Reading, it does matter!

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The holidays we're busy around here. We were running here & there .. everywhere. We didn't have family come in but DH did take off several days of work to devote to the family. It was so nice. All work & no play is every a fun way to live.

Ok, now for the reason of this entry ... reading & why it's so important. I'm answering this cause my son doesn't know why it's so important. My daughter will read like me ... like there's not going to be a tomorrow. What will take my daughter & I a day to finish will take my son a good week or longer. It's not that he can't read cause when I listen to him read it's beatiful. He speaks with clarity ... he speaks with authority. Anyway, this is why reading is so very important.

We always tell our children how important reading is but have you ever stopped to think about why it is so important? What exactly does it do for children, and for adults? What is the real purpose behind learning to read?

Reading is important for many reasons. Some of these reasons are very practical, while others less tangible, and not so obvious. When we teach our children to read at an early age and to improve their reading we are preparing them to be productive adults in the future.

Not only is reading a required skill to complete school and then university it is also a needed skill in adult hood. The ability to read and learn new things through out your life keeps your brain young and health.

With the ability to read comes the ability to understand and comprehend new subject matter that you have not previously been expose to. Perhaps you have a health problem you wish to research. If you can read well you can learn plenty about your health issue.

People that predict the future previously predicted that printed material would go by the way side with the advent of higher technology. In fact the opposite has occurred. With the advent of the internet more and more reading is required on a daily basis. There will never be the paperless society that was once believed to be just around the corner.

Rather what the computer has done is give the operator’s the ability to take data and reproduce it over and over in different reports and documents. So rather than decreasing the amount of reading it has actually increased the amount of reading. Because computers have the ability to endlessly analyze what we know can read on endlessly.

When you are surfing around the internet reading various information you must have a good level of reading in order to sore through the information, sorting out authentic information from junk. As important as reading is, you must also be able to think critically to help determine truth from fiction.

It’s a known fact that the more children read the better they can read. The more they can read and the better the comprehension becomes the more they enjoy reading. Reading actually becomes much more than a fundamental need. It becomes an enjoyable pass time.

If you get your children to read out loud they will learn proper grammar and pronunciation. Reading out loud enhances their spoken language development and helps them learn to express themselves clearly and concisely.

By exposing your children to books, magazines, and the web your children will be exposed to new words. Even if they don’t quite understand the words they will figure it out through association or the use of a dictionary. This not only allows their vocabulary to grow it deepens their level of understanding.

Reading opens doors for your child that will continue through to adulthood. They can learn about things that interest them but that they are not able to physically explore. Space is a great example. Perhaps your child has an interest in the stars. Well of course they cannot visit the other solar systems but by being able to read they can bring the solar systems to them and learning can be a lifetime adventure. And of course with the web the amount of free information available has grown by leaps and bounds.

So with books or any form of reading no longer do far away places need to be foreign or not understood. This has another added benefit. As adults the more we understand the more accepting we are and the less afraid we become of the unknown which is no longer unknown.

You’ve all heard the term “global village.” This is how the world is now seen. With technology came the ability to unite with people from another part of the globe. And when you feel in touch with another culture you tend to care a great deal more about what happens to them. They become real and exist in your world. So improved reading can actually lead to a more peaceful world.
Books also allow children to roll play. They can pretend they are a King, a great warrior, a caveman. They can place themselves in the story. Look what has become with Harry Potter. The phenomenon grew like wild fire and not just movie attendance. The books have sold in record numbers. Because reading gives you the chance to engulf yourself in the story and become part of it.

Reading can also enhance a child’s social skills. Although reading is normally a solitary activity it can be a social activity as well. A parent reading to a child encourages social interaction. A class room that has a reading hour encourages social interaction. Reading groups bring children together to read and discuss books which are excellent for developing social skills, especially analytical social skills.

E-books which are found on line can improve your child’s fine motor skills and their eye hand coordination. They must type click and pick. Move forward, backwards, and otherwise interact with their screen and keyboard to get the material they want.

As you can see reading is a vital skill that all children need to master. Do your child a favor and spend extra time with them to help them learn to read. There is no other skill you will teach your child that will have as much impact throughout their life. Once your children appreciate the magic of reading a whole new world opens up to them. Reading does matter!