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“By reading, we read” and this is true. We also learn to write by writing – the more practice children get, the better they become. There is the classic saying, ‘Practice makes a man perfect!
With persistence, one can get the most complex rock with the softest rope. With Practice, the heaviest brain likewise becomes super …only if you read will you become good at whatever you want to learn, and in today’s world where attention spans are being reduced to split seconds, the ability to read and comprehend tends to get lost.
Having had the honour and privilege of running one of India’s premiere bookstores, there is not a day when I have not had a parent or an individual requesting help to guide them to enable their child to start reading books. Reading is the heart of education; the knowledge of almost every subject in school flows from reading. One must be able to read the word problem in math to understand it. If you cannot read the science or social studies chapter, you cannot answer the questions at the end of the chapter. The complicated computer manual is essential to its operation but must be read. Reading is arguably the single most important social factor in any society.
When we read a book, our mind moves from real life to real life, and we start visualising, which is the first step to any form of learning. What parents can do at home to help their child to read:
Become a good reading role model for your child. Let your child see you reading something every day. The child is like an ‘ape’; we must be cautious of what we practice and not simply keep preaching.
Some families set aside a reading time each day when the TV and cell phones are off, and everyone is reading something, regardless of age.
Make a variety of reading materials available at home.
It is never too early to get your child interested in the newspaper.
Subscribe to a family magazine or several children’s magazines.
Start a family library and add 10 books for each member each year.
Better still, when you go shopping, you may have the option to drop off your child at the nearby bookstore/library and simply browse.
Encourage and praise the child’s reading effort; avoid pointing at errors.
Read to your child daily – some experts say, “Do not stop reading to your child until he or she is in university”!
Read bedtime stories
Have books in the car.
Take books to appointments while waiting.
Take books while relaxing during the part.
Hook the child on to a series and make them collect books of one author or theme.
Label objects around your home to help your child learn a sight vocabulary.
Whenever you look around, wherever you see the written word – signboard, directions, name plates… keep observing and absorbing.
These pieces are being published as they have been received – they have not been edited/fact-checked by ThePrint.