Why is reading important for babies and young children?

Reading is one of the most important skills that a child will learn while growing up. But to begin with, it is important to read stories with babies and children. As this promotes brain development and imagination, develops language and emotions and strengthens parents and children relation. 

Reasons why reading is important for kids:

• It expands their vocabulary: While reading to kids, they may come across words that they are not familiar with, this will add on to their vocabulary and they will get to learn new words with this.
• Greater concentration: Reading regularly and consistently to children will help in improving a child's concentration abilities. Also, it will help them learn to sit still and listen for long periods of time, which will benefit them in their schooling.
• Enhanced Empathy: Reading allows children to understand various emotions. This helps in their emotional and social development since they learn to associate their feelings with words and find a way to express themselves better. Books showcase various characters and perspectives which allows children to be more empathetic. The cause and effect concept in stories helps develop their analytical skills besides encouraging curiosity, which is crucial to learning. 
• Build independence and self-confidence:  As kids learn they no longer have to rely on their parents to read things to them, they develop a sense of independence. Through reading, they can begin to understand the world on their own and hence, gain self-confidence. 
• Improved literacy skills: Reading aloud with young children, even if they can’t fully understand what you are saying, gives them the skills they need for when they begin to read by themselves. It shows children that reading is something achieved by focusing from left to right and that turning pages is essential for continuing. 

To have successful and effective reading sessions, consider the following:

• Start early:

It is always good to start early. During infancy, a child can look at pictures and listen to your voice. Read aloud to your child and point to the pictures on the page, saying the name of the objects that appear. This provides them with an understanding of real-world objects and an understanding of the importance of language. 

• Make reading a daily routine:

Reading to your child should be made a daily routine. This must be made a habit such as taking bath or brushing your teeth daily. A few minutes could be spent everyday reading together with your child. This will help in developing a good routine and thus will also result in a good bond between the child and parent. 

• Have patience:

It is very necessary that parents should be patient with children, they should not forget that the little ones don’t know much yet. For example, how is a child going to know to read from left to right until you point at the words as you go? How do they know that each scrawl on the page represents a word? Take your time and be patient if they don’t understand.

• Have discussions:

Once you’ve finished reading a story to your child, try to keep it going. One could ask them questions about what they’ve just read. For example, “Did you enjoy that story?”, “Who was your favourite character?” or “Why do you think the prince was happy at the end?”.  Such questions at the end of the reading session will make them alert and attentive during the reading session. They will enjoy this a lot.

Thus, try buying as many reading books for your little ones. Start with baby board books and picture books for them. Pegasus is India's leading award-winning children's book publisher. They have a wide range of books: workbooks, storybooks, baby board books, puzzles, toys, activity books, colouring books and many more. It is one of the best online platforms for buying kids’ books, games and toys that caters to children from 0 to 12 years old.