The Benefits of Reading
10 Reasons Why Reading is Important
1. Kids who read often and widely get better at it. This is pretty much just common sense. After all, practice
makes perfect in almost everything we humans do and reading is no
different.
2. Reading exercises our brains. Reading is a much more complex task for the human brain than,
say, watching TV is. Reading
strengthens brain connections and actually builds new connections.
3. Reading improves concentration. Again, this is a bit of a no-brainer. Children have to sit
still and quietly so they can focus on the story when they’re reading. If they
read regularly as they grow up, they develop the ability to do this for longer
and longer periods.
4. Reading teaches children about the world around them. Through reading, they learn about people, places and events
outside their own experience. They are exposed to ways of life, ideas and
beliefs about the world which may be different from those which surround them.
This learning is important for its own sake however it also builds a store of background knowledge which
helps younger children learn to read confidently and well.
5. Reading improves a child’s vocabulary, leads
to more highly-developed language skills and improves the child's ability to
write well. This is because children learn new
words as they read but also because they unconsciously absorb information as
they read about things like how to structure sentences and how to use words and
language effectively.
6. Reading develops a child’s imagination. This is because when we read our brains translate the
descriptions we read of people, places and things into pictures. When we’re
engaged in a story, we’re also imagining how the characters are feeling. We use
our own experiences to imagine how we would feel in the same situation.
7. Reading helps kids develop empathy. This is something I’ve only recently realised but it makes
sense. As my fifteen-year-old son said to me when we were discussing it, ‘Of
course it does because you’re identifying with the character in the story so
you’re feeling what he’s feeling.’
8. Because reading does all the things I’ve mentioned above,
children who read do better at school. And
they don’t just do better at subjects like reading, English and history. They
do better at all subjects and they do better all the way through school.
9. Reading is a great form of
entertainment! A paperback book doesn’t take up
much space so you can take it anywhere and you’ll never be lonely or bored if
you have a book in your bag. You can read while waiting in a queue, while
waiting for a friend who’s running late or during a flight delay at an airport.
10. Reading relaxes the body and
calms the mind. This is an important point because
these days we seem to have forgotten how to relax and especially how to be
silent.
The constant movement, flashing lights and noise which bombard our
senses when we’re watching TV, looking at a computer or playing an electronic
game are actually quite stressful for our brains. When we read, we read in
silence and the black print on a white page is much less stressful for our eyes
and brains.
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