Studies show that reading for pleasure makes a big difference to children’s educational performance.
Evidence suggests that children who read for enjoyment every day not only perform better in reading tests than those who do not, but also develop a broader vocabulary, increased general knowledge and a better understanding of other cultures.
In fact, reading for pleasure is more likely to determine whether a child does well at school than their social or economic background.
I would have to agree with that.
I personally love reading. A good mystery book, a romantic novel or even a horror fiction, make for some great pass time for me.
My eldest has definitely inherited her love for reading from me! The younger one reads because she knows she needs to. Although having said I am finding her reading much more than before.
As a matter, apart from the frequented ‘did you have a good day at school’ and ‘what did you do today’, most of the 20-minute journey from home to school is spent reading by the two of them almost on a daily basis.
I do believe that reading broadens one’s horizons and is much more than being able to read. It makes us more tolerant. They stir emotions and is quite personal.
A 2013 study by Common Sense Media, a US independent nonprofit organisation, says the proportion of children who are daily readers drops markedly from childhood to the tween and teenage years.
According to US government studies, since 1984 the proportion of tweens and teens who read for pleasure once a week or more has dropped from 81 per cent to 76pc among nine-year-olds, from 70pc to 53pc among 13-year-olds and from 64pc to 40pc among 17-year-olds.
The proportion who say they “never” or “hardly ever” read has gone from eight per cent of 13-year-olds and nine per cent of 17-year-olds in 1984 to 22pc and 27pc respectively today.
American award winning science journalist Dan Hurley says that after three years interviewing psychologists and neuroscientists around the ‘reading and intelligence have a relationship so close as to be symbiotic.’
The ability to read opens countless doors of exploration and learning. It is a skill that, once learned, is continually used and exercised into adulthood. Reading is one of the best ways to gain a general knowledge of almost anything.
Reading can also boost imagination and creativity in children and adults alike.
For some people, reading provides an “escape” from the drudgery of day-to-day life. It allows them to relax and forget their troubles, if only for a few minutes.
And experts say that if we spend our last hours or minutes of the night reading rather than watching television, we wake the next morning with thoughts less jumbled, moods less jangled.
You should test that theory!