Published By: Puja Sinha

Why should You Read to Kids?

This cosy and intimate activity should not be merely preserved for leisure but rather pursued routinely 

Reading to your kids during childhood is indispensable to cultivating a lifelong love and reverence towards books; needless to say that it instils a fierce determination to chase after knowledge through the act of reading and not discard books as arduous and boring.

To Establish a Bond for Lifetime 

This personal time goes beyond being educational. It forges an intimate bond with your child and increases their sense of security and well-being. Love and attention encourage positive development within children which further nurtures the parent-child relationship over discussions and laughter to cherish for a lifetime.

Reading becomes a moment of shared intimacy your child would look forward to no matter how reluctant or impatient they are in the beginning.

To Support Cognitive Development

Reading speeds up cognitive development and a child undeniably excels at reasoning, information processing, long-term memory, visual and auditory processing, visual perceptual skill, foresight and sustained attention when they are being regularly read to.

Educators recommend picture books, fiction, alphabet and informative books, depending on the age group and difficulty level, to leverage the most from reading times.

To Improve Literacy and Language Skills 

Reading develops phonemic awareness, comprehensive skills, vocabulary, phonics and fluency—integral to achieving success in academic and social spheres. Reading to them certainly accelerates the process of honing language skills and implants within them a genuine fondness, interest and curiosity towards language. Gradually, you would see better communication and creativity skills within them.

To Instil a Creative Spree

Reading stimulates the prowess to think different in interesting and powerful ways. A child is better equipped to vividly imagine people, places and events, going beyond their own limited experiences, when you furnish them with a wealth of descriptive and elaborate passages. They churn out personal narratives of higher literary merit. No wonder reading opens new doors and avenues to tread on and dream about.

To Develop a Child’s Attention Span

Keeping a child listening and engaging with complete surrender and devotion, engulfed within the story, is a tricky ballgame altogether. Even short reading sessions can be eventually lengthened to boost concentration and discourage passive-aggressive behaviour.

Nevertheless, it is equally important to ensure children are comfortable with the session. Observing the highest compatible time of the day, interspersing readathons with breaks, keeping at bay gadgets and other sources of distraction and integrating innovation into these moments could bring about a positive change in their attitude.