It may be better to ask, “When was the last time you saw your child reading a book?” Reading is boring. At least that’s what your ten-year-old would say as he takes out his phone and scrolls through Instagram. Why read when there are more important things to do like playing video games, FaceTiming friends, or scrolling through social media 24/7?

Scholastic conducted a study in 2014 entitled Kids’ Reading in the Digital Age. Their research revealed that 49 percent of the parents surveyed believed that their children do not spend enough time reading books for fun. This figure represents a 13 percent increase from 2010 thus proving that there is an increasing concern about the approach children take to reading.

The challenge is making reading attractive and helping children understand why it’s important.

In this article, we’ve outlined three reasons for the importance of reading and also provided tips to help you make reading more attractive for your child.

Encouraging reading for children can help develop critical thinking skills

Alison Doyle defines critical thinking as “The ability to analyze information objectively and make a reasoned judgment.” Abdulmohsen S.Aloqaili cites an article written by Norris and Phillips where the authors explain that “Critical thinking is the process which readers use to comprehend.” Critical thinking and comprehension improve the more your child reads.

Quick Tip: Make reading fun by creating a comfortable reading corner in your home where you and your child can read together at least once per day. For younger children, choose a book that you can read aloud with them. For older children, you can each read separate books as long as you’re reading them together in your comfy corner. Bring out reading comprehension by asking your son or daughter to explain the story at the end of each day.

Writing and reading work together

Four researchers conducted a study on the impact of reading on a college student’s writing ability. The results showed that a student’s reading habits had a profound effect on the student’s academic writing skills.

Your child may not be a college student. However, nurturing good reading habits from an early age will have a positive long-term effect on your child’s ability to write well.

Quick Tip: Ask your child to redesign the cover of a book he or she recently read. This works best with artistic children but it won’t hurt to try it with your child who isn’t artistic. Who knows… your child may be inspired to rewrite the book to match the newly designed cover.

Reading relieves anxiety

Anna Papachristo cites research conducted at the University of Sussex which indicates that “six minutes of sustained reading each day can reduce a person’s stress levels by 68 percent.”  Your child’s stress and anxiety levels are prone to decrease the more he or she reads.

Final thoughts

Reading is important for your child’s intellectual development. Your child may initially resist your efforts to encourage more reading. However, you stand a better chance of winning your child over in the long term if you are consistent and use the three tips mentioned to make reading more fun.

At Tutors on Call, we have experienced and qualified English tutors who can provide a customized reading tutoring program.  During the program, the tutor would introduce inspiring novels, teach reading comprehension strategies, and encourage critical thinking skills.