Never Stop Reading to Your Children!

Did the title of this article grab you?  Good!  Because that was the intention.  You see, reading matters to us.  A lot.  Reading unleashes the creativity, it enriches the vocabulary and it opens the doors of imagination.  In short, reading is categorically essential to the brain development of your child.  

You've probably heard the quote "children are made readers on the laps of their parents."  That's because no child is born loving books.  They have to know about books before they can learn to love them.  The more importance you give to books, the more important they will be to them.  Cultivating a reader starts at a very young age.

A child who is read to becomes a lifelong reader, and a lifelong reader becomes a lifelong learner. When your child experiences bonding, strong emotions (laughter, joy, tears, excitement...) and special times while you read together, they will make a positive association with reading. They will quickly learn that reading is a pleasure, it is an escape, it broadens the imagination and is linguistically and creatively enriching.  And without you having to say a word, they will choose to make books a part of their life.

I will sadly admit that I personally know so many people who can spend hours browsing their phone but cannot read a book.  They simply cannot sit down with one and just be.  Whether they are uninterested, have no drive, no time or no interest doesn't matter.  What matters is that they were not "taught" to love them or to make them a fabric of who they are.  

If the only books your child experiences are those he reads in the classroom, no matter how exciting, your child will eventually come to associate reading with school, challenge and effort.  If however, story time is made an integral and unmissable part of your day, complete with nighttime snuggles, ticklish giggles and lots of emotion, his perception of books will be vastly different.

Remember, children learn by the behavior we model.  If they see you with a book and perceive you to prioritize story time, these will quickly become automatic and engrained habits for them too.  Be a reader in the eyes of your child, and they are guaranteed to become one.

Check out our collection of unique Arabic children's books here.