Now that school has resumed, our children will have less time on their hands so we need to utilise this time wisely by encouraging them to read and explore their creativity.
Dr Suess is quoted as saying “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” As we collectively cry out to be allowed to go to “more places”, perhaps encouraging our children to explore their creativity and imagination through reading is sometimes all the destination that they truly need.
Research shows that reading with your child for just 10 minutes can make a difference to their happiness and how they perform at school. Sharing a story together provides opportunities to bond and spark conversations whilst also helping improve children’s reading skills and enjoyment.
Readly – the digital subscription service that allows users access to thousands of magazines on an app – believe that there has never been a more crucial time to encourage our kids to read more. In fact, in welcome news, Readly’s recent digital newsstand’s latest data shows that digital reading among children is increasing. The average time spent per user in the children’s categories of Readly’s portfolio of almost 5,000 magazines and newspapers has increased by 40 percent in the last year for comic books, ten percent for children’s magazines, and eight percent for teenage magazines.
Readly, which currently offers almost 5000 titles on their platform (and plenty of titles for the kids to choose from), offers 5 top tips to encouraging our youngsters to read:
- Make reading fun: Reading before going to bed is a classic ritual but for some children, it can be associated with having to stop playing and having fun. Reading time does not have to be just before you go to bed: read under the table or read in a hut outside while eating snacks.
- Don’t be afraid to embrace technology to encourage reading: Just because children are turning to devices, doesn’t mean they have to switch off from reading. There is a plethora of easily accessible material on the web which can encourage our children’s literary growth.
- Comic books can be a great place to start: With an emphasis on reading being fun, easy and above all, to establish a regular reading habit, access to comic books is a simple tip to help children find reading pleasure. This is also a great way to help children who start to read in a non-native language.
- Encourage writing and drawing their own stories: Encourage your child to draw and write their own comic or book; this allows them to best explore their imagination. There are no restrictions or rules and the child has the opportunity to read out his work to siblings, friends or grandparents.
- Lead by example: Children imitate their parents and adults around them. As adults, it is important to set an example so perhaps talk about the latest article, magazine or comic book we read at the dining table.