It’s important that in this day and age of television, videogames and movies that people strive to set time aside to read. Nothing is more important to the overall education of a person than being well read in the written word. Forget about magazines, they don’t count. Novels are what people should strive to read more often. If what you like to read contains pictures then you need to consider switching to something a little more mentally stimulating.
Whether you like relaxing in the evening after a long day of work and reading a gory Stephen King novel, or if you prefer your novels to be more judicial based like a John Grisham story, does not matter. Regardless of your preference of genre writing, reading is educational and can be very enjoyable if taught to children at a young age. In fact, if you are an avid reader, it is a good bet your love for words developed at a very young age.
Young minds are more receptive to new concepts, which is why if you have young children you want to encourage them early to embrace the hobby of reading. By developing a love for literature early in life your children will develop the necessary reading and writing skills needed to succeed in school and out in the real world; and yes, you read that correctly, reading also helps improves a child’s writing skills. Think about, how does anybody ever learn how to write if they don’t spend some time reading the works of successful writers?
If your children are young and not yet in school, then read to them at night. This is your chance to help your children develop a liking for certain authors, maybe even ones you enjoyed as a child. You may also pass your own love for certain types of fiction on to your children. However, if your kids are young, then they are not quite ready for Stephen King or John Grisham. Consider beginning with the timeless classics of Dr. Suesse or A.A. Milne.
As your child grows they will develop a literary taste all their own and start telling you what they want to read with you. This is also a time when you can start introducing them to more adult-themed books. It’s always better to learn of adult situations in a book because it allows your child to create the images themselves. This is better than letting them watch an R rated movie and see some liberal Hollywood directors take. You may consider letting them read J.R. Tolkien, maybe even a little Dickens, such as Oliver Twist.
The time spent with your children reading will create memories they will remember fondly for the rest of their lives. They’ll also thank you when they are in high school and college and don’t have to read a lot of the books assigned because they read them already. It’s never too early or too late to introduce your children to a love literature. Get them a library card and get started, for there are so many books to read and so little time in which to read them all.