Sunday, October 16, 2011

Read to your child!


Read a lot to your child. The vast mass of knowledge in the world can only be gained by reading, and if you want your kid to be smart, he has to acquire a love for reading. I can't stress enough the importance of reading. 

It is sad to see most kids these days don't read enough. Teachers at school (primary) rarely have story time. Ask your child when was the last time he heard a story from his teacher! So my dear parents, allocate 10-20 minutes to just quietly read a book to your child. 

Some benefits of reading to your child:

Basic speech skills
From birth, your child is learning critical language and enunciation skills. By listening to you read, your child is reinforcing the basic sounds that form language.

Better communication skills
When you read to your child, he will be much more likely to express himself and relate to others in a healthy way. Learning about the interactions between the characters in the books you read, as well as the contact with you during story time, your child is gaining valuable communication skills.

Improve concentration and discipline
Your child may initially squirm and become distracted during story time, but in time, he will eventually stay put for the duration of the book (Don't give up, just keep reading!). Along with reading comprehension comes a stronger self discipline, longer attention span, and better memory retention. These are vital skills your child needs when he start formal schooling.

Reading helps in creative writing 
Children who reads a lot tends to do be creative writers!


Improve critical thinking skills
By reading to your child,  he will learn to grasp abstract concepts, apply logic in various scenarios, recognize cause and effect, and utilize good judgement. Your child will begin to enjoy the stories you tell him when he can relate the scenarios in the books to what's happening in his own world.

Reading can open up new worlds and enrich children's lives
Given the wealth of available resources such as Internet, libraries, bookstores and schools, if a child can read well and understand that reading is a source of information, then for the rest of his life he will have access to all of the accumulated knowledge of mankind, access to all of the great minds and ideas of the past and present. It is truly amazing! 

Reading can provide your child with plenty of good, clean fun
Reading can provide your child with endless hours of fun and entertainment. Stories can free up imaginations and open up exciting new worlds of fantasy or reality. They allow children to dream. 

Children are influenced by and imitate the world around them. It is very important that you carefully choose stories and books that can have a positive influence on your child, sensitizing him to the needs of others. For example books that encourage children to share, be kind, doing our part for mother nature.

So read to your children everyday!





6 comments:

Linda said...

I just read a very god book by Glenn Doman about "how to teach your child to read"..... Starting on my first reading to my children the Doman style..... Hopefully I can keep up....

A gift from God said...

Great Linda, hope it will help your kids!

CL said...

I have been reading to both kids since they were babies ... they love their daily bed time storiessss, see the s there... not just one book, at times, 2-3 books - one for the elder, one for the young one and if time permits, a bonus book ... :)

Nina @ BabyBoon said...

Cant agree more. Altho sometimes gibran doesnt seem interestd, i still read to him,and his vocab is richer than many of his peers

A gift from God said...

CL,
Good for you and the kids, as they grow older, you might want to challenge them with books that requires deeper appreciation of the characters and more complex storyline. :) great for discussion and develop their language skills!

A gift from God said...

BabyBooned,

:) How are you mama of 2? When are we going to meet up?