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The Basics of Reading - Why Reading Skills are Important?

By Andrew Loh



Reading is a critically important skill that parents must develop in their children. Not only is it essential for survival in the big world, full of competition, but it is also important in classes and schools as well. The innate ability to learn and master new subjects, topics and lessons is an important key to success in life. Almost all children learn to speak and walk by natural instinct and urge. However, reading is an entirely different issue that you must pay your close attention. All parents must teach their children how to read because it is not an ability that comes naturally to children; parents need to import this skill and teach the technique of reading to their children. However, most parents are not concentrating on this important skill due to a number of unknown reasons.

According to recent surveys, almost 40% of children fail to read at the basic level. Certainly, not all these children are lazy or stupid! Something must be preventing them how to read and understand. In fact, it is very easy to teach your children how to read and understand stories and lessons with ease. In essence, reading is a multi-faceted and multi-dimensional process that involves issues like recognition of words, comprehending meaning, reading text with fluency and developing an urge to read books. Reading is actually making a clear meaning from available print. To be able to read, your children must be proficient in a number of issues like:

  • Detect and identify all words and syllables that are in text or print. This process is the recognition of words.

  • Construct and design clear understanding or meaning from these words and syllables. This process is called word comprehension.

  • Coordinate and streamline identification of words and derive a meaning, so that the process of reading becomes automatic and precise. This process is called fluency.

At times, children may understand and make meaning from the printed material with being able to identify all the words. This could be true, when they see an image and make meaning out of it. However, most printed materials will have words and syllables in them and your child must read and understand them to master the art of reading. Reading is an art that can bring a number of positive results both to you and to your children. When your children read well, everyone becomes a winner in your home. Reading is fun and thrill, as it provides a way to enjoy the world that is full of excitement and adventure.

Now, the big question is when your children should start reading. The decision to teach your children how to read depends entirely on you and the actual need. However, the process should start when your children are in their kindergarten level, because now their minds will be open and receptive to everything that requires learning by practice.

Reading to pre-schooners is actually very easy, because reading is a way of talking to your babies. Talking to your baby will help quicken brain development and create a mutually accommodative association between you and the baby. Talking to your small toddler is a novel way to introduce them to the world of reading at a later stage. On the other hand, teaching reading to older children, aged two years, is a method to expand their world of knowledge and experience. Learning how to read offers your children a number of beneficial advantages. Some of these advantages are:

Enriching lives: Reading can help open new world of possibilities to your children. It can also enrich your children with precious and rare skills and knowledge. Reading can help your children open doors to precise and factual information about any topic or issues, both practical and theoretical. Reading could also be very magical and thrilling because, readers will add immense knowledge to their life.

Enhancing social skills: Reading could be a socializing activity. When you read out stories to your children, you are actually interacting with them with intense conversation and dialogues. These close moments could be very precious social activities to your children. In schools, when children read together in a library, they can learn to stay close together and lead a life full of personal experiences. Reading together in a library will provide a shared positive life experience.

Enhance hand-eye coordination: When children read storybooks, they move their fingers on the text lines that provide them an opportunity to master motor skills. Roving eyes and head movements also add to the fine-tuning of hand-eye coordination.

Enhancing cherished values of life: Reading is a sophisticated art that can bring to your children highly cherished values of life. Reading enhances your children's intrinsic values of tradition and culture. A good reader is knowledgeable, wise and intelligent.

Reading is an extra life skill that can enhance the overall value of your children's life. Parents must ensure that they teach their children how to read, understand, and make them ready to face their future with an affirmed mind. Continue to read Improve Reading Skills for Children - Simple Methods and Tips here!

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