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As
parents one of the greater gifts we can give our children is a love of reading.
In an age dominated by Television and the Internet, reading books may not
seem to be very important. But in fact, studies have found that the reading
habit, especially in young children, has very many benefits
 Exposure
- Books help a child to make sense of the world around her. Children
use real life experiences to help them understand books and in turn,
books help children understand real life.
- Company - Stories help a child to place his feelings and his experiences
in perspective. He learns that other people have similar feelings, he
learns that there are all kinds of experiences to be had in the world.
As such a reader is rarely lonely even when alone.
- Creativity - Books open up a sense
of wonder in a child. Stories develop the imagination and an ability
to think flexibly.
- Language - Reading improves a child's fluency in the written language,
as distinct from fluency in the spoken language. It contributes to an
enhanced vocabulary.
" Knowledge - Children pick up knowledge from books, often without
realizing it. As such reading makes learning fun.
So how do
you ensure that your child is a good reader? Well, studies show that the
best method for encouraging reading is to read to your child from as early
an age as possible. Its true that reading is highly time consuming and
may well mean curtailing some hard earned (and sorely needed) recreational
time. But consider these facts :-
No
activity or learning tool can replace reading in terms of its
benefits to the children. |
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Lot of parents
feel that with the advent of Satellite Television and the Internet their
children don't need to read books The benefits gained by reading books
are available through these other avenues. The children themselves further
support this view as both TV and the Internet are a more attractive media.
But the power of the written word can not be replaced by anything. This
is not to say that the audio-visual aids, like TV and internet, don't
contribute to the child's learning. They are extremely important if used
effectively. Read Working with Computers
for knowing more about how you can incorporate this learning tool
into your child's everyday life.
Reading to your child is a comparatively inexpensive method
of providing love, security, independence, self-esteem, confidence
and that extra little competitive edge to your child. |
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Reading to
a child: -
- Reading to a child helps form a closer bond between parent and child.
Reading together creates memories that your children will always treasure.
- Part of the fun of reading aloud to the child, is that you have to
sit close to each other - often the children end up sitting in your
lap. Your nearness and your undivided attention ensures that a child
feels loved, secure and cared for. This is particularly important for
slightly older children with younger siblings.
- Reading together provides an uninterrupted 20-30 minutes (or more)
where parents and children can learn more about each other.
- The story can be used as a medium to communicate
and discuss important values such
as honesty, courage, loyalty and love. Children learn easily through
stories and at the same time parents obtain important feedback through
the kind of questions a child asks. Any important message that you want
to convey on values, the world around you, family issues etc will be
absorbed and assimilated faster and easier under the cover of an enjoyable
story.
- When you take time out of a busy schedule to read to your child, he
learns that he is valued. He learns that however busy you are, you will
always have time for him.
- When you cater to the enjoyment of a child, he learns that in a family,
members care about the likes and dislikes of each other. They learn
to consider the needs of others as well as their own.
- The trust and intimacy of regular reading sessions will stand you
in good stead in all trying teen years to come.
- Children learn intonation and pronunciation from listening to an adult
read.
- Studies have shown that a child who was regularly read to by his parents
consistently outperforms another child who was not read to. Even more
importantly the benefits gained by the former group are not temporary,
the gap between the two groups never narrows.
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Tips for making reading aloud better for both of you: -
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Choose books a little above the reading level of your children
for reading aloud - it helps to expand vocabulary.
- Act
out the story as much as possible - speak in the voice of
the characters, read in a way in keeping with the book -
if it is silly make it funny and if it is serious, read
it seriously.
- Try
and relate the story to the child's everyday life.
- Have
fun! Don't treat it like a chore that you have to do every
day. Children tend to sense these negative feelings and
they could assume that reading itself is boring.
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Making
a reader out of your child -
For infants
- Read aloud to him.
- Expose him to books, even though in the beginning he will just put
them into his mouth!
- Entertain him with nursery rhymes.
- Provide colourful picture books to the child.
- Word books are especially useful to start an infant off.
For Toddlers
and Kids
- Read aloud to her, especially at bedtime. Read the favourites over
and over again
- Surround her with books and magazines of interest to her.
- Read signs on the road, newspapers, information on food items etc.
aloud to her. Label everything.
- Limit the amount of time spent watching TV or playing games on the
computer.
- Try and watch TV shows based on children's books.
- Tell your child stories from mythology, especially Indian mythology.
Even if you only know a few, share them with her and then get a few
Amarchitra Kathas or Panchatantra Tales.
- If you go on a vacation to new places, encourage your children to
read up on the places you plan to visit. Follow it up with helping them
make a Travel Book.
- Do simple crossword puzzles and other word puzzles with your children.
- Play word games such as scrabble with them.
- Tell them stories of your own childhood, or of funny family incidents
or based on your daily everyday life. Encourage them to make up stories
as well.
- Monitor the books they read to ensure that they are age appropriate.
- Try out our Reading Fun activities
for children.
Set an example - read books and magazines.
For Pre-teens and Teens
- If you go on vacations to new places, encourage your children to read
up on the place you plan to visit. Follow it up with helping them make
a Travel Book.
- Encourage children to keep diaries - the more fluent they are at reading
and writing (complementary skills), the better they will be at expressing
themselves and communicating with others.
- Encourage the child to write letters. You can ask him to write to
grandparents or cousins living out of town or you can find him a penpal.
Writing letters, especially to penpals, will not only improve his writing
skills but also will give him an exposure to another place or country.
- Encourage them to do crossword puzzles.
- Play word games such as scrabble with them.
- Tell them stories of your own childhood, or of funny family incidents
or based on your daily everyday life. Encourage them to make up stories
as well. You can ask them to Write a Story
on a theme or a Screen Play
of their favourite story.
- Monitor the books they read to ensure that they are age appropriate.
- Encourage them to read the newspaper. You can mention a news-item
of interest to them and then suggest they read it.
- Set them a quiz or research task, especially during the holidays.
To look for the answers they will have to look through different magazines
and books. Also they will gain essential experience with reference books.
- Try out our Reading Fun activities
for children.
- Set an example - read books and magazines.
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