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6 benefits of making your kids love to read at a very young age

Since the very first time, Jibril had approached our Prophet Muhammad and ordered him to read and read and read, though Muhammad barely knew how to.

Time went by and we were still asked to read and read and read, if we ever wished to be successful. And today, the Ministry of Education has announced a campaign of #MalaysiaMembaca (MalaysiaRead) as a strategy to build Malaysia with better nation. SO what is this all about?

How does what happened to the prophet 1400 years ago, is still today’s necessity?

Dear mom and dad, reading is an ultimate way of gaining new knowledge, nothing beats reading especially for self-learning. As for our young kids, reading is so much more. It is a self-explore, an adventurous journey without sweat, a jumping to the cliff without fatal, a see-saw, a sweet candy and everything in between.

Confused? Let’s see what reading can do to our children.

Enhance Communication Skill

Reading has been known as one of the most effective learning tools to learn a language. As the children are developing their cognitive linguistic, reading helps kids to understand the language and its concept better, thus resulting a well-spoken child.

As mentioned by Dr. Jennifer Duffy, a professor from NCU, “reading is not only essential to a child’s verbal and cognitive development, but it also teaches the child to listen, develop new language, and communicate.”

Improve Memory, Focus and Concentration

It is undeniable that graphics help to improve memory. Parents can apply active reading like asking questions or pointing out familiar shapes on the pages. Repetition with familiar graphics over and over can boost their memory and enhance their vocabs which is again, helping them with language development.

It could be frustrating when they try to skip the pages, throw away the books or having the temptation to bite the cover. Don’t give up just yet. By consistently reading to your child, they will learn to sit still and concentrate longer as the interest builds in them.

Professor Fonagy, CEO of the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families says, “We take being able to focus for granted. Yet small children need to learn this skill, and they learn best when ‘trained’ by someone they care about.”

Take reading seriously but don’t forget to have fun too!

Cultivate Imagination and Creativity in Solving Problem

Every conflict that happens in a fiction may be a life changing moment, an eye-opening and a moral value that our children can hold on to their whole life. At this stage, parent’s guidance is needed in choosing the right book so the children would benefit from a good story.

Books can open a child’s imagination in discovering world. Choose a dragon, castle, superheroes, a strange world like Harry Potter and let their minds wander around.

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For while knowledge defines all we currently know and understand, imagination points to all we might yet discover and create.” 

– Albert Einstein

Develop Emotional Intelligence

Researchers have found evidence that fiction improves the reader’s capacity to understand what others are thinking and feeling. By identifying the characters and the conflicts they are going through, children are learning to relate them with real life.

Empathy is the ability to put yourself in someone’s shoes and understand what they are going through. Letting kids to develop emotional intelligence at young age could help them to be more polite in throughout the process of growing up.

Boost Inspiration and Motivation

Most of the time, story plots are developing into exciting climax and ending which could be a new experience to them.

Remember when they told you for 10 times yesterday how Elsa could make a castle from ice? Or when the Ben 10 could transform into many superheroes in order to defeat the villains? Yes, because they are excited with all the actions and this is a very great opportunity to explain any moral values you can see from the story so the next time they get upset, you can remind them again of how their superhero behaves.

Elevate Bonding Time

This is the best part of them all. Interacting with your kids while reading might be a little chaotic but it also the cutest to listen to what they have thought to the story you read to them.

Children need to feel that their parents are interested in what they think, and willing to recognise and support it.

You may have tangible wealth untold; caskets of jewels and coffers of gold. Richer than I you can never be. I had a mother who read to me. —Strickland Gillian

There are so many things your kids can benefit from reading, and you will have a great time with them too. If mom and dad are both working, it is understandable that it’ll be a little hard to begin. But upset not, we will share with you more about easy and fun tips to read with your kids. Stay tuned!

** Our Little Caliphs pay attention to children’s reading development. Through phonics style, children are prepared for an effective result. Registered parents are invited to our reading techniques seminar this month to know how your children will be taught to read in our kindergartens.