Six Reasons Why Reading is Great for Your Children

Reading is an essential skill to help your child get through life, but it can also be a good way to develop their minds. Reading and writing are taught at school in the early years but giving your child a head start will set them up for success. Whether you’re reading them a bedtime story or giving them a book to learn for themselves, here are six reasons reading is great for your child. 

Improves memory 

When reading or listening to a story, your mind has to keep track of all that is happening to make sense of it. Remembering the characters, their names and personalities, as well as recalling past events, means that your child’s memory gets quite a workout.  

If you’re reading in small bursts, like a chapter every night, your child will have to remember where they left off, and what happened in the last chapter. You may even like to test their memory with a little quiz. It may not seem like much, but you will be slowly training your child’s memory every day.  

Parent-child bonding 

Cuddling up to your little one and reading them a bedtime story is one of the best ways the two of you can bond. Spending time together, talking about the story, and even teaching them during this time will help to bring you closer together.  

This can be a particularly good chance for parents who have busy lives working, as a way to spend some much-needed time with your child and relax together.  

Develops empathy 

We all want our children to be good people, and reading from a young age can help them to develop empathy for others. When exposed to numerous stories with a variety of characters, your child can start to identify with the feelings of these people and relate to their emotions.  

By understanding that other people have emotions and being able to empathise with them, your child learns an important skill to get along with others. Exposing your child to the perspectives of different characters from a young age will help to develop their emotional intelligence for later in life. 

Stimulates imagination 

Children are known for their wild imaginations and an impressive level of creativity. You can help to stimulate this even further by reading stories with them. You will see them playing pretend as the characters and making up their own scenarios in no time. 

Stories can also inspire them to be creative, and you can encourage this by suggesting they draw their favourite character or try to make up their own story. You never know, you could develop in them a passion for writing and soon have the next J.K Rowling on your hands.  

Improves concentration 

In a world where attention spans are getting shorter, reading with your child is a great way to improve their concentration. When your child sits down and focuses on the story being told, they are learning skills that will greatly help them to concentrate when they go to school. 

You can also teach them patience while reading to them, having to wait for the next chapter or book. Once they start being able to read on their own, giving them a book for an hour or two is also great to keep them occupied, so mum can have a break too. 

It’s relaxing 

With technology being such a big part of our lives these days, it is good to remember that sitting down with a good book can be just as entertaining. After the excitement of running around and playing all day, relaxing with a story can help your child to unwind, without getting bored.  

Introducing reading as a fun activity also serves to reduce screen time, with many kids inevitably going to the screen for their entertainment. By encouraging them to diversify their choice of pastime, you build good habits for their future development.  

Conclusion 

Reading is very important for the development of your child, helping to improve their mind, skills, creativity and empathy. Encouraging good habits from a young age will greatly benefit them as they grow old and give the two of you a great chance to bond as well. There is no downside, and plenty of benefits, so get reading! Even short bursts, like a chapter before bed every night, will go a long way.