Let’s spread the joy of reading

The love for reading is a precious gift parents can give to their child. A decade ago, there were not as many options in terms of gadgets as there are today. So the only option to get rid of boredom was to either play outside or sit on the porch with a book. From Hans Christian Anderson’s Fairy tales to Enid Blyton’s timeless classics to Hardy boys and Nancy Drew mysteries, the world of imagination never failed to cease. Reading books has always been one of the best escapes from our every day stress. However, the rapid pace of technological advance has changed the reading culture over the last few years.

In today’s fast paced world, where gaming consoles and mobile games dominate the spare hours of millions of children, most of us fear this habit might turn them into gaming addicts instead of readers. While they are proficient at playing games, reading a book for pleasure appears an arduous activity. Is the reading habit really shrinking? Is it an agony task to motivate children to read books? While most people blame technology, on the contrary what really matters is the lack of quality time spent with children.

You can bring a change in the reluctant reader through some meaningful steps that help in introducing your children to a wealth of books and cultivating the habit of lifetime reading.

Freedom of choice — one of the best ways to kickstart the habit of reading is to get children the books they like.

Parents often get obsessed with classics and insist on few must-reads such as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Treasure Island or Peter Pan.

Interestingly games like Minecraft are actually motivating children to read. To play and understand the game, children are actually reading books and printed manuals. They might start off with Minecraft’s Combat handbook or The Dairy of a Wimpy Kid. Eventually they will be ready for more stories and will explore many books without their parents imposing their choices on them. All that counts is that they read, thus keeping the culture of reading alive.

Research has indicated that more a child reads, the better will their writing, speaking, listening and analytical skills become. Children who enjoy reading every day are said to develop a broader vocabulary and increase their general awareness besides understanding different cultures around the world.

While reading to your child is hard these days with hectic schedules, parents must take some time off and read to their children, at least once a day. It sends an important message that reading is worthwhile.

- The reader is an Indian stay-at-home mother and homemaker based Abu Dhabi