We are at a crisis! This crisis has affected more than 30 million adults in the United States alone. It has eroded the self-worth of its victims and has severely decreased the quality of their lives. This calamitous condition that I am referring to is illiteracy. These adults afflicted were once children who somehow slipped between the cracks of their household and the educational system.
As much as it is assumed that the responsibility of literacy lies solely with educators, parents should also take interest and encourage their children to acquire good reading habits. Here are the following reasons.
IMAGE: PEXELS
Reading Empowers
Throughout history, only a privileged few were allowed to read. That was because reading allows one to access information and information is power. When a child has trouble reading and it’s not corrected, they are on the road to becoming powerless in a literate society.
They will grow up not understanding their human rights, not being able to take advantage of higher education and not attaining a decent paying job and that is just some of the many hurdles they will face.
Encourages Critical Thinking
Everything in society is trying to persuade our children to think and feel a certain way. They are saturated with rhetoric propaganda everywhere and there is NO escaping it. When children grow up to become good readers, they are able to acquire all the information on different viewpoints, and they also learn to read between the lines. They can then critically analyze that information and create their own belief system.
Promotes Bonding
When parents and children regularly read together, children are doing more than just becoming a better reader, they are creating memorable moments together. The child begins to gain confidence by reading out loud, and they also feel safe because they know that they can make mistakes and learn from them. The parents, in turn, learn more about their children’s reading and comprehension. They can better help with any limitations that they have.
Helps Develop Social Skills
How can reading help children develop their social skills? First of all, reading helps instill empathy. When children read (especially fiction) they are able to see and experience things through the perspective of the main character. We all know that empathy is one of the main ways we connect with others.
Reading also helps instill attentiveness and tolerance. When children are reading, they have to concentrate in order to comprehend what’s being read even if the story does not initially hold their interest, which in turns requires patience. Those are two very important qualities in social engineering.
Helps Develop A Sense Of Self
Not only are children’s social skills better developed through reading, but they learn a little more about themselves on a consistent basis. For example, through reading, they may discover that they have a love for travel. They may in the future pursue a profession that allows them to see the world. They may also find that they have a desire to teach.
They can pursue that further by learning more about it and eventually take the praxis practice test in order to achieve that goal. The more they read, the richer their personality will be and they will begin to identify with the kind of person they really are. A strong sense of self is a very powerful thing.
Gives Connection And Belonging
Books, magazines, blogs and social media posts are written by people, and people make up a community. When we read and discuss what we learn with others we start to be part of that community. A person who is illiterate becomes disconnected from all that. They are not only detached from a community; they are disconnected from the whole literary world.
When parents take an active role and encourage their children to read, they help combat this crisis that is plaguing the world. The fight starts early, we have to help our children cultivate a love of reading, and we have to be diligent. Teachers and guardians must work together for the benefit of the children. If not, then we will all continue to feel the effects of illiteracy and it will not be pretty.
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