Give your kids the gift of reading!

Reading is a dying hobby and this I can say with my personal example. When we were kids we used to enjoy reading story books and as we grew up our story books converted to comics and then to novels. I still remember our parents getting the best and the most colorful storybooks with lots of pictures to enjoy. But with television coming in the kids could find an alternative to stay busy and there are so many options in a television or internet that they expend their time but the options to entertain one self does not finish.

As a parent I think the fault lies with us too. We too as individuals have a hectic lifestyle and find it convenient that our kids keep themselves busy with the electronic media. But we are not realizing that our not introducing a book to our children is doing them more harm than anything else. So before I try and convince the younger generation to read, I would try and persuade the parents by making them well versed with the benefits of reading.

1. The first and foremost benefit of reading is that it gives you ample opportunities to connect with your child. I still remember that when  my mother introduced Enid Blyton to me, she was the one who took me to the library talking about the novel all through the way and made me inquisitive to pick it up. And as I finished reading the book we had long chats about the book on the dining table, in the kitchen, while driving and even before going to bed. My younger brother used to wait for the bed time stories to pick up his favorite book and listen his favorite story from mom.

2. I am a staunch believer of the fact that the kids who are introduced to books in earlier part of life are better in academics than otherwise. By reading books one is introduced to new words. These new words are sure to tickle your child's grey cells and he will take all steps to understand the new word. Also the kids who read have better capability of sentence formation and that too with correct grammar.

3. The kids who read are friendlier towards other options of entertainment other than the video games and television. They would see reading a book as a source of entertainment rather than a chore or a homework. Once they love books then are less likely to get distracted and bored which is a prevalent problem that the kids of today's generation faces. Reading books instill qualities like self discipline and better attention span which are much needed for a child to be successful in all aspects of life.

4. Last but not the least, books help the child to be more creative and logical. This means to say that the child who reads has more creative thinking. Reading introduces the child to so many real and fictional characters that they relate to them so easily. Look out at the stories they would weave after reading the books. And yes logical aspect would come in because a story read acquaints a child to cause and effect of a particular situation.

So, look out for those special moments where you, your kid and the book are one and cherish every possible aspect related to those moments. I bet once your child loves to read you will be rest assured that your child is on the right path and would always be in the right company. Thus it becomes your responsibility to squeeze in some time out of your schedule to read to your child. He would love you and the book forever. In case your child has grown up do not worry. It is never too late to start a good routine. Pick up some good reads and it will surely attract your child to check those out.