Why Reading Books is Important

by Meredith Lord, Child Development Professional

Why do Americans eat so much fast food? "I just don't have the time to cook dinner." Why don't we exercise more? "I just don't have the time to commit to an exercise program." Why is my living room so messy? "I don't have enough time to clean up."

One thing that we all NEED to find time for is reading to our children for 20 minutes each day. According to the leading experts on this topic, here are the reasons why:

• Children who read: succeed. The most significant part of a child's mental growth between the ages of three and seven is the ability to imagine. Books boost imagination. Our popular television culture degrades imagination.
  
• TV and video are now our national babysitters. But a young child's growing mind needs active play and live conversation. Television puts a child into what neurologists call the passive Alpha state. A child cannot learn from screens because programs are meant to sell products not to teach.
  
• Much like the first news about tobacco and cholesterol, early studies now link overdoses of TV, video games and pop music with learning disabilities, attention deficiency, speech defects and aggressive behavior.
  
• Screen watching makes a child a follower and a consumer. Books exist because of the power of human ideas. Readers are leaders and producers.
  
• After a tiring day nothing is more restful than reading with a child on your lap. Reading aloud offers a world of privacy, dignity, and love to both of you.

-From a speech by noted author/illustrator, Rosemary Wells.

read more on this article at:   http://www.totsites.com/help/fun/reading-books.php

Helping your child learn to read – A parent's guide

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Why is it important for my child to read?

The ability to read is vital. It paves the way to success in school, which can build self-confidence and motivate your child to set high expectations for life.

People read for many reasons:

• for pleasure and interest
  
• for work
  
• to obtain information that will help them make choices and decisions
  
• to understand directions (such as those on street signs and in recipe books)
  
• to learn about the world
  
• to keep in touch with family and friends
  

How will my child learn to read?

Learning to read does not happen all at once. It involves a series of stages that lead, over time, to independent reading and to fluency.

The best time for children to start learning to read is when they are very young, usually at the preschool level. This is when they are best able to start developing basic reading skills.

The stages involved in learning to read are listed below.

1.  The pre-reader and the beginning reader:

• likes to look at books and likes to be read to
  
• likes to behave like a reader – for example, holds books and pretends to read them
  
• learns about words by looking at picture books and playing with blocks that have letters on them, magnetic letters, and so on
  
• learns about words from songs, rhymes, traffic signs, and logos on packages of food
  
• learns how text works – for example, where a story starts and finishes and which way the print proceeds
  
• begins to understand that his or her own thoughts can be put into print
  
• uses pictures and memory to tell and retell a story
  

2.  The emerging reader:

• is ready to receive instructions about reading
  
• learns that text is a common way to tell a story or to convey information
  
• begins to match written words to spoken words and to perceive relationships between sounds and letters
  
• begins to experiment with reading, and is willing to try to say words out loud when reading simple texts
  
• finds the pictures helpful in understanding the text, and learns that the words convey a message consistent with the pictures
  

3.  The early reader:

• develops more confidence and uses a variety of methods, such as relying on visual cues, to identify words in texts
  
• adapts his or her reading to different kinds of texts
  
• recognizes many words, knows a lot about reading, and is willing to try new texts
  

4.  The fluent reader:

• thinks of reading as a good thing and does it automatically
  
• uses a variety of methods to identify words and their meanings
  
• can read various kinds of texts and predict events in a story
  
• relates the meaning of books to his or her own experience and knowledge, and understands what is new

It takes time to pass through each of these stages, and your child will need plenty of attention and support as he or she moves through them. You can play a leading role in helping your child acquire the reading skills he or she needs to succeed!

read more of this article at:   http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/brochure/earlyreading/index.html#tips

8 Benefits of Reading (or Ways Reading Makes You Better at Life)

article by  http://lifedev.net/2009/06/reading-makes-you-better/ 

 

The public library is a phenomena that to this day I still can’t get over. Free knowledge, for anyone. Literally, anyone. I can’t think of an equivalent other than going to a clothing store, “checking out” an outfit, wearing the outfit and returning it in four weeks, free of charge.

Except books are so much better than clothes.

Recently I’ve been on a huge reading kick, checking out anything I can get my hands on in the library. (I’m writing a guest post onZenHabits to detail some of the best stuff I’ve found, so more on that later.)

I’ve found that no matter what I read, the act of reading every day has helped me in nearly every aspect of my life. Here are a few of my favorite ways that reading has improved my quality of life, and will definitely improve yours.

1. Enhanced Smarts

Wow, this may be the most obvious statement of the post, right? Well, it turns out that reading helps in almost every area of smarts. Those that read have higher GPA’s, higher intelligence, and general knowledge than those that don’t. In Anne E. Cunningham’s paper What Reading Does for the Mind (pdf version), she found that reading, in general, makes you smarter, and it keeps you sharp as you age.

No matter what you’re wanting to do or become, you can’t do it without more knowledge. Reading is an excellent way to get where you’re wanting to go.

2. Reading reduces stress

When I’m reading a book, my mind shifts gears. Where I might have a had a stressful day, a book can easily distract me. Fiction is fantastic for this. Reading an awesome fiction book is perfect right before bed time. Though sometimes it’s hard to put the book down if it’s really good. Still, you’ll be relaxed ;)

3. Greater tranquility

Reading can soothe like no other. Given that I’m a pretty high-energy person, reading forces me to sit and be still. This daily act of making myself be quiet and still has been nothing short of miraculous for my anxiety and my “fidgety factor”.

4. Improved analytical thinking

That’s right, ladies and germs. Cunningham’s studies have found that analytical thinking is boosted by reading. Readers improve their general knowledge, and more importantly are able to spot patterns quicker. If you can spot patterns quicker, your analytical skills receive a boost.

5. Increased vocabulary

It’s no secret that reading increases your vocabulary and improves your spelling, but did you know that reading increases your vocabulary more than talking or direct teaching? Reading forces us to look at words that we might not have seen or heard recently at the pub. In fact, language in children’s books are likely to be more sophisticated than your average conversation.

Increased vocabulary is especially crucial for bloggers or writers. All successful writers will tell you that in order to write well, you need to read. Every day. You’ll be surprised at the words you start incorporating into your writing.

A beefier vocabulary isn’t just for writers though. Knowing what other people are saying and using the perfect words to convey your feelings is a critical part of being a better human. Better listeners are more successful in life.

Read the whole article at   article by http://lifedev.net/2009/06/reading-makes-you-better/