps to build their social skills.
3. It encourages a deeper level of understanding.
While they read, children learn about people, places, and things they might never see with their own eyes. This can give them a better and deeper understanding of the world and what it has to offer, allowing them to see situations from the shoes of another person or character.
4. It helps foster strong relationships.
Like we discussed before, integrating reading into your everyday routine will help your child thrive. Not only because they know what to expect and when, but because it sets in stone a specific bonding time between the two of you. This is a period of time in which you can dedicate all of your attention to your child, which is something that the two of you will undoubtedly look forward to and cherish each day.
5. It’s important for a child’s education.
Reading improves a child’s literacy and language skills and helps them focus their eyes in a left-to-right pattern. Reading will also help the child
- build their vocabulary;
- learn the context of new words and phrases;
- increase concentration;
- sit still and focus on one thing, which aids in school preparation;
- get a sense of creativity.
How to Read with Your Child
Reading at home helps to build a strong foundation for your child when they head off to school. When you think of reading with your little one, keep these tips in mind:
- Start at an early age.
- Work it into your everyday routine and be consistent.
- Continue to integrate new books into your reading time.
- Be patient.
- Discuss the book with your child after you finish reading.
Your Young Reader
Reading doesn’t come naturally for every child, but it’s a skill that can be successfully cultivated in almost everyone. Using the tips in this article can help to grow your child’s love of learning so they can reap the myriad of benefits that come with leading the life of a bookworm.
