We all know that reading regularly can boost your vocabulary, your world awareness and improves your attention and focus skills, but that’s probably not a good enough reason for your children or teenagers to pick up a good book. Here are some reasons you can use to encourage young people to read that you might not have thought of before.
Why Encourage our children to read?
1| Reading can build your self-esteem
From infancy through to adulthood, being read to or reading ourselves allows us to learn about the world. The more that we learn, the greater our knowledge about a particular area becomes, people may come to you for answers about that topic and this can boost your self-esteem.
2| Reading can help reduce stress
Taking time out and reading a favorite book rather than watching TV or playing a game can help organize your thoughts, allow you to focus and attend to something other than the source of your stress. Think about the comfort of reading to a child at bedtime to help relax, focus their attention and put the energy of the day behind them. This effect can be the same for all of us!
3| Reading can help you earn more and become successful
This one’s for the teenagers looking for financial freedom: if you focus your reading on a particular area and develop your expertise, then you become more marketable and can demand a higher salary! It’s simple supply and demand.
4| Reading can save you time
It can feel like something done to pass by time on a tedious long journey, but literature is actually an ultimate time-saver — because it gives us access to a range of emotions and events that would usually take you years, decades, millennia to experience directly. Literature is the greatest reality simulator — a machine that puts you through infinitely more situations than you can ever directly witness. It helps that your imagination is stimulated, forcing you to create as you read.
5| Reading can change your life
Certain books can have a ‘life affirming’ effect on an individual which may encourage them to make life changing decisions, such as pursuing a new career, moving to a new country or starting or ending a relationship. It can help people manage their depression, help reduce feelings of isolation and ‘I’m the only one’.
So, how to encourage your child to read?
1. Start early!
Certain habits needs to be enforced at an early age to make you sure they stick with your children when they grow up. Reading is one of these habits. Many parents start reading to their little ones even before birth. A lot of research shows that this actually helps your child read.
As for infants and toddlers, bedtime stories should become a habit to increase their interest in books. Put them in your lap and explore baby books together. Children’s books are colorful and fun and they attract children easily. Here are a few suggestions for your baby’s first books:
2. Use reading aids and accessories
There are certain tools and products that help preschoolers and pre-readers develop their reading skills. We recommend using them because they educate children and drive them to explore new words. Plus they are super fun and entertaining.
3| Take them to bookstores
When buying books for your children, take them with you and let them pick whatever book they want. If you pick and buy their books by yourself, it would make them feel forced and that would take the fun out of reading. Let your child explore the bookstore and pick the book that attracts them the most.
4| Use a prizing system
When your children buy books, challenge them to finish them. Give them a deadline and plan with them a contest with a prize if they finish the book before the deadline. Spice things up by making a race board showing everyone’s progress. Join the fun yourself and see who wins your book reading contest!
5| Match their reading skills and age
Most children hate reading because the books are far too advanced for them. When selecting books, make sure they are both age and level suitable. Only raise the level of books when your child asks for it. This way they will keep developing their reading skills gradually without any pressure.
Finally, we urge you to be a role model for your child. Children mirror adult actions and you should use that to enforce good behaviors and habits such as reading.
