Posted on Aug 23, 2022

With summer coming to a close, school edges around the corner, and that means reading does too! Often kids, along with adults, struggle to put some time aside in their day to pick up a book. With so many distractions in the outside world, including technology, social media, and everyday inconveniences, it can be hard to dive into a novel and stay enraptured by it. However, the benefits of doing this are endless. Reading has been shown to enhance focus, emotional expression, memory, and communication skills in people of all ages. It has also been proven to reduce stress and improve mental health, two of the leading factors of depression and suicide in America. Neuroscientists have found that simply reading for 15 minutes a day will provide these benefits, along with a longer lifespan.

Nail-biting, excessive spending, and use of profanity are some of the most common bad habits people all around the world develop. We all know how hard it is to break a bad habit after years of doing it. This is why it is so critically important and necessary to break that bad habit of not reading now, and create healthy habits with your kids. Reading daily to young children, starting in infancy, can help with language development, social skills, communication skills, and literacy skills. This stimulation of the brain is exactly the ingredient needed for kids to grow and develop. In an era of technology and social media, children have become dependent on screens that limit their brain development. The overuse of phones and gadgets hampers kids from engaging with others and exploring their imaginations. However, books allow children to learn and apply creativity in their everyday lives. This all comes to show how putting in the small work now to help your child grow makes it that much easier in the future. Moreover, when kids can see their own improvement, such as their increasing ability to read books more fluently, they build confidence within themselves that is reflected into other aspects of their life.

Now the hardest part is building this habit. Many young kids don’t find reading to be engaging and fun, but there are different ways to help make this so. Finding books rich in illustrations or touch-and-feel books, helps to keep them invested in every page while also helping them associate the text with the visuals (develop understanding of different words). In addition, allowing children to choose stories of their liking will ensure more interest. This ability to choose gives them a sense of power and helps them stick to their decisions. And lastly, one of the most important ways to help your child develop this habit is by you, the parent, reading as well. Imitation is one of the biggest sources of a child’s development, and your habits are very contagious.

Language is the most useful and powerful tool humans possess. Reading is one of the most effective means to perfecting this tool. The habit of reading, if instilled at an early age, gives everyone the opportunity to a more balanced and productive lifestyle. So make sure to visit your local library today!

Original article: The Benefits of Reading