Read to Your Child, If You Want Him/Her to Start Reading A Book

By: Tamanna Mattu Mahani

“There is more treasure in books than in all the pirates’ loot on treasure islands,” Walt Disney.

No one can deny the importance of reading in children. No doubt our children live in the digital world and perhaps learn to use a phone before they learn to read or write but reading a book is a tool to ignite their imagination and improve concentration and memory. It is a brain exercise to improve critical thinking, enhance imagination, develop empathy, and improve vocabulary and speaking skills.

“Reading” exposes a child to a new world altogether. But a child is not born with this skill. Just like we help and guide our child with other skills, we need to consciously develop this most important skill too.

I’m writing about my experience as a mother. Unless we read to our child, we can’t expect him/her to develop a love for reading suddenly. We teach our child cycling, swimming, playing football or basketball, and how to play board-game; we have to ‘teach’ them reading a book too by being personally involved as a parent. I have seen, a family where at least one of the parents makes an effort to read to his/her child, tell stories, asks questions, and plays quiz from the story, that’s how gradually the child too will fall in love with books. The child’s love for reading depends entirely on us. As parents, have we made an investment in this area, if we have-we will not only bond with our children more but also give them the most valuable key to the treasures of the world- entertainment, information, and knowledge. So, pick up a book today and start reading it to your child. Don’t give up. Repeat, repeat, repeat, read aloud with emotions……Your persistence will surely make your child fall in love with books.

Happy Reading!