Why Is Reading Important?

Most people know that reading to babies and young children is important but why is reading important for older kids?

Once kids can read independently, does it really matter all that much if they don’t read a lot?

The evidence on this is actually very clear. Reading does matter for older kids because it helps them develop a variety of skills, some of which may not be immediately obvious.

In fact, several studies have looked at children's reading habits across a number of countries and have found that kids who read often and widely do better at school and are more likely to go on to university than children who don’t read much or who don't read at all.

I was astounded when I read this. I mean, I love to read and I knew it was important for children to read but I had no idea there was such a strong link between the amount of reading a child does and his success at school.

Yet it really shouldn’t be such a surprise.

Reading is a skill so the more you do it, the better you get at it. And of course the reverse is also true – the less often you do it, the harder it is.

In his book The Read-Aloud Handbook Jim quotes study after study which shows the huge benefits reading brings to the lives of children.

The studies show that children who read the most pages for pleasure daily and who were read to by their teachers daily had the highest educational achievement scores regardless of income level.

This is because reading for fifteen minutes or more every day allows a person to read for long enough to ensure that the act of reading becomes automatic.

The words 'for pleasure' are absolutely crucial here.

Children should be allowed to choose what they would like to read and must not be evaluated in any way on their reading by a teacher or parent. This means they shouldn't have to write any kind of report or answer questions about what they've read

This kind of thing can quickly kill a child’s enthusiasm for reading or stop it from developing in the first place.

The aim is to make books into friends (not enemies) and to show kids that reading is fun!

If a child views reading as an enjoyable activity, he is highly motivated to read more often and for longer periods. As Jim Trelease says, motivation pushes frequency.

It's a bit of a circle, really ...