The Importance of Reading With Children
This week’s blog post has been written by Sarah from Parrot Street Book Club. Check out her site parrotstreet.com.
Children should be encouraged to read for pleasure. In this digital age, with so many things competing for our kids’ time and attention, we risk raising a generation who can read, but choose not to. Did you know that one in three teenagers reads only two books a year or fewer? We have to work harder than ever to inspire a lifelong love of reading in our children, and here are five reasons why it’s worth the effort:
1. Reading improves vocabulary and critical thinking skills.
A child that reads for 20 minutes a day will read around 1.8 million words in a year. That’s a
lot of vocabulary! It goes without say that the more our children read, the more vocabulary
they absorb and the easier they will find it to articulate themselves, both now and in the
future. Reading fiction also requires them to interpret the problems and situations faced by their favourite characters (without them even realising it), helping to develop their critical
thinking skills as well.
2. Reading opens up a whole new world.
For most of our children, the world is still a very small place. The places, people and cultures
they are familiar with are relatively few. Fiction is an enormously powerful tool that can help
gently to introduce them to the wider world, allowing them to witness and experience what
it is like to live in a different country or culture. The best fiction does this in a way that
doesn’t over emphasise the differences or alienate them from the world they are reading
about, but instead focuses on telling a good story that the reader is absorbed by and feels
connected to, regardless of whether it is set in an Amazonian jungle or their own home
town.
3. Reading helps develop imagination and creativity.
When our children read or listen to a fictional story, they are left to fill in all sorts of gaps
and to picture what the author is describing for themselves. Reading and listening to stories
encourages them to flex their creative muscles – and helps them understand that there are
no rules or right and wrong answers when it comes to thinking creatively.
4. Reading helps our children understand others.
Studies have shown that reading for pleasure plays a crucial role in helping us develop a
stronger sense of empathy and a host of other social skills. When our children read about a
character in a book, they have a response to that character, either positive or negative or
something in between – and those responses are great practice for when they meet and
react to people in their real lives. They register and interpret how those characters are
feeling and how they feel about what is happening to them, and the more they practice
those social skills, the better equipped they are to interact with other people in their daily
lives.
5. Reading builds children’s character.
Fictional stories also help our children to practice interpreting what is right and what is
wrong in an entirely safe and non-confrontational environment. Our children learn so much
about what is fair and what is unfair, what is good and what is bad behaviour from the books
they read. And without even realising it they are themselves developing a stronger moral
code with every turn of the page.
As with so many things, the best way to enthuse your children about reading will be to make it a fun experience they get to share with you. Best of luck with your reading adventures!
Sarah Campbell and Emily Bright run Parrot Street Book Club, an exciting monthly book subscription for primary school-aged children. They send fantastic chapter books that their subscribers might not have discovered and which can be enjoyed equally by boys and girls. Each parcel also includes a fun-filled activity pack they’ve produced to accompany each book featuring book club-style questions, puzzles, jokes, craft projects, facts, recipes and a surprise gift!
Follow them here:
facebook.com/parrotstreetbookclub
instagram.com/parrot_street/
twitter.com/parrot_street
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Good luck with your English!
Sarah x