It doesn’t take a genius to realize that reading is necessary to survival in this technology-driven world we live in today. It might have been ok to be illiterate back a few decades, and even 100 years ago. The ability to read has long been equivocated with the wealthy, since most people only learned how to read if they were fortunate enough to attend school - which might have been only a few months out of the year, at best. Of course, it gets easier to fool others into thinking you can read, what with all the pictorial signs we have in restaurants, in public buildings, and on the street. Those universal signs don’t even have to include a caption for us to know what they are, do they?
The Benefits of Reading
Reading is an enjoyable pastime for those who have learned to appreciate the written word. Sadly, many people have gone away from reading for sheer fun, choosing instead to watch the book-based movie of a popular theme. I certainly don’t knock the audio-books, though - they are invaluable to the blind and people with other disabilities. But at least you can still hear the beautiful words and form a picture in your mind of what is going on in the plot, just like during the height of the radio-entertainment before television. Reading is also a stepping-stone for children who take the leap from young child to student. The world opens up to them, once they can start recognizing words on paper. So how do you enable children to want to read?
Capture Interest
Children are most drawn to books when you read aloud to them in toddlerhood. There are fabulous picture books you can share with them, that have engrossing scenes, silly rhymes, and hands-on fun for their bright minds. As they hear you speaking to them, they’ll start to pick up on the same words you use, in order to expand their own vocabulary. Whatever you read aloud, just make sure you make it a positive experience. Read with expression, don’t be afraid to act out the story, and really get down to their level. After all, the goal is to have them see that reading is exciting, not boring. Books also make the best gifts, no matter the age. Reading builds self-confidence that no one can take away from you - once you can read, you can read at your own pace. Children will start to keep to themselves at some point, and hopefully one activity they can do to put your mind at ease during those alone times is to read a book.
Discourage Television Usage
As tempting as it is to use the television as a means of providing entertainment, it is not a good long-term resource. Too much television viewing can contribute to eye strains, headaches, lethargy and a sedentary lifestyle, not developing hobbies or other interests, hyperactive activity, and poor school performance. So any time you want to do something as a family, read together - aloud or silently to yourselves while together, and leave the television off as much as possible. I can personally attest to what a television lifestyle does to a home - I barely watched it growing up, but my husband’s family were avid tv-junkies. Consequently, our daughter learned what the television was even before we ever had programs on for her viewing pleasure. We don’t let her watch more than a few hours of television a day, but I also have found that because we have read to her from very young that she on her own limits the amount of television she views in favor of books and other imaginative activities. It definitely helps when children see us read instead of watching television - it’s just like the adage "Monkey See, Monkey do". In this case, I hope the children in your lives will see you doing the right thing, and keep them always seeking to learn and use their imaginations through reading!
