Children are a gift from the heavens. Not only must you nurture them with love and care, you must also strive to foster intelligence and wisdom in them, and encourage them to learn with curiosity and passion for their own benefit in the future. Learning is a fourfold process consisting of reading, writing, speech, and listening skills. Out of these four, reading really is the foundation.
We cannot teach our sweet little ones to read overnight. However, it is important to develop the habit of reading in them from a very early age. Why exactly do we need to do this?
To expand the child’s knowledge
Knowledge and wisdom is not only vital for adults, but also for children. The knowledge they gain will easily connect with the subjects they will be studying in the future. Ken Pushkin, a researcher from Haskins Laboratories says that reading improves the memory capacity of a child. The need for encouraging good reading habit really is imperative.
Improves self-esteem
‘Reading completes a person’ is not just a saying. Reading meaningful content can instill a sense of pride in the child. There are so many great role models in the world. Although little ones can get carried away with Spider Man and Night Rider, you can help them relate to real life legends who have conquered the world. The child will naturally want to follow in those exemplary footsteps.
In the olden days, mothers used to sing ‘Sirimath mage saki’ rhymes as an example to follow. Listening to it, every child in the class wished to be ‘sirimath’.
Improve language skills
Reading books and papers can automatically expand the child’s vocabulary. These days everyone complains of their children’s language skills. Therefore, developing a love for books at the early age of 5 can be fundamental in effective learning and studying in the future.
Builds a connection between the mind and the heart.
People who read really do live alongside the characters inside the stories. There is a sense of heroism when we read about Prince Gemunu. Madduma Bandara instills a sense of bravery. Not only the characters but also the extraordinary places of the world feed our imaginations no end. Therefore, reading provides an enormous contribution towards the development of the personality of a child.
Creativity
Not only do children enjoy reading but also awaken their creativity through it. Creative thinking is important to their day to day lives as well as for their education. The information gained by reading gets stored automatically and by making associations with them when needed, the child’s creativity will come forward.
Beneficial for mental relaxation
Just as with the physical exhaustion, mental exhaustion too requires rest. Most people turn to their hobbies for this purpose. It is important that every person has some kind of hobby. We cannot decide this for our children. However, providing them with an environment in which reading is encouraged from a very young age is a cause for great inspiration. This is such an amazing aid for relieving mental exhaustion.
How to foster reading habits in your child?
Provide them with things that will stir their interest in reading. This will give them an idea about it. Mothers usually don’t give books for the little ones because they end up tearing and damaging the book. The solution is to teach them how to take care of books and not to keep them away from books. Parents in the olden days advised children to even worship books prior to reading them or if a book drops from your hands…
Create a good environment for reading. Having a small home library from a young age can be a good start in developing the habit.
Take a membership for the child at the city council library or any another library or take the child to visit the library when you get a chance. As parents, you won’t be able to easily get your children to use a library, if you yourself are reluctant to even enter the premises.
Include books for birthday gifts. Every now and then, ask questions from a book and reward them with things they love.
>Don’t miss the book exhibition. You know from experience, how stimulating it can be when a delicious food is being cooked. The fresh scent of so many books at the exhibition will plant the seed of a good reading habit in your child.
0 Comments