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One of the best ways to get your child started is to encourage them to read. Reading builds knowledge and sparks curiosity about people, places and experiences. It’s also a great way to stimulate your child’s imagination and creativity.
When it comes to your child’s executive function skills – working memory, cognitive flexibility and self-control – reading helps to hone these. These crucial mental skills allow kids to manage their thoughts, actions, and emotions in order to get things done, and a child who reads more disciplines their cognitive functions, keeping more information in their mind over time.
Studies have also shown that little readers also develop good concentration skills as they sit still and focus on the story.
This strengthens the child’s working memory and helps them to process information so they can become a better learner, in school and as an adult. As they come across new words that are pronounced differently, but contain the same letter combinations (such as though and tough), they develop their ability to adjust in order to understand this difference.
Reading also helps to build social and communication skills, and nurtures empathy as children learn that the world is made up of different cultures and people leading very different lives from their own.
Read on and find out how to encourage a passion for reading early.
For toddlers (ages 1-3)
Reading to toddlers as young as a one-year-old promotes language and cognitive skills and increased vocabulary.
1. Ask questions when you read aloud. Your one-year-old might be too young to fully understand what you are reading, or respond to your questions yet, and that’s fine. Just hearing words helps to build a rich network of knowledge in a toddler’s brain.
2. Set aside time to read every day, before naptime and bedtime. Stop once in a while and ask questions, or point at the pictures and comment on them. You can also get books with bright colors, textures, and noises for sensory stimulation.
3. Encourage your older toddler to tell you stories. Start off by showing a picture and prompt your child along the way by asking questions, to help them complete the story. Write down what your little one says and read the story you’ve written together.
For pre-schoolers (ages 4-5)
Your preschooler might still not be able to read much on their own. But, continuing to read to them will familiarize your child with words and language. Now that your little one is older, you can add more interesting levels of learning to their reading experience.
1. Make reading an essential part of life. Next time you’re on the bus or train together or simply waiting for food at a restaurant, pull out a book to read together.
2. Plan field trips. Did you read about a museum? Go visit one! Don’t limit your child to books; visit places and things your child has read about. They will associate what they have read with the experience, which makes for a more enriching learning process.
3. Guess what will happen next. While reading with your child, ask your child to guess what will happen next. Were they correct? Did they miss an important detail, which led to an incorrect guess? These discussions will spur your child to think harder and you’ll get to know their thinking process a bit better!
4. Let your child choose what to read. Giving kids choices in their reading material goes a long way in raising life-long readers. Whether it’s a storybook, comic, or magazine, they’ll be more engaged and more likely to retain the information.
For primary school kids (ages 6-7)
Enhance your child’s learning experience by encouraging more cognitive processes and skills linked to reading, like the development of critical thinking.
1. Get your child to do book reviews. This can show how deeply your child has understood the story. It doesn’t matter if they are still learning how to write – try drawing pictures and talking through their ideas.
2. Reimagine the endings. This exercise is great for developing creativity and imagination. Your child also needs to remember characters and events from the book, so it’s a good way to hone their working memory, too.
3. Write a story from pictures. The next time your primary schooler shows you a drawing, add some fun to it and ask them to come up with a story about the drawing. Challenge them to think of ideas and situations that match their artwork. You’ll be surprised by the results!
4. Watch the movie after you have read the book. Ask your child whether they enjoyed the movie more or the book, and why. You can even list the differences and compare your lists. This also taps on your child’s visual memory and observation skills, and helps them to think beyond the written word.
Remember: If children are interested in something, they will happily read all about it. So fuel their passions – whether it’s nature, animals or sport – and look at lots of opportunities to read, such as websites, magazines and newspapers. Joining a library is also a great way to discover new interests.
UTM-EM-055-APR-21
References:
World Economic Forum - The lifelong benefits of reading
SciVerse ScienceDirect - Lifelong learning and the willingness to read outside of school
Ideapod - 15 incredible benefits from reading every day
Oprah.com - Watch This. No. Read It!
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