The 26 Major Advantages to Reading More Books and Why 3
in 4 People Are Being Shut Out of Success
by Brad Isaac on December 5, 2007
I read a Associated Press-Ipsos poll revealing that 1 in 4 adults read no books last year.
Yes, that’s 25% of the adults out there are reading zero books. This is sad.
I knew intuitively the number of books read each year had gone down but to zero?
Ridiculous!
And what about the adults who are reading more than zero books a year. How many are
they reading in all? One? Five? Actually, the same poll reveals the average adult reads
only four books per year. Half of those people read less than four.
If you are one of the non-book readers who feels you “don’t need no stinking books”, here are 26 great
reasons to start the habit…before you are left behind!
1. Reading is an active mental process – Unlike TV, books make you to use your brain. By reading, you
think more and become smarter.
2. It is a fundamental skill builder - Every good course on the planet has a matching book to go with it.
Why? Because books help clarify difficult subjects. Books provide information that goes deeper than just
classroom discussion.
3. Improves your vocabulary – Remember in elementary school when you learned how to infer the
meaning of one word by reading the context of the other words in the sentence? You get the same benefit
from book reading. While reading books, especially challenging ones, you will find yourself exposed to
many new words you wouldn’t be otherwise.
4. Gives you a glimpse into other cultures and places – What is your favorite vacation spot? I would bet
you read a lot about that destination. The more information the better. Books can expand your horizons by
letting you see what other cities and countries have to offer before you visit them.
5. Improves concentration and focus – Like I pointed out before, reading books takes brain power. It
requires you to focus on what you are reading for long periods. Unlike magazines, Internet posts or e-Mails
that might contain small chunks of information. Books tell the whole story. Since you must concentrate in
order to read, like a muscle, you will get better at concentration.
6. Builds self-esteem – By reading more books, you become better informed and more of an expert on the
topics you read about. This expertise translates into higher self esteem. Since you are so well read, people
look to you for answers. Your feelings about yourself can only get better.
7. Improves memory – Many studies show if you don’t use your memory, you lose it. Crossword puzzles
are an example of a word game that staves off Alzheimer’s. Reading, although not a game, helps you stretch
your memory muscles in a similar way. Reading requires remembering details, facts and figures and in
literature, plot lines, themes and characters.
8. Improves your discipline – Obviously, if 1 in 4 people don’t read one book per year, then there is a
discipline issue. There may be many causes for people not reading books such as the “quips” of information
you can get on the Internet. TV is also a major distracter. Making time to read is something we all know we
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should do, but who schedules book reading time every day? Very few… That’s why adding book reading to
your daily schedule and sticking to it, improves discipline.
9. Learn anywhere – Books are portable. You can take them almost anywhere. As such, you can learn
almost anywhere too.
10. Improves creativity – by reading more books and exposing yourself to new and more complete
information, you will also be able to come up with more creative ideas. As a personal example, I read many,
many books on IT Networking. So often, when IT Admins are stumped with a problem, I can come up with a
creative (smack your head simple) solution that isn’t written anywhere. But the reason I can do that is
because I have read so many books on the subject, I can combine lessons from all of them into new solutions.
11. Gives you something to talk about – Have you ever run out of stuff to talk about with your best friend,
wife or husband? This can be uncomfortable. It might even make married couples wonder if their marriage is
in trouble. However, if you read a lot of books, you’ll always have something to talk about. You can discuss
various plots in the novels you read, you can discuss the stuff you are learning in the business books you are
reading as well. The possibilities of sharing are endless.
12. Books are inexpensive entertainment – What’s the average price of a movie ticket these days? $8 –
$10? You can buy a paperback for that price and be entertained for many hours more. If you have a used
bookstore nearby, you can get them even cheaper.
Tip: Once you make reading a habit, you’ll enjoy reading the books in your chosen career as well.
13. You can learn at your own pace – Where formal education requires time commitments, books have no
late-bells or hourly commitments. So you can learn at your own pace when you read books.
14. New mental associations – I touched on this above. As you read more books the depth and breadth of
your knowledge expands and your ability to form new associations increases. In reading a book to discover
the solution to one problem, you find the solution to others you may not have considered.
15. Improves your reasoning skills – Books for professionals contain arguments for or against the actions
within. A book on cooking argues that Chili powder goes well with beef and goes poorly with ice-cream. A
book on building a business argues that testing an idea for profitability before setting up is a smart strategy
and argues against just barreling forward with the idea without testing.
You too will be able to reason better with the knowledge you gain. Some of the arguments will rub off on
you. Others you will argue against. Regardless, you’ll be reasoning better.
16. Builds your expertise – Brian Tracy has said one way to become an expert in your chosen field is to read
100 books on the subject. He also said by continuing the same for 5 years you’ll become an international
expert. With the Internet and blogs, you could hone that time down to 2-3 years if you follow through.
17. Saves money – Apart from saving money on entertainment expenses. Reading books that help you
develop your skills saves money. Reading books on how someone went bankrupt will be a warning to you
against repeating their mistakes. Reading a book on how to build your own backyard deck saves the expense
of hiring a contractor.
18. Decreases mistakes – Although I would never suggest putting off an important goal because you fear
making mistakes, it is still important to sharpen the saw (link to A.L. post). When you gather the deep and
wide wisdom that books can provide, you are less apt to make mistakes.
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19. You’ll discover surprises - As you read more books as a source of information, you’ll learn stuff you
weren’t looking for. I’ve read many great quotes on life and love by reading books on marketing. I’ve
learned facts about biology from reading about chemistry. Heck, I’ve picked up some facts about history
while reading about programming. Since so many subjects intertwine it’s almost impossible not to learn
something other than the book’s subject.
20. Decreased boredom – One of the rules I have is if I am feeling bored, I will pick up a book and start
reading. What I’ve found by sticking to this is that I become interested in the book’s subject and stop being
bored. I mean, if you’re bored anyway, you might as well be reading a good book, right?
21. Can change your life – How many times have you heard of a book changing someone’s life? For me, it
was Your Erroneous Zones (link) by Wayne Dyer – which is the first self-development book I read. It
opened my eyes to a whole new way of thinking that was not depressing and dull. It was the first step in my
path of choosing my own life and being free of old habitual thought patterns.
22. Can help break a slump – Being in a slump is uncomfortable. If you are a writer, you call it writer’s
block. If you are a salesperson, it’s called – not making a sale in 23 days. But a slump can be a crossroads. It
might be you are wavering on your commitment to a particular project or (with marriage) person. Or a slump
can be simply a lack of new ideas. Books are a great source of ideas, big and small. So if you find yourself in
a slump, pick a book on the portion of your life you are slump-ing and get to reading!
23. Reduces stress - Many avid readers (including me) unwind by reading. Compared with the person who
gets home from work and immediately turns on the TV news, you are going from work stress to crime stress.
But it’s not just news. TV as a source of relaxation is too full of loud commercials and fast moving (often
violent) images. If relaxation is something you want, turn off the TV or computer and pick up a book.
24. Gets you away from digital distractions – If you, like many others, feel overwhelmed with the flashing
lights, beeps, boops and ring-a-dings that burn up our computing lives, then give books a chance. When you
find some good books, you’ll find yourself drawn into the subject matter. You’ll want to spend more time
reading. By spending more time reading books, you’ll have less time for the plethora of the digital gadgets
begging for our attention.
25. You’ll make more money - If you make a serious effort to read in your chosen career, your expertise in
that specialty will increase. As you become more specialized and learned, you join a smaller group of more
qualified people. By being part of the small few with the highest level knowledge your pay will increase. It’s
simple supply and demand.
26. The book is always better than the movie – except for perhaps No Country for Old Men.
What are some of the most important books you have read? What is the title that changed your life? If you’ve
found a book that made a major change in how you work, live or love, please tell us about it in the comments
below.
http://www.persistenceunlimited.com/2007/12/the-26-major-advantages-to-reading-more-books-and-why-3-in-4-people-are-being-shut-out-of-success/
10 Benefits of Reading!
Sep 29, 2008
I’m indebted to my mother to have inculcated a great habit like reading in me. I still remember how she used
to just gift books for the special occasions like birthdays and Diwali. Slowly her perseverance of this trend
became a passion for me. This habit grew stronger as I grew up. I started working and the mounting pressure
of work kept me away from reading for long spans of time. But whenever I got some pockets of idleness in
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between projects, reading always came to my rescue. It never let me be unoccupied. Besides just keeping me
engrossed, reading helped me improve my vocabulary and general awareness about the world, introduced me
to the different cultures around the globe, kept the motor of my brain working and imbibed a certain level of
discipline in my life.
Reading is one of the best hobbies a person can have. But it’s saddening to know that majority of us aren’t
introduced to the fabulous world of books. If you are one of the non-book readers who feels you “don’t need
no stinking books”, here are some reasons to start the habit…before you are left behind!
1. Reading is an active mental process: Unlike sitting in front of the idiot box (TV), reading makes you
use your brain. While reading you would be forced to reason out many things which are unfamiliar to
you. In this process you would use the grey cells of your brain to think and become smarter.
2. Reading improves your vocabulary: Remember in elementary school when you learned how to infer
the meaning of one word by reading the context of the other words in the sentence? You get the same
benefit from book reading. While reading books, especially challenging ones, you will find yourself
exposed to many new words you wouldn’t be otherwise.
3. Gives you a glimpse into other cultures and places of the world: How would you know about the life
of people in Mexico if you don’t read about it? Reading gives you an insight into the diversity of
ethnicity of people, their customs, their lifestyles etc. You become more aware about the different places
and the code of conduct in those places.
4. Improves concentration and focus: It requires you to focus on what you are reading for long periods.
Unlike magazines, Internet posts or e-Mails that might contain small chunks of information, books tell
the whole story. Since you must concentrate in order to read, like a muscle, you will get better at
concentration.
5. Builds self-esteem: The more you read, the more knowledgeable you become. With more knowledge
comes more confidence. More confidence builds self-esteem. So it’s a chain reaction. Since you are so
well read, people look to you for answers. Your feelings about yourself can only get better.
6. Improves memory: Many studies show if you don’t use your memory, you lose it. Crossword puzzles
are an example of a word game that staves off Alzheimer’s. Reading, although not a game, helps you
stretch your memory muscles in a similar way. Reading requires remembering details, facts and figures
and in literature, plot lines, themes and characters.
7. Improves your discipline: Making time to read is something we all know we should do, but who
schedules book reading time every day? Very few… That’s why adding book reading to your daily
schedule and sticking to it, improves discipline.
8. Improves creativity: Reading about diversity of life and exposing yourself to new ideas and more
information helps to develop the creative side of the brain as it imbibes innovation into your thinking
process.
9. You always have something to talk about: Have you ever found yourself in an embarrassing situation
where you didn’t have anything to talk about? Did you hate yourself for making a fool of yourself? Do
you want a remedy for this? It’s simple. Start reading. Reading widens your horizon of information.
You’ll always have something to talk about. You can discuss various plots in the novels you read, you
can discuss the stuff you are learning in the business books you are reading as well. The possibilities of
sharing become endless.
10. Reduces boredom: One of the rules I have is if I am feeling bored, I will pick up a book and start
reading. What I’ve found by sticking to this is that I become interested in the book’s subject and stop
being bored. I mean, if you’re bored anyway, you might as well be reading a good book, right?
If you want to break the monotony of a lazy, uncreative and boring life, go and grab an interesting book.
Turn the pages to explore a new world filled with information and ingenuity.
Subject: Re: the benefits of reading
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Hi dadair,
Thank you for an interesting question. Ahhh! the joys of reading just because I love to read. :) "According
to a recent study by the National Endowment for the Arts, the amount of reading done for pleasure is down in
this country, especially reading of literature such as fiction, poetry and drama. It is happening across all age
groups, all genders and races, regardless of income, education, or region. Perhaps most disturbing, the
steepest decline has come among young adults, ages 18 to 24, over the past two decades."
"Reading is the best thing we can do, for ourselves and each other. Not only does it enrich our lives, but it
can enrich the world around us. As the NEA survey also indicates, people who read for pleasure are many
more times more likely than those who don't to visit museums and attend concerts, and almost three times as
likely to perform volunteer and charity work. Readers are active participants in the world around them, and
that is the best kind of person to be."
7 Benefits of Reading Fiction
"Is your life so busy you're wondering how you are going to find time to read more, especially when it's just
for 'pleasure'? Having trouble justifying it, even to yourself? Leisure activities like reading are often the
things that slide when life goes into overdrive. And that's sad because it's an activity that can make life richer
and more enjoyable.
A lot has been written about the benefits of reading for and to children. However, there is very little about the
benefits to adults in engaging in regular reading. Let me assure you that the benefits for adults do exist and
are many and varied.
Some of these include:
1. Providing an escape from the day-to-day Fiction is a great way to take a quick immediate break, to
be instantly transported into another world. Today you could be in America, in the deep south with Alice
Walker's 'The Colour Purple', tomorrow in the Australian bush with Tim Winton's 'Dirt Music', next week in
downtown London with Helen Fielding's 'Bridget Jones Diary' and next month in Ireland with Jim O'Neill's
'At Swim, Two Boys'. There is no limit to the places fiction can take you.
2. Relaxation There is something about stopping to focus on words arranged for our reading pleasure
that is instantly relaxing. Maybe it's staying still, something that doesn't seem to happen often enough.
Maybe it's knowing that we are stepping into a secret world that we have to relax enough to enter. Then there
is the words themselves. The beauty and rhythm of language has the ability to calm
and relax us.
3. Stress relief Taking your mind off your own problems, even for a few minutes, can have a
therapeutic effect and be a timely circuit breaker. This is so effective that the National Health System in
the United Kingdom has introduced a 'Reading and You Scheme'. The scheme encourages mental health
patients to read more as part of their therapy for reducing stress and overcoming anxiety, depression and
social isolation.
4. Stimulates the right side of your brain Reading opens your mind to new possibilities. It stretches your
imagination in new and wonderful directions and takes your mind on a wonderful journey through others'
lives.
5. Entertaining Fiction is capable of provoking many and varied emotional responses ? it can make you
laugh out loud, it can make tears spill onto the page, it can be edge-of-the seat terrifying, it can make you
blush with embarrassment, it can challenge your core beliefs. There is a world of emotion in every story and
you as thereader get to be part of it.
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6. Enjoyable Reading is a deeply satisfying pursuit. The expression 'curling up with a book' evokes a
warm and cosy image and feels luxurious if you don't get to do it often.
7. Rejuvenating Reading is an easy and quick way to nourish your soul because it is for the most part a
solitary pursuit. And being alone, or at least alone in your thoughts, on a regular basis is crucial to
maintaining a sense of self. As I'm sure you know, it's easier to give to others when you feel fulfilled and
your needs are met. Even just a few minutes of reading can keep you going throughout the day. Of course,
you know you've read something special when you find your thoughts continually re-visiting it.
Reading is like exercising ? mental and physical benefits flow from a regular routine.
So don't feel guilty about taking time out to read. Its good for you!"
The Benefit of Reading Books
By Neel Raman
You've learned the power of your imagination to open new windows and doors to let light in on those
shadows that clouded your vision in the past. You are a creative and gifted human being with the potential to
create better things and to make a difference by inspiring others to challenge their own ways of living, and
make the commitment to changing their own lives.
Imagination is a source of such energy and it shines brightest when it breathes in the oxygen of new
ideas and free thought. The greatest writers challenged the world to look at life in new and different ways;
they challenged the status quo and dared people to question their ideals, their values, their morals, and their
beliefs.
If there were no imagination there would be no progression. There would be no will to aspire to better
things, and no vision to see beyond the obvious and the mundane. There would be nothing to strive for and
no goals, because everyone would be quite content to sit in an armchair and stare at the wall.
Take the challenge. Open your mind wide and join in the conversation with writers and thinkers and anyone
who sees the world in different ways. It doesn't matter a bit whether you agree with what they're saying - the
thrill of excitement comes when you fully engage with new ideas and your mind takes off into a quiet room
where nothing else matters but the words on the page and the ideas and visions spark in your mind.
Let your imagination go. Be swept away and open up that pathway between the crackling energy of
inspiration and your mind and soul. Revel in the joy of new knowledge. Really listen to the conversations
and open.
Reading isn't only about the ideas either. Listen to the words as they ride by - feel their energy and hear
their music - whatever language you have as your own, celebrate its beauty and its sound.
What you're reading and experiencing isn't simply a collection of cold words on a flat page. Those
words were written with conviction, passion and energy, and what you can experience now is that same
passion and energy that the writer had.
Books are powerhouses and they will challenge you to meet their power with your own.
They cause change. They can be a phenomenal source of inspiration in your life.
10 Ways Reading the Great Books Can Improve Your Life
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by Jamie on March 4, 2009
The Master Course in Personal Development May Already Be Sitting On Your Shelf
Reading the great books takes a lot of effort. Studying masterpieces such as the Odyssey or
the works of Shakespeare requires more concentration than picking up a Tom Clancy
novel. But, the payoffs can be tremendous.
If you’re not sold on starting a reading plan, consider the benefits that reading great literature can bring to
your life. Here are 10 ways reading these books can have a real impact on who you are and how you think:
1. Understand what shapes your thoughts and beliefs. Whether you’re conscious of it or not, chances are
your belief system is based on social norms that have evolved through centuries of history. What you think
are independent ideas may very well be philosophies created by the great thinkers of previous generations.
Robert M. Hutchins, Editor in Chief of the Great Books of the Western World, explained it this way:
“These books are the means of understanding our society and ourselves. They contain the great ideas that
dominate us without our knowing it. There is no comparable repository in our tradition.”
Consider your thoughts on subjects such as romantic love, truth, democracy, and freedom. Are your ideas
your own? Or are your thoughts dominated by an outside cultural influence? By reading the great books, you
can see how ideas developed over time and be aware of how they affect you now. You may choose to accept
or reject the current way of thinking. But, either way you will become cognizant that it is a choice and gain
the agency to make a decision for yourself.
2. Let a little genius rub off on you. When I was growing up, my parents always reminded me to choose my
friends carefully. “You are who you associate with,” some say. Perhaps the same is true of books. The great
books were written by some of the best minds in history. By reading them, your own mind can expand and
your thoughts reach a higher plane. Sir Richard Livingston said:
“We are tied down, all our days and for the greater part of our days, to the commonplace. This is where
contact with great thinkers, great literature helps. In their company we are still in the ordinary world, but it is
the ordinary world transfigured and seen through the eyes of wisdom and genius.”
Reading the great books may not turn us into Platos and Einsteins. But, their words can bring out our
strengths.
3. Read like an Ivy League grad. When I was teaching high school, I noticed that students on my campus
were focusing on popular modern-day books while students in the preppy private schools received a more
liberal education with emphasis on the great thinkers of history. The same seems true with colleges. State
programs give a cursory overview of the greats while Ivy League graduates complete school with a firmer
grasp of important ideas and what they mean in the world today. Proponents of the classics in schools say,
“What’s best for the best, is best for everyone.” No matter what your background, reading the classics can
give you a fuller understanding of the world. It’s possible to bring your mind to the same level as Ivy League
grads by pursuing a self-study of these important works.
4. Escape from the narrow box of specialization. Focusing your expertise on just one subject may be a
smart way to earn a living. But, by shutting yourself off from a more extensive world of knowledge, you
limit your ability to excel. In order to truly thrive in any field, people need a broad understanding of the
world and how it works. Hutchins said:
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“The liberally educated man has a mind that can operate will in all fields. He may be a specialist in one field.
But he can understand anything important that is said in any field and can see and use the light that it sheds
upon his own.”
Whether you’re in computer science, marketing, healthcare, or any other field, gaining a broad knowledge of
the many subjects covered in the great books will help you in your specialization.
5. Learn from past mistakes. It is often said that those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. By
ignoring the discoveries recorded in the great books, we are bound to make the same mistakes – both on a
societal level and in our own lives. Educational philosopher Mortimer Adler explained:
“People who question or even scorn the study of the past and its works usually assume that the past is
entirely different from the present, and that hence we can learn nothing worthwhile from the past. But it is
not true that the past is entirely different from the present. We can learn much of value from its similarity and
its difference…
We and the ancients share a common human nature and hence certain common human experiences and
problems.”
Everyone has to forge his own path in this life. But, why not see how others conquered the same challenges?
There’s no point to wander lost in a wilderness when dozens of guidebooks are freely available.
6. Improve your ability to comprehend. Although the great books weren’t written for specialists and
experts, they can be a tough read. If you’re tempted to trade in Sophocles for Sue Grafton, realize that
stepping outside of your reading comfort-zone can do wonders for your comprehension. Hutchins explained:
“If many great books seem unreadable and unintelligible…it may be because we have not for a long time
learned to read by reading them. Great books teach people not only how to read them, but how to read other
books as well.”
Once you get through a few of the more challenging books, you’ll find it easier to comprehend all kinds of
works. As a more confident reader, you won’t need to shy away from academic articles or historical texts.
The entire body of English writing will be in your domain.
7. Be truly human. At its heart, reading the great books is about exploring our humanity. Rousseau said:
“It matters little to me whether my pupil is intended for the army, the church, or the law. Before his parents
chose a calling for him, nature called him to be a man…When he leaves me, he will be neither a magistrate, a
soldier, not a priest; he will be a man.”
As a pupil of the great books, you enter into a discussion of what it means to be a person. Ultimately, ulterior
motives such as appearing smart fall to the wayside. You can forget all the blogs, self-help books, and
magazine articles that tell you how to improve your life. The great books are the master course in selfdevelopment.
8. Find your own answers to life’s big questions. By following themes in the great books, you’ll realize
that certain topics are discussed over and over again throughout history: “What is our destiny? What is a
good life? How can we achieve a good society? What can we learn to guide us through the mazes of the
future from history, philosophy and religion, literature, and the fine arts?”
Reading the great books won’t give you an ultimate answer to the big questions. But, they will offer diverse
views and possibilities. By understanding the conclusions that great thinkers have come to about these
questions, you’ll come closer to settling on answers that works for you.
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9. Develop a spirit of inquiry. Too many people are complacent about their lives, not concerning themselves
with the ideas that have made the world what it is today. Reading the great books can help you foster your
natural curiosity and desire to learn even more about the world. Hutchins put it this way:
“To put an end to the spirit of inquiry that has characterized the West it is not necessary to burn the books.
All we have to do is leave them unread for a few generations.”
That’s a pretty startling quote. But, it’s true. All the discoveries, thoughts, and ideas of the people who came
before us are meaningless unless we care enough to explore them.
10. Join in the great conversation. Ultimately, the great books make up a conversation that spans mortal
time and space. The Romans respond to the Greeks, the authors of the middle ages express their reaction to
the Romans, and so on. Modern-day authors are responding to ideas first expressed hundreds of years ago.
Once you have a grasp of what has been said in this unending conversation, you’ll be prepared to join in.
Write a book, have a discussion with a friend, or post on a message board. Add your 2 cents and become a
part of the greatest fireside chat the world has ever seen.
The benefits of reading
1. Reading repels anxiety and grief.
2. While busy reading, one is prevented from delving into falsehood.
3. Habitual reading makes one too busy to keep company with the idle and the inactive.
4. By reading often, one develops eloquence and clarity in speech.
5. Reading helps to develop the mind and purify its thoughts.
6. Reading increases one in knowledge and improves both memory and understanding.
7. By reading, one benefits from the experiences of others: the wisdom of the wise and the understanding of
scholars.
8. By reading often, one develops the ability to both acquire and process knowledge and to learn about the
different fields of knowledge and their applications to life.
9. One's faith will increase when one reads beneficial books, especially books written by practicing Muslim
writers. The book is the best giver of sermons and it has a forceful effect in guiding one towards goodness
and away from evil.
10. Reading helps to relax one's mind from distraction and to save one's time from being wasted.
11. By reading often, one gains a mastery over many words and learns the different constructions of
sentences; moreover, one improves his ability to grasp concepts and to understand what is written 'between
the lines.'
"Nourishment of the soul is in concepts and meanings, And not in food and drink."
Reading Aloud to Kids: The 12 Benefits of Reading Books
Out Loud to Children of All Ages
by www.SixWise.com
Reading aloud to children is one of the most important things you can do to ensure their future success, and
more and more Americans seem to be jumping on the read-aloud bandwagon. While only 78 percent of
families read to their pre-kindergarten-aged children frequently (three or more times a week) in 1993, this
increased to 86 percent in 2005, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
Kids of all ages (and adults, too) benefit from being read to, including even babies and toddlers.
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"Children are never too young to have stories read to them," says Nancy Verhoek-Miller, a specialist in early
childhood education at Mississippi State University.
The benefits are so profound, and kids form so much of their intelligence potential during the early years of
their life, that experts recommend reading aloud to your child as soon as he or she is born, and continuing
indefinitely.
Why Read to Your Kids? Here are 12 Important Reasons
"The single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading is
reading aloud to children," a Commission on Reading report found.
In fact, reading is so important that a non-profit group called Read Aloud America is traveling to different
schools to promote literacy, encourage a love of reading in adults and children, and
increase children's prospects for success in school and life.
Their Read Aloud Program (RAP) brings together kids and families at host schools to
stimulate their interest in reading, decrease television viewing, increase family time
spent in reading activities, and connect the values of good books to everyday life.
Although the program is currently only offered in Hawaii, you can gain the same
benefits from reading to your kids at home.
Here are 12 of the key reasons to start (or continue) reading aloud to your kids today.
1. Build a lifelong interest in reading. "Getting kids actively involved in the process
of reading, and having them interact with adults, is key to a lifelong interest in
reading," said BeAnn Younker, principal at Battle Ground Middle School in
Indiana.
2. Children whose parents read to them tend to become better readers and perform
better in school, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
3. Reading to kids helps them with language and speech development.
4. It expands kids' vocabulary and teaches children how to pronounce new words.
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It's never too early
to start reading to
your kids. Experts
recommend
starting as soon as
they're born.
10
5. Reading to toddlers prepares them for school, during which they will need to listen to what is being said
to them (similar to what they do while being read to).
6. Reading to older kids helps them understand grammar and correct sentence structure.
7. Kids and parents can use reading time as bonding time. It's an excellent opportunity for
one-on-one communication, and it gives kids the attention they crave.
8. Being read to builds children's attention spans and helps them hone their listening skills.
9. Curiosity, creativity and imagination are all developed while being read to.
10. Being read to helps kids learn how to express themselves clearly and confidently.
11. Kids learn appropriate behavior when they're read to, and are exposed to new situations,
making them more prepared when they encounter these situations in real life.
12. When read to, children are able to experience the rhythm and melody of language even
Not only will
before they can understand the spoken or printed word.
reading to
your child
Book Giveaways Tuesday, June 2, 2009
help him
develop
language and
10 Benefits of Reading...
listening
skills, and a
10 Benefits of Reading...
sense of
curiosity, but
Reading is an active mental process: Unlike sitting in front of the idiot box (TV), reading
it will help to
makes you use your brain. While reading you would be forced to reason out many things
which are unfamiliar to you. In this process you would use the grey cells of your brain to think strengthen the
bond you
and become smarter.
share as well.
Reading improves your vocabulary: Remember in elementary school when you learned how
to infer the meaning of one word by reading the context of the other words in the sentence? You get the same
benefit from book reading. While reading books, especially challenging ones, you will find yourself exposed
to many new words you wouldn’t be otherwise.
Gives you a glimpse into other cultures and places of the world: How would you know about the life of
people in Mexico if you don’t read about it? Reading gives you an insight into the diversity of ethnicity of
people, their customs, their lifestyles etc. You become more aware about the different places and the code of
conduct in those places.
Improves concentration and focus: It requires you to focus on what you are reading for long periods.
Unlike magazines, Internet posts or e-Mails that might contain small chunks of information, books tell the
whole story. Since you must concentrate in order to read, like a muscle, you will get better at concentration.
Builds self-esteem: The more you read, the more knowledgeable you become. With more knowledge comes
more confidence. More confidence builds self-esteem. So it’s a chain reaction. Since you are so well read,
people look to you for answers. Your feelings about yourself can only get better.
Improves memory: Many studies show if you don’t use your memory, you lose it. Crossword puzzles are an
example of a word game that staves off Alzheimer’s. Reading, although not a game, helps you stretch your
memory muscles in a similar way. Reading requires remembering details, facts and figures and in literature,
plot lines, themes and characters.
Improves your discipline: Making time to read is something we all know we should do, but who schedules
book reading time every day? Very few… That’s why adding book reading to your daily schedule and
sticking to it, improves discipline.
Improves creativity: Reading about diversity of life and exposing yourself to new ideas and more
information helps to develop the creative side of the brain as it imbibes innovation into your thinking
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11
process.
You always have something to talk about: Have you ever found yourself in an
embarrassing situation where you didn’t have anything to talk about? Did you
hate yourself for making a fool of yourself? Do you want a remedy for this? It’s
simple. Start reading. Reading widens your horizon of information. You’ll always
have something to talk about. You can discuss various plots in the novels you
read, you can discuss the stuff you are learning in the business books you are
reading as well. The possibilities of sharing become endless.
Reduces boredom: One of the rules I have is if I am feeling bored, I will pick up a book and start reading.
What I’ve found by sticking to this is that I become interested in the book’s subject and stop being bored. I
mean, if you’re bored anyway, you might as well be reading a good book, right?
So now dear friends off I go to read. Come back soon for the winners of the audio book No Matter What. Have a great night! ♥ Hugs!
Posted by Shauna at 6:29 PM
The Benefits of Reading to Your Child
The vast mass of knowledge in the world can only be gained by reading, and if you want your kid to be
smart, he has to acquire a love for reading. This love for reading can be instilled in your kid as early as in
his first few months by reading to him.
Many studies have demostrated that reading to your child have many priceless benefits.
For example, a study was made in Rhode Island Hospital to compare two
groups of eight months old – one group was read to often as babies, while the
other was not. It was shown that those who were read to have their
“receptive” vocabularies (number of words they understand) increased 40 per
cent since babyhood, while the non-reading group increased by only 16 per
cent.
Indeed, reading to your kid is one of the most effective way of building the “language” neural connections in
his growing brain.
Other benefits of reading to your kid are as follows:
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Reading to your kid makes you bond with him, and this gives your child a sense of intimacy and wellbeing.
The intimacy of reading to your kid is such a pleasurable experience to him that he will have a positive
attitude towards reading as he grows up.
It calms your child, especially when he is fretful and restless.
It promotes increased communication between you and your child.
Pre-school children who are exposed to language by hearing words that are read to him and in
conversation tend to do well in school.
It promotes longer attention span, which is an important skill for your kid to be able to concentrate.
It builds listening skills and imagination.
Your young child learns about colors, shapes, numbers, and letters, while your older child discovers an
expanding chain of knowledge. His interest in cars, for example, will expand to his interest in trucks, and
other transportation like planes and rockets, and soon he will be reading about outer space, science and
technology, and so forth.
Books teach your child about relationships, situations, personalities, and what is good and what is bad in
the world he lives in. Fantasy books provide material for his imagination and free play. Fairy tales
fascinate your kid, and help him distinguish between what is real and what is not.
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Here are some tips to remember on reading to your kid so he will grow up a reader:
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Since your kid imitates your behavior, let him see you read books. Let him know that reading is a part of
life!
Let your child feel that reading a book with him is a pleasurable and enjoyable experience, and not a
stressful activity that you are forcing him to do.
Form a habit of reading to him at the same time each day, or at least several times a week. Choose a time
when you and your child are both relaxed and not rushed.
Choose books that your kid will be most interested in, and appropriate for his age. A young child likes
colorful drawings and pictures of people.
To help your child understand that letters and words are symbols that are used to communicate, run your
finger under the print but don’t force your child to follow your finger.
Sometimes, your kid likes a particular book and wants to read it repeatedly. Do not discourage this, since
he finds reading this book pleasurable - and pleasure is what he should get from reading! Also, he is
getting the most out of this book and is giving you a hint about his interest!
Expose your kid though to a variety of books.
You can use reading as a way to allay your child’s fears or prepare him for changes in his life. For
example, you can choose books about using the potty, going to school, or moving to a new house when
he is about to have these new experiences.
Teach your child to treasure books and treat them with respect – keeping them clean and in good
condition.
Surround your kid with books. Keep books where your kid can easily reach them so he will be able to
browse them by himself.
Take books to read to your child on long trips and places where you have to wait like the doctor’s office.
These are age-appropriate tips on how to read to your child most effectively:
Tips on Reading To Your Baby
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When reading a book to your baby, keep in mind that you are building in him a positive and pleasurable
association with reading.
Bright and colorful picture books (with little text) are the best to help them focus and pay attention.
Some babies, though, like nursery rhymes or songs. In this case, give him what he likes.
Choose square, small books that your baby can grab and gum without damaging the pages. After six
months, he will be able to turn the pages, and you can choose plastic bath books or books with cloth
pages.
The baby’s first books should be short because his attention span is still short.
Point out the objects in each colorful picture—"See the ball?"; "What’s inside the box?" Spend time
talking about the pictures before turning the page. That is how he acquires words in his vocabulary.
Let your baby play with books.
Tips on Reading To Your Toddler
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Do things that will make reading a book more entertaining to your child – and to you. You can use
different tones of voice for different situations, choose different voices for characters, and so on. It is
not just what you are reading that matters, but also how you read it.
You may tell the story in your own words if the words on the book is too complex for your child, and
you don't want him to lose interest.
Give your child time to make the most out of every page of the book. Encourage him to look at the
pictures, point out objects, repeat words, and talk about the story.
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Ask questions like “Who did that?”, “What is she doing?”, “What is that called?”. Also, to keep your
child involved in the story, do not read straight through. Ask questions like “Why do you think it
happened?” and “What do you think will happen next?”
After reading a book, take time to ask your child question about what he liked or didn’t like about the
story.
To build your child’s vocabulary, ask him about where an object is in the book. Praise him every
time he points or names an object.
Choose books that tell a story with a lot of repetition and have the same words appearing over and
over.
If you have more than one child, read to each child separately, especially if they're more than 2 years
apart. Reading to children with different ages together is also a good practice.
Tips on Reading to Your Preschooler
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Let your child indulge in his interest when reading books. Visit a book store or local library and let
your child choose the book he likes. Remember, you want to teach your child that reading is fun!
To further encourage reading, read aloud together with you pointing at the words. If your kid makes
a mistake, say the correct word and move on.
Book It! Reading Activities Make It A Joy For Kids
By Robin McClure
Key Is To Build Reading Activity Into Routine
From preschool forward, most teachers strongly urge parents to have their children read--or be read to--on a
reading activity schedule throughout the year. This includes summer months, holiday breaks, or any time
when school is out. It's easy to understand why. Children who maintain their reading skills or younger ones
who are read to on a daily basis will be on target for back-to-school or back-to-regular routines in the fall.
Those who don't typically have to pay catch-up in the classroom, which can set the stage for a challenging
year.
Child care centers, in-home child providers, babysitters, and family members can do their part to foster a love
of reading through fun reading activities. Parents should ask whether their day care center or care provider
reads to children daily--and if not, ask them to start a story hour. Older kids who no longer take naps often
find enjoyment in reading right after lunch, traditionally considered "quiet time." Parents can set an hour
each evening for books; older ones can read in their room, read to their parents, or even to younger siblings.
Younger children always enjoy being read a story on a topic of interest to them.
The key is to always make the reading experience fun and a time to look forward to. Reading or a reading
activity should never be perceived as a chore. What are things parents and child care providers alike should
keep in mind to encourage reading?
Take advantage of weather by dangling the reading carrot in fun ways. Be adventurous and make it a game
as to where you should read to your child and how. In warm weather, read next to a pond or lake, under a
tree, by the pool, or even in the tree house. Be bold and carefree. One mother reads to her young child in their
blow-up children's pool in the backyard during the summer months. Another mom finishes the muchanticipated daily trip to the park in the spring or fall by reading a book before they leave. Cold months can
mix reading activities by having books about snowmen, snowfalls, winter holidays, or sports such as ice
skating. Day care centers or child providers can add reading fun into the mix by tying it into a planned
activity for the week. If the theme for the week is "Under the Sea," then the books can be about the ocean or
fish.
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Consider a reading series. There are countless book series tailor made for your child's age, and a good
experience with one means there is a high likelihood your child will enjoy others about the same characters.
There are series on action heroes and princesses, popular characters such as Bob the Builder, the classic Dr.
Suess collection, and about young heroes and heroines. There are series about beginning school for the first
time or about going on vacation. Older children like series such as Harry Potter.
Build reading into the schedule. Parents and child providers can and should build a reading activity into the
daily schedule. While evening or before-bedtime are popular times to read, reading after breakfast or before
children go to an activity, sets a routine that most children embrace. Providers can set a daily story time and
let parents know what book is being read and how it matches enrichment and learning activities for the week.
Plan ahead with exciting books on vacation. Vacation is a prime time for reading enjoyment, when family
is together and fun is in the plans. Reading is a great activity for around the pool or in the hotel room in the
evening.
Build a reading activity into life's planning. Children of all ages should learn the connection between
reading and knowledge. If your family is adding a flower bed, have children read about how to prepare a bed
and what flowers and shrubs are optimal for the area of the country and whether it is in sun or shade. Getting
a new family pet? Read up on varieties of dogs, care required, and even stories about children and their pets
first. Traveling somewhere? You guessed it, read all about your destination first and you and your children
will have the added benefit of knowing more about the area when you arrive.
Involve the entire family. Studies show that moms have the tendency to read more to their children then
dads, robbing both children and fathers of positive reading experiences. Make reading time with dad or
grandpa a priority. Dads read books aloud with children differently then moms do, and children will flourish
with the perspective and experience of both.
Ask for your child's feedback. Evaluation and discussion is an important part of a positive book-reading
experience. Ask your child simple questions, such as: Did you like the book? Why or why not? Who was
your favorite character? What was your favorite scene? Did you like how it ended? Would you like to read it
again someday? Don't be surprised if your child wants to re-read the same book again! That means you did
your job well and helped foster a love of reading.
Top 5 Ways to Foster the Love of Reading
By Carol Bainbridge
Everyone wants to foster the reading in their children. This is true regardless of when the children begin to
read. Whether the children begin to read before they are two or don't start to read until they start school, they
are sure to enjoy these activities.
1. Provide Reading Material
Children can't read if they don't have anything to read! We know that children in homes full of reading
material are more likely to read themselves. Even if children aren't reading yet on their own, reading material
should be available. Both books and magazines for children should be in the house. Of course, it's best if
parents read to their children, but whether parents read often to their children or not, the material should be
available.
The books should represent a wide variety of topics and genres. These should include picture books, fiction,
and nonfiction on a variety of topics.
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2. Read Out Loud Together
Reading to children is a great way to encourage reading. Many parents think that once their children begin to
read, they no longer need to read to their kids. However, reading together can be a very special time. It not
only fosters a love of reading, it also provides an opportunity to strengthen emotional bonds.
Early readers may hide their ability to read because they fear the loss of that special time with parents. It can
help if parents say things like "I enjoy reading with you. When you learn to read, I hope we can still spend
time like this. Maybe then we can even take turns reading to each other."
3. Visit the Library
Children can't read if they don't have anything to read! Sometimes parents think their children aren't
interested in reading because their kids don't enjoy the typical children's books. However, many gifted kids
prefer to read non-fiction. If they have material to read on their favorite topic, dinosaurs or computers for
example, they may be voracious readers.
Making regular trips to the library also tells children that reading is important - and fun - enough that it's
worth the time set aside for visits. Parents can also use library visits a way to learn more about their
children's interests.
4. Include Notes with School Lunches
This activity is especially fun for young early readers, children who started to read before age five,
sometimes as early as two. If these early readers are in preschool, they'll really enjoy getting special notes
they can read at lunch time. The notes needn't be too long, though, just long enough to wish the child a good
day and say "I love you."
Once kids are in first grade, the window of opportunity for sending notes along with lunch shrinks.
Beginning readers should still enjoy it, but for older children who are beginning to become more
independent, it may become a bit less exciting.
. Create Reading "Scavenger Hunts"
Technically these aren't scavenger hunts so much as they are reading puzzles. This is a great activity for
birthdays and other gift-giving holidays. Rather than giving a child a gifted directly, parents start out with a
note that can be inserted in a card or some other container such as a plastic hollow egg.
The first note provides directions or hints on where to find a second note. The second note provides a hint for
the next note and so on until the last note, which sends the child to a gift. These hunts can be as challenging
for the parents to create as they are for the kids to solve!
Reading And Its Benefits
Reading is a popular past-time and there are several reasons why people read. Some read for knowledge,
some read for pleasure and some read so that they can stimulate their brain - keeping it active and healthy.
Being "well-read" includes many health benefits for the brain. Studies have shown that reading can be a
healthy activity - as it stimulates brain cell activity.
Here are 5 great reasons why reading is good for your health.
Five Reasons to Read
1.
Cognition Cognition means "the process of thought". Reading helps improve cognition and the way
we process thought in our everyday lives.
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2.
Learning Many people learn through reading. Many "well-read" individuals are knowledgeable,
aware and are able to think outside of the box.
3.
Stimulation Reading stimulates brain cells and keeps your brain healthy. The brain needs exercise
and reading provides this stimulation.
4.
Stress Relief Reading is fun and encourages imagination. Reading can also be an escape and give you
a break from the stressors of life.
5.
Healthy Aging Reading exercises and stimulates the brain cells and may affect our overall health.
The benefits of reading a book can include warding off early dementia, helping memory, and improving
basic brain function
The Benefits of Reading with Children
More than 20 Benefits of Reading
Research has shown that reading to children significantly raises their potential for
academic and life-long success.
As you snuggle up to enjoy sharing a story with your children, you may be quite
unaware of the host of benefits of reading that your children will enjoy that contributes
to this success:
1. Reading encourages family bonding. The first benefit of reading is that your
children will feel more loved because of the books you have shared.
For many children "love" is spelled “T-I-M-E” and reading together requires good quantities of time!
Reading will also promote communication between parents and children.
For a child whose love language is time, reading will fill his love tank.
physical touch – cuddling up will express love to her.
words of affirmation – there will be opportunities to discuss and
praise her for her perception.
acts of service – you are serving him by reading to him.
gifts – well, buy her a lot of great stories and she’ll feel loved and
adored too!
Children that know they are loved have a greater likelihood of succeeding in life.
(Read The Five Love Languages of Children by Gary Chapman and Ross Campbell for more on this topic.)
2. Routine - Regular reading contributes to predictability and routine in the home. If children know that
every evening they will share a bedtime story or every morning a Bible story, they become secure in knowing
what is expected at different times of the day. As a child, our neighbour’s children used to rush over to our
house after school in the afternoon to join us in our daily read aloud of The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid
Blyton.
3. Tradition - Another benefit of reading together is the establishement of a much loved family tradition.
4. Common experiences - Reading provides a family with shared experiences and a rich reserve of common
knowledge from which to draw. We can use this to remind our children of life lessons and character training
we have learned from the stories we have shared. Eg. Remember how the little girl felt when she was
excluded by the other children in A Hundred Dresses? We can also share jokes and humorous comments
when we have the same information base from which the humour is drawn.
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5. Teaching moments - Children can learn many lessons about how to function in the world from stories that
they enjoy, especially if a parent discusses the issues that arise. Reading facilitates ‘teaching moments’ where
children’s fears can be overcome, sympathy developed and their experiences broadened. They can be taught
appropriate behaviour through new situations they encounter through the reading of stories.
6. Facilitates difficult topics - Reading carefully chosen books may facilitate communication about topics
that might otherwise be difficult to broach eg. Divorce, racism, sexuality, etc.
7. Reading expands children’s horizons - Children can learn about other people, places and times through
the reading of stories:
"Children should have the joy of living in far lands, in other persons, in other times - a delightful double
existence; and this joy they will find, for the most part, in their story books. Their lessons, too, history and
geography, should cultivate their conceptive powers. If the children do not live in the times of his history
lesson, be not at home in the climate his geography book describes, why, these lessons will fail of their
purpose."~Charlotte Mason
8. Healthy family entertainment - Reading aloud together introduces children to books as a form of
entertainment and enables families to entertain themselves with topics of their own choosing, instead of
being at the mercy of the television channels! Reading good literature is a much healthier alternative to the
media.
9. Develops discerning readers - Another benefit of reading is that introducing your children to good quality
stories from a young age will help them to become discerning readers with a taste for good literature when
they are older.
10. Sparks life-long interests - Reading aloud may seed a child with a life-long interest in a particular field.
Eg. Reading about James Herriot, a country vet, may spark a desire to become a vet.
11. Develops attentiveness - Reading aloud teaches children to pay attention, focus and concentrate. Even if
a child pursues other activities like puzzles, lego or drawing, she will learn to pay attention and listen
carefully. Attentiveness is a good skill for academic success.
12. Reading aloud develops auditory perception – the skill of hearing and understanding what has been
said.
13. Reading develops vocabulary and pronounciation skills. Children will be exposed to words they
would not normally encounter. Usually they are able to guess the meaning of new words from the context,
but often parents may need to explain.
14. Aids deciphering new words - Having a wider vocabulary will enable a beginner reader to decipher new
words more easily as he already understands them and knows how to pronounce them.
15. Models good language - Reading good written text provides a model of good grammar and sentence
structure which will promote good language skills, both oral and written, in children. Another great benefit of
reading!
16. Links written and spoken language - Reading aloud helps young children understand the relationship
between written text and the spoken word. They learn that we page from left to write and read left to write
and top to bottom down a page. They understand that the letters on a page carry meaning.
17. Stories feed the mind as food feeds the body. Children have a hunger for good literature:
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"...children have no natural appetite for twaddle, and a special literature for children is probably far less
necessary than the booksellers would have us suppose…What they want is to be brought into touch with
living thought of the best, their intellectual life feeds upon it without meddling on our part.” ~ Charlotte
Mason
18. Develops cognitive skills - Reading aloud develops children’s imaginations and creativity. Following the
complexities of a plot also facilitates logic thinking and problem solving skills.
"For hours when children are lost in a book, you know they are in the best hands. They are wandering the
riverbank or jungle, exploring Narnia or Dickens's London. Unlike television, that does their imagining for
them, reading fills children's minds with faces and place they must picture for themselves. It enables them to
create their own imaginary adventures, even to understand someone better, or see things differently." ~
Lesley Garner
19. Increases IQ -Reading aloud has been shown to increase cognitive ability and IQ scores.
20. Develops curiosity - Reading stories develops children’s curiosity about people, places, motives and
more.
21. Enjoyable learning - Reading together enables children to learn about subject matter that might be dry
and boring in other formats. For example, a story set in historical times will make learning about that time
period far more interesting than just reading the dry facts in a text book.
22. Promotes lifelong learning - Children learn that much of the answers they need can be found in written
format - in books, libraries and on the internet.
23. Reading aloud with your children will do all of the above for you, the parent, too! The benefit of reading
is not just for your children.
"A house without books is like a room without windows." ~Heinreich Mann
10 Quick Memory Tips.
Follow these tips carefully to improve your memory
Nail these tips and start rolling:
1. Start with small steps: Generally while you start learning or memorizing anything you start doing it as a
whole. This makes the job much more tedious than it is. Thus, if you cut down the part to be memorized into
smaller sections then you might be able to memorize it quite easily.
Also, while doing your day-to-day chores, you try and remember everything at a stretch. This should be
avoided and you should go for remembering smaller parts of the while incident. This makes remembering
anything an extremely easy task.
2. Associate (event, time or place): Associating things to be remembered with something that you can never
forget, helps a great deal. You can associate the things to be remembered with almost anything. Like if you
want to go home and share a joke that occurred at your working place with your dear ones, then you can
associate it to the time that all of you are together and easily recall it.
3. Find out similarity: This might be a part of association itself. Even while learning words, you should find
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its similarities. This makes it easier for you to sort all the similar things in to the same group and remember
them. This might help you a great deal if you are a working individual. In this manner, you can keep your
professional and private life separate. Just categorize it into groups.
4. Linking: For learning anything, you need to go a specific way. For remembering one thing, you can chain
up the events and then try remembering them instead of remembering them as different incidents or things. If
you link up things in this manner it becomes easier to remember them all. Also, linking helps you to not only
remember the incident it also helps you remember the minor details in it. Link the start, middle and ending to
get the whole story remembered.
5. Express: If you want to remember a sentence or an incident, remember the expressions that you had while
you said it or read it. This might help you a great deal to remember it as a whole and not forget any of it.
Remembering expressions might make your remember the incident for a relatively long time than by
remembering it the normal way.
6. Move: While you try remembering things, try and remember the moves that you made while doing the
things. Thus, if you want to learn a poem, you can decide specific actions for different sentences and then try
remembering the poem. It makes the work easier for you by a great deal. Like, if you want to tell somebody a
joke that occurred in the elevator with some person, then you can remember being on the elevator and you
easily recall the joke.
7. Try setting mnemonics for things that are extremely hard to remember but a must. If you want to learn a
list of words then you can set a funny or witty mnemonic and then learn it thus making it damn easy. It can
be said that this is the best and only way to mug up unending lists.
If it goes well for kids, it goes great for you, too.
8. Tune it: To remember poems or paragraphs, you can change the language and tune them in case of
paragraphs or tune the poems and then learn it; this makes it easier to mug up almost big pages especially
while you want to learn for your examinations.
9. Figure and color them: If you want to remember anything without reading it anywhere or learning it
anywhere, then you can associate it with any colored image in your mind and remember it easily.
I think you are starting to get the idea of using different dimensions to improve your memory.
10. Try hard, but real hard: Until and unless you ‘want’ to learn whatever is in front of you or remember it,
you can’t do it. Thus, you need to have to want to remember it and try hard to do so, and then you’ll be able
to remember it quite easily and even faster then thought.
That's it.
Now, I would recommend reading the above tips again, tomorrow.
make a step by step actions, define for yourself a few months and start implementing some techniques as
instructed on this site.
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Congratulate yourself on any successful meaningful positive progress, then move on to your next
memory improvement goal!.
Memory tips are not worth it if you are not committing to yourself a good practice, to succeed.
It is not going to be easy for you. Practical is always difficult then the theoretical part, but this is why you
are here no? to start practicing.
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Shall you need some motivation and good advice, come visit again to get inspiration and new tips. Join the
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Drop me a message when you feel these tips are working good for you or if you want to comment or add
from your own proven experience.
Reading Books Vs.
Improving Your Memory
Reading books holds several advantages.
Books can be considered as the best friends of man as they are extremely helpful guide in times of stress.
Books also help you know more and more things about the world around you. Books update you with
knowledge and news as much as the newspapers do. They help you get more and more knowledge.
There are almost no disadvantages of reading books. The only criterion is that you should be reading good
value books.
While you read books it is not necessary that you stick to a specific type, you can explore the world of books
by joining any library close to your house. Book reading does not require any specific conditions. As long as
you have the book and as long as your want to read it, you can read it and enjoy its content.
My smart wife is reading drama books and truly recommend reading such. However,
even books like Harry Potter or other best sellers - DO a good job, too.
Reading books not just includes reading storybooks. No matter what book you are
reading it has a lot of positive effect on you. If you are reading a book that’s extremely
interesting, you get to know a lot of things, and also if you are reading a book that’s not
much interesting you don’t assimilate the whole content but the gist of the book give
you a lot of knowledge.
Advantages and disadvantages of reading books
Dr. Serper says “The workbooks contain predominantly frustration-free activities. With lots of repetition, or
memory stimulation, in the form of puzzles, brain twisters and a reference or clue system for answering
questions. The goal is exercising different segments of the brain.”
Advantages:
that you are reading and you remember them in your brain. Thus, reading book works on the same terms of
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learning. While you read various books, you get to know about different people, different place and different
countries and cultures. Sceince fiction helps develop new brain connections, as they are not trivial daily
sights. Books makes you learn a lot of things that are new to you.
enhancing the brain functionality. When you read more books, you have to remember
more pieces of information from all books. The workload of your brain increases, so it gets the right
brain power exercise you need.
Your brain starts working in a categorized manner when you read books based on different subjects.
and recall. As the power of your brain increases, you can hold more information in your brain as well
as recall. You need not take any memory improvement supplements if your reading is good.
There is no age to start or finish reading, but the sooner you start, the better.
good smile appears on your face almost immediately. Thus, you need not take any medicines or supplements
to distress yourself.
Disadvantages:
leaps and bounds, your eyes and other organs involved experience a lot of fatigue. This fatigue might hamper
your working for about days together. Thus, it is extremely important to take breaks, once per hour. Think of
if you were sitting in front of a computer looking on the screen constantly. Take a break, do nice eye
massage, rest a bit, and move on.
with some stupid content in them, you might not get much benefited by them. Such books give only shortterm pleasure but they benefit us in no possible way.
nothing else, then you are not going to get much benefited. Variety is the spice of life and we should have it
in our lives too.
Physically exercise in a gym or even jogging with a friend. Meet people and grow your social life.
5 Sneaky and Underhanded Methods To Add 30% More Time To
Your Daily Reading Schedule.
by Brad Isaac on December 14, 2007
In my recent popular post The 26 Major Advantages to Reading More Books and Why 3 in 4 People Are
Being Shut Out of Success, you saw that reading more books is one of the most powerful shortcuts to
success.
But one obstacle to reading more books is simply finding the time to do it. Well friends,
put on your trench coats and fedoras and get ready to sneak some great reading in on the
down low.
Here are 5 sneaky ways to get more book reading into your day:
1. Rip chapters out of your book – Hear me out before you make a judgement! When I worked for a car
wash years ago, reading books on the job was quite inappropriate. So here is what I did to get around it.
I went to the local used book store and purchased some of the titles I wanted. They might have cost $1 or $2
each. When I got home, I picked the first book and carefully grabbed a chapter and ripped out the whole
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chapter from the seam. If done carefully, the whole chapter was held together by the existing binding glue.
I repeated this for each chapter in the book.
When I was done, I picked one or two chapters and folded them in half and stuck them into my back jeans
pocket. The rest of the chapters, I put back into the original book cover and held it all together with a rubber
band until I needed them.
In between rinse cycles, I’d just grab the current chapter out of my back pocket and read. Boss-man was
none the wiser.
I would replace chapters I read back into the book cover and take the next chapter or two until I finished the
book.
Turns out, when I was done reading a book, I could fit everything back together and re-glue it using Elmer’s
and the book was in rough, but readable condition. Now, that I’ve refined a great bookbinding method, I’d
just use that to rebind it good as new.
Caution: It goes without saying you should only do this with books you own. Don’t rip up your friend’s
book or a library book.
2. Take a book with you into the bathroom – I am surprised at the number of businesses that do not allow
employees to read. It makes little sense to me considering books make employees smarter, why would you
not want them to improve?
Regardless, there is a “no mans land” where you can take a book where you won’t be disturbed – the
bathroom.
You may choose to read while you are doing your business or you might just want to close the door and read
in the bathroom stall. Since bathrooms are typically quiet, you can read for 10-15 minutes undisturbed.
Since you’ll technically be in the restroom, your boss likely won’t be able to punish you. Just make sure you
don’t leave any incriminating bookmarks or hilighters lying around when you leave.
3. Make reading a high priority – If you feel like you aren’t reading enough now, the only way you will be
able to change your behavior is if you make reading a high priority. I have already given 26 major reasons,
some of the people commenting to the post have added some excellent reasons to the list as well.
Reading good books often is a proactive skill to develop. The late Earl Nightingale used to say that through
reading and improving your vocabulary you communicate your education within seconds of entering a room.
Your skill with language is communicated immediately – so the impression you make is largely dependent
on how “well read” you are.
Imagine sitting for a job interview and the potential employer choosing between you (who communicates
intelligence) and a non-reader who doesn’t. Provided the boss wants a smart person for the job they’ll know
you are the right person in seconds.
4. Scan Books for Your Phone or iPod – You can buy an inexpensive scanner that will convert your books
to text so you can load them onto your cell phone or iPod for having a library with you at all times. I have
been doing this for as long as I’ve owned a Pocket PC – 6 years.
Like point #1, I scan a chapter of a book and convert it to text with the free OCR software that came with the
scanner. Then I just copy it to my Pocket PC for reading at any time of day or night. Since I always have my
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device with me, I can read while waiting for my meal at a restaurant, in line at the post office or just have
some down time at work.
5. Use Text-To-Speech for On The Road Reading – Another tool I like to use that only gets better and
better is text to speech software. Great for reading blog posts in my car, you can also load E-Books chapter
by chapter into the software. This frees you up to read as you drive without wrapping your car around a tree.
The only possible downside, in my opinion, is listening isn’t as mentally engaging as reading. But it is still
quite good.
Currently, I am using Text2Go software with the Samantha voice you can get separately when you purchase
the software. The voices are lifelike and easy to understand. The advantage of this program is it not only
converts text to speech, it loads it automatically on your iPod or MP3 player. Plus, there is a slick
management feature that allows you to delete recordings you’ve heard and create custom play lists based on
the text you are converting – useful when you are recording blog content.
This post will self-destruct in 15 seconds…
Well, there you have it. 5 sneaky and underhanded ways to add more reading to your daily schedule. Some
are radical, some may cost money. But all will make you better read and more successful if you only apply
them.
Before you add more reading to your schedule you have to see it as important – crucial even – to your
personal success and enjoyment of life. Until you do, then you probably won’t read much more than you are
reading now.
I am sure a lot of you who read this blog have other good ways of sneaking in some book reading on
the sly, so please feel free to share in the comments.
There are many benefits of reading with children which will improve their academic abilities and quality of life.
Memory Improvement Techniques. . . Now your'e talking practical.
Memory improvement techniques are priceless. Embrace them, find out what fits you.
You may have been in situations wherein doing one chore led you to remember that you have to do another,
which is waiting to be done. This can actually lead you to do a chain of events, and you would have forgotten
what you needed to do in the first place.
The good news is that you can avoid that by implementing some memory improvement techniques.
I assume your have read the relation between your diet and memory, and that you are eating "brain food" and
not "junk food".
Such situations can complicate life. Unless you have a clear mind, it can be difficult to get things by, in
every-day activities. In latter part of your life, this can turn into a more serious problem. An alternative is to
take up mental exercises that keep you mental fit and focused (like solving some crossword puzzles).
In a recent study published in the ‘Psychological Medicine’, individuals who have better memory, have a 46
percent decreased risk of dementia. They were mentally stronger in the latter part of their life as well.
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How to improve memory?
The first thing to do is to get more into relaxed state of mind.
Things just get into a flow when you are relaxed. period. Ask the professionals, or shall you take a look at
them and watch their moves.
Anxiety and stress causes emotional block and things that you normally do well, cannot be done so well, as a
result. In such situations, you need to seek help to clear your subconscious mind, through memory
improvement technique that sends positive information into your subconscious.
In addition to such methods, you can make use of general memory improvement techniques that will help
you in a practical way to keep alert throughout the day and in remembering things.
Types of memory improvement techniques
Mental clarity comes when you are able to remember things and operate well. There are many internet sites
and books, which show you techniques of improving memory. These memory techniques have been wellresearched and their results documented, to show proof of positive results.
Here is a list of some common memory improvement or concentration techniques that works for others, and
may work for you too:
* Riddles – One of the oldest forms of memory improvement techniques was riddle. Solve the clue in the
riddle with what you know, and get the answer. Simple! Only Not So! Considerable brain racking is required
to find the small clue actually. Riddles with pun are very interesting and even amusing.
* Flash Cards – This memory technique can help students to memorize their subject materials. Subjects such
as math, chemistry, physics, formulas, definitions, names of historical places and much more can be quickly
learnt through these cards.
* Playing Crosswords – This is yet another interesting ways to job memory. You can find different types of
crossword puzzles available, based on subject of liking.
* Subliminal Messages – This is a very effective form of memory improvement. You write positive
affirmative messages, which you read out everyday. The message embeds itself into our subconscious mind,
which acts on it accordingly. The result is that you are able to do the things that you want to do, and have a
very clear memory.
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* Mnemonics – Memory work when you link one thing to another. This is what Mnemonic techniques do.
You can remember a host of things by through the link system offered by mnemonics.
* Hypnosis – This is a very useful way of awakening the subconscious mind and improving mind by making
the subconscious clear in its perceptions. Many people have reported that they have quit smoking, or lost
weight through hypnotherapy.
Are memory improvement techniques effective?
Yes.
They are effective because they emphasize on using a particular strategy to enhance memory abilities. You
work on a specific strategy such as flash cards or mnemonics, and your memory enhances because your skill
is worked up, hence, you become better-able to remember things.
Importance and benefits of reading to children
Importance and benefits of reading to children. Spending time reading aloud with children is a time to be
treasured. Travel with them via books into wonderful lands of imagination and fantasy.
Most people with young children have heard the words “read me a story!” They come with those little picture
books and become fascinated while disappearing into those worlds of fantasy.
Unfortunately, by the time the children outgrow those picture books, many parents stop reading aloud with
them. We should remember that there are whole new worlds to explore in books even as the children grow
older. There are chapter books filled with many new places to enjoy with the same imagination they had
when younger.
Again rather unfortunately, the emergence of things like the internet and television has in some instances
stolen the time that might be spent reading with children. Those are treasured times. Bonding times. And
times to share a great adventure with the young people in our lives.
At what age should we stop reading with our children? A good answer to that question would be “as long as
they’ll possibly allow it, don’t stop.” It seems to often be the parent who stops doing this long before the
child is ready to give it up.
In recent years, “quality time” has become quite the buzz phrase. What better quality time can be found than
curling up with a child, no matter his or her age, and getting lost in a good book together? Grab some
lemonade first in the summer and hot chocolate in winter, and plan a great evening of getting lost in a book!
There are, naturally, benefits that extend far beyond that very necessary time together. It will help the child
develop a love of books and will expand knowledge and vocabulary. There are only pros to list and not a con
to be found.
Some of us remember being read to only at bedtime, and then only until we reached a certain age. Reading
aloud is not an enjoyment that magically stops at a particular age, usually, nor is it something just for
bedtime.
When a love of books and the written word is instilled, children will adore going to the library and choosing
their own reading material. When a parent feels the child is old enough to hold the responsibility, a library
card in the child’s name should be applied for.
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At some point, you may want to ask the child to write his own story. You can bind papers together into book
form and have him illustrate a book, or simple write, type, or dictate a story for you to write, depending on
age.
It’s not too late to start reading aloud again even if you’ve put it aside when the child put picture books away.
Go to a library or book store and allow the child to choose a great chapter book or two. Then prepare for an
hour or an evening of pure magic as you enter the world of fantasy with a child.
Learn to Read - Family Reading Time
A quiet time for family members to read on their own may be the only chance a busy parent gets to
read the paper.
What You'll Need
-
Your own reading materials.
Reading materials for your children.
What To Do
1.
2.
Both you and your child should pick out something to read.
Don't be concerned if your beginning readers pick materials that are easier than their school reading
books. Practice with easy books (and the comics) will improve their fluency.
3.
If you subscribe to a children's magazine, this is a good time to get it out. There are many good
children's magazines, and youngsters often get a special thrill out of receiving their own mail.
4.
Relax and enjoy while you each read your own selections. A family reading time shows that you like
to read. Because you value reading, your children will too.
Learn to Read - Story Talk
Talking about what you read is another way to help children develop language and thinking skills. You
don't need to plan the talk, discuss every story, or expect an answer.
What You'll Need
-
Reading materials
What To Do
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1.
Read slowly and pause occasionally to think out loud about a story. You can speculate: "I wonder
what's going to happen next!" Or ask a question: "Do you know what a palace is?" Or point out: "Look
where the little mouse is now."
2.
Answer your children's questions, and if you think they don't understand something, stop and ask
them. Don't worry if you break into the flow of a story to make something clear.
3.
Read the name of the book's author and illustrator and make sure your children understand what they
do.
Talking about stories they read helps children develop their vocabularies, link stories to everyday sense out
of stories.
Learn to Read - Write and Talk, Too
While reading with your child is most important, there are other
activities that help to get children ready to read. With a solid
foundation, your child will not only read, but will read with
enthusiasm.
Learning to read is part of learning language. It's like a little leaguer
learning to hit a baseball. The young hitter must learn to watch the
ball when it is pitched, to step into it, and to swing the bat to make
the hit. It's a single event made up of three acts. Baseball players
learn to do all three at once.
Activities:
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Tot Talk
What's in a Name?
World of Words
Book Nooks
Family Stories
Now Hear This
P.S. I Love You
Easy as Pie
Write On
TV
Make a Book
Make Your Own
Dictionary
The same is true of learning language. When we use language, we speak words out loud, we read words on
paper, and we write. This section has activities that encourage your child to:
-
speak
read
write
listen
Begin long before you expect your child to actually read, and continue long after your child is an independent
reader.
Learn to Read - It's Part of Life
Although the life of a parent is often hectic, you should try to read with your child at least once a day at a
regularly scheduled time. But don't be discouraged if you skip a day or don't always keep to your schedule.
Just read to your child as often as you possibly can.
If you have more than one child, try to spend some time reading alone with each child, especially if they're
more than 2 years apart. However, it's also fine to read to children at different stages and ages at the same
time. Most children enjoy listening to many types of stories. When stories are complex, children can still get
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the idea and can be encouraged to ask questions. When stories are easy or familiar, youngsters enjoy these
"old friends" and may even help in the reading. Taking the time to read with your children on a regular basis
sends an important message: Reading is worthwhile.
Learn to Read - One More Time
You may go through a period when your child favors one book and wants it read night after night. It is not
unusual for children to favor a particular story, and this can be boring for parents. Keep in mind, however,
that a favorite story may speak to your child's interests or emotional needs. Be patient. Continue to expose
your children to a wealth of books and eventually they will be ready for more stories
Learn to Read - Talking About Stories
It's often a good idea to talk about a story you are reading, but you need not feel compelled to talk about
every story. Good stories will encourage a love for reading, with or without conversation. And sometimes
children need time to think about stories they have read. A day or so later, don't be surprised if your child
mentions something from a story you've read together.
Learn to Read - The More the Merrier
From time to time, invite other adults or older children to listen in or join in reading aloud. The message is:
Reading is for everybody.
Learn to Read - How do I use this Article?
There are two types of activities in this article to help:


make reading with your child enjoyable; and
increase writing, talking, and listening to boost your child's love of language.
Most of the activities are for children who range in age from 3 to 10 years, with a few for babies. The
symbols next to the activities can guide you.
Infant up to 2 years
Preschooler (ages 3-5)
Beginning reader (ages 6-7)
Developing reader (ages 8-10)
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Enjoyment is essential in the process of helping your child become a reader. All of the activities are written
with this thought in mind. So, if you and your child don't enjoy one activity, move on to something else and
try it again later.
So what really are the benefits of reading Bedtime Stories, Children’s Picture Books and Children's Stories
aloud ?
Parents who read bedtime stories, children’s stories and children’s picture books aloud to their children
provide a strong, positive influence and build a foundation for a lifetime of benefits.
But what really are these benefits ? What kind of difference would reading aloud really make ?
The difference is Significant and Real.
Here is a list of ways in which dedicated and continued reading of bedtime stories, children’s stories and
children’s picture books aloud to kids will bring noticeable life long change to their lives and yours forever.
Did you know . . .
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In this day and age of hectic lives and busy schedules, reading together is a simple and enjoyable way for
parents to take time out, focus on the family and unwind. Young children need lots of special, dedicated
time with their parents and family members.
Reading childrens stories aloud to our kids is imaginative, can be interactive and lots of fun !
Reading childrens stories is a wonderful bonding time that fosters meaninful one-on-one time and
communication with our kids.
It shows our children that they are important to us. Actions speak louder than words, so forget the TV,
chores, your boss and devote your attention to them.
It molds our kids into becoming readers, and a child that likes to read significantly increases their
potential for academic and lifelong success.
Children learn how to read by being read to, which is an integral part of teaching our children.
Reading aloud helps our children master language development, and listening skills. It increases their
attention span, and develops the ability to concentrate at length. These are all learned skills.
It develops children's ability to express themselves more confidently, easily, and clearly in spoken and
written terms.
It develops a child's natural curiosity, creativity and ability to use their own imagination !
It expands their horizons, quells fears, exposes them to new situations, and teaches them appropriate
behavior.
Reading childrens stories to our children provides the best opportunities for true life teaching moments,
which may be missed while in school.
Reading picture books develops a young child's appreciation for the arts through exposure to many
different styles of art and illustrations.
There is so much that reading bedtime stories, Children's Picture Books, Children's Stories aloud to our kids
can do for them. Let's start reading together today!
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Jacob loves books. His mom knows this because when she sits down to read to him every night, he waves his
arms excitedly.
His favorite page of "Goodnight Moon" shows a cow jumping over the moon. He squeals and reaches for the
book every time he sees it. When she is done reading, his mom usually lets him hold the sturdy board book,
which he promptly sticks into his mouth.
Jacob is only 6 months old, but he is already well on his way to becoming a reader.
Why Read to My Baby?
You may wonder about the benefits of reading to your baby. Clearly an infant can't understand what you're
doing or why. But you wouldn't wait until your child could understand what you were saying before you
started speaking to him or her, right? And you wouldn't bypass lullabies until your baby could carry a tune or
wait until he or she could shake a rattle before you offered any toys.
Reading aloud to your baby is a wonderful shared activity you can continue for years to come — and it's an
important form of stimulation.
Reading aloud:
teaches a baby about communication
introduces concepts such as numbers, letters, colors, and shapes in a fun way
builds listening, memory, and vocabulary skills
gives babies information about the world around them
Believe it or not, by the time babies reach their first birthday they will have learned all the sounds needed to
speak their native language. The more stories you read aloud, the more words your child will be exposed to
and the better he or she will be able to talk. Hearing words helps to imprint them on a baby's brain. Kids
whose parents frequently talk/read to them know more words by age 2 than children who have not been read
to. And kids who are read to during their early years are more likely to learn to read at the right time.
When reading, your child hears you using many different emotions and expressive sounds, which fosters
social and emotional development. Reading also invites your baby to look, point, touch, and answer
questions — all of which promote social development and thinking skills. And your baby improves language
skills by imitating sounds, recognizing images, and learning words.
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But perhaps the most important reason to read aloud is that it makes a connection between the things your
baby loves the most — your voice and closeness to you — and books. Spending time reading to your baby
shows that reading is a skill worth learning.
Different Ages, Different Stages
Young babies may not know what the images in a book mean, but they can focus on them, especially faces,
bright colors, and contrasting patterns. Read or sing lullabies and nursery rhymes to interest and soothe your
infant.
Between 4 and 6 months, your baby may begin to show more interest in books. He or she will grab and hold
books, but will mouth, chew, and drop them as well. Choose sturdy vinyl or cloth books with bright colors
and repetitive or rhyming text.
Between 6 and 12 months, your child is beginning to understand that pictures represent objects, and most
likely will develop preferences for certain pictures, pages, or even entire stories. Your baby will respond
while you read, grabbing for the book and making sounds, and by 12 months will turn pages (with some help
from you), pat or start to point to objects on a page, and repeat your sounds.
When and How to Read
Here's a great thing about reading aloud: It doesn't take special skills or equipment, just you, your baby, and
some books. Read aloud for a few minutes at a time, but do it often. Don't worry about finishing entire books
— focus on pages that you and your baby enjoy.
Try to set aside time to read every day — perhaps before naptime and bedtime. In addition to the pleasure
that cuddling your baby before bed gives both of you, you'll also be making life easier by establishing a
routine. This will help to calm your baby and set expectations about when it's time to sleep.
It's also good to read at other points in the day. Choose times when your baby is dry, fed, and alert. Books
also come in handy when you're stuck waiting, so have some in the diaper bag to fill time sitting at the
doctor's office or standing in line at the grocery store.
Here are some additional reading tips:
Cuddling while you read helps your baby feel safe, warm, and connected to you.
Read with expression, pitching your voice higher or lower where it's appropriate or using different voices
for different characters.
Don't worry about following the text exactly. Stop once in a while and ask questions or make comments
on the pictures or text. ("Where's the kitty? There he is! What a cute black kitty.") Your child might not
be able to respond yet, but this lays the groundwork for doing so later on.
Sing nursery rhymes, make funny animal sounds, or bounce your baby on your knee — anything that
shows that reading is fun.
Babies love — and learn from — repetition, so don't be afraid of reading the same books over and over.
When you do so, repeat the same emphasis each time as you would with a familiar song.
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As your baby gets older, encourage him or her to touch the book or hold sturdier vinyl, cloth, or board
books. You don't want to encourage chewing on books, but by putting them in his or her mouth, your
baby is learning about them, finding out how books feel and taste — and discovering that they're not
edible!
What to Read
Books for babies should have simple, repetitive text and clear images. During the first few months of life,
your child just likes to hear your voice, so you can read almost anything, especially books with a sing-song or
rhyming text. As your baby gets more interested in looking at things, choose books with simple pictures
against solid backgrounds.
Once your baby begins to grab, read vinyl or cloth books with faces, bright colors, and shapes. When your
baby begins to respond to what's inside of books, add board books with pictures of babies or familiar objects
like toys. When your child begins to do things like sit up in the bathtub or eat finger foods, find simple stories
about daily routines like bedtime or bathtime. When talking starts, choose books that invite babies to repeat
simple words or phrases.
Books with mirrors and different textures (crinkly, soft, scratchy) are also great for this age group, as are
fold-out books that can be propped up, or books with flaps that open for a surprise. Board books make page
turning easier for infants and vinyl or cloth books can go everywhere — even the tub. Babies of any age like
photo albums with pictures of people they know and love. And every baby should have a collection of
nursery rhymes!
One of the best ways you can ensure that your little one grows up to be a reader is to have books around your
house. When your baby is old enough to crawl over to a basket of toys and pick one out, make sure some
books are included in the mix.
In addition to the books you own, take advantage of those you can borrow from the library. Many libraries
have storytime just for babies, too. Don't forget to pick up a book for yourself while you're there. Reading for
pleasure is another way you can be your baby's reading role model.
Reviewed by: Mary L. Gavin, MD
Date reviewed: December 2008
Everyday Reading Opportunities
Whether your child is a baby, a preschooler, or old enough to read independently, finding time to read is
important to developing literacy skills. And there are many easy and convenient ways to make reading a part
of every day — even when it's tough to find time to sit down with a book.
Finding the Reading Moments
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Car trips, errands, and waits in checkout lines and the doctor's office are all opportunities for reading. Keep
books or magazines in your car, diaper bag, or backpack to pull out whenever you're going to be in one place
for a while. Even if you can't finish a book, read a few pages or discuss some of the pictures. Encourage older
kids to bring favorite books and magazines along wherever you go.
Other reading moments to take advantage of throughout the day:
in the morning, before breakfast or getting dressed
after dinner, when kids are relaxed
bath time (with plastic, waterproof books)
bedtime
Reading opportunities are everywhere you go. Read signs aloud to your baby while you're driving. Ask your
preschooler to "read" pictures on boxes at the store and tell you about them. And have older kids tell you
what's on the shopping list.
Even routine tasks around the house, like cooking, can provide reading moments. With younger kids, read
recipes aloud; ask older kids to help by telling you how much flour to measure. Give your child a catalog to
read while you look at the mail. Ask relatives to send your child letters or e-mail and read them together.
Even when you're trying to get things done, you can encourage reading. If your child complains of
boredom when you're cleaning, for instance, ask him or her to read aloud from a favorite book to you while
you work. Younger kids can tell you about the pictures in their favorite books.
And make sure kids get some time to spend quietly with books, even if it means bypassing or cutting back on
other activities, like time in front of the TV or playing video games.
Most important, be a reader yourself. Kids who see their parents reading are likely to join them and become
readers, too!
Reviewed by: Laura L. Bailet, PhD
Date reviewed: February 2007
All parents need a little advice now and then. Get the lowdown on parenting basics like discipline, homework
help, and how to talk to your child about tough subjects, like sex, tobacco, and alcohol. Plus, find out where
you can turn for help and support
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KidsHealth>Parents>Positive Parenting>All About Reading>Creating a Reader-Friendly Home
A home filled with reading material is a good way to help kids become enthusiastic (and proficient) readers.
What kind of books should you have? Ask your kids about their interests. If they're too young to have a
preference, your local librarian can offer suggestions about age-appropriate books.
Here are some other tips:
Keep a varied selection. Collect board books or books with mirrors and different textures for babies. Older
kids will enjoy variety: fiction, nonfiction, and poetry plus dictionaries and other reference books.
Kids can understand stories they might not be able to read on their own. If a more challenging book interests
your child, make it something to read together. Younger kids can look at illustrations in books and ask
questions as they follow along.
And don't limit reading material to books. Kids might also enjoy:
magazines (for kids)
audio books
postcards from relatives
photo albums or scrapbooks
newspapers
comic books
the Internet
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Keep reading material handy. Keep sturdy books with other toys for easy exploration. Books near the
changing table and high chair can be helpful distractions for younger kids at appropriate moments. Plastic
books can even go in the bathtub. Keep books next to comfy chairs and sofas where you cuddle up so you
can read after feedings and naps.
Create a special reading place. As kids grow, keep age-appropriate books and magazines on shelves they
can reach in their favorite hangouts around the house. Make these shelves appealing and keep them
organized. Place some of the books with the covers facing out so they're easy to spot. Put a basket full of
books and magazines next to their favorite places to sit. Create a cozy reading corner, and encourage kids to
use it by setting up "reading corner time" each day.
Keep it appealing. Make sure reading areas have good lighting. Change the materials often — add seasonal
books, rotate different magazines, and include books that relate to what kids are interested in or studying in
school. Decorate the corner with your child's artwork or writing. Place a CD or tape player nearby for audio
books.
Encourage kids to create the reading. Set up a writing and art center and encourage kids to make books,
posters, or collages that they decorate with their own pictures and writing. Kids love to read things they've
written themselves or to share their creations with family and friends.
Think About Atmosphere
Other ways to encourage kids to read:
Give your child quiet time every day to read or write.
Limit time kids spend in front of a screen (including TV, computer, and video games) to help ensure that
they have time for reading.
Read together. Offer to read a book aloud, or ask your child to read to you from a favorite magazine. Make
a habit of sitting together while you each read your own books, sharing quiet time together.
Reviewed by: Mary L. Gavin, MD
Date reviewed: February 2007
KidsHealth>Parents>Positive Parenting>All About Reading>Finding the Right Read
Books make great gifts for kids, but it's not always easy to find reading material that fits a child's interests,
maturity, or reading level. Before you set off to the bookstore or library, here are some guidelines.
Babies and Toddlers
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Until kids are about 2 years old, think tactile and short. Thick board books with bright colors; bold, simple
pictures; and few words are ideal. These books may include interactive elements, such as parts that move,
items that invite touching, and mirrors. Books with different textures, fold-out books, or vinyl or cloth books
also are appropriate for babies and toddlers. Books that can be propped up or wiped clean are excellent
choices. Look for books about bedtime, baths, or mealtime or about saying hello or goodbye, especially if
they're illustrated with photos of children. And if peek-a-boo is your little one's favorite game, books with
flaps are a perfect choice.
Many older toddlers (2- and 3-year-olds) start to understand how reading works and will love repetitive or
rhyming books that let them finish sentences or "read" to themselves. From colors to numbers to how to get
dressed, older toddlers love books that reinforce what they are learning every day. And if you have a budding
ballerina or animal enthusiast on your hands, look for books about these (or other) passions.
Preschoolers
Around the time kids are 3 or 4, they start to enjoy books that tell stories. Their increasing attention spans
and ability to understand more words make picture books with more complicated plots a good choice. Stories
with an element of fantasy, from talking animals to fairies, will spark their imagination, as will books about
distant times and places.
Try nonfiction books about a single topic of interest that the child likes. Since many kids this age are learning
the alphabet and numbers, books with letters and counting are ideal. Those dealing with emotions, manners,
or going to school can help kids navigate some of the tricky transitions that happen during this time.
School-Age Kids
For kids entering school and starting to read, look for easy-to-read books with vocabularies they know so that
they can read them independently. Many book publishers indicate the reading level of books on the cover and
may include a key to help you understand those different levels. You can also choose books that are above a
child's reading level that you can read to him or her.
Look for books that relate to the child's interests but also encourage exploration of new interests through
reading about unfamiliar subjects. For example, if a child is interested in cowboys, look for books that talk
about the days of the old west, what cowboys are like today, or historical fiction set in the nineteenth century.
Kids of All Ages
All kids love to giggle, so books of silly poems, jokes, or songs are sure to be a hit. Collections of fairy tales,
children's stories, poetry, or nursery rhymes offer a wide variety within a single book. Wordless books with
imaginative illustrations can be fun even for kids who know how to read. Looking at pictures and creating a
story develops imagination and broad thinking.
And don't forget the books and stories you loved as a child. Chances are, you had good reasons to love them
— and your child will, too.
Reviewed by: Gail S. Diederich, MS
Date reviewed: August 2007
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KidsHealth>Parents>Positive Parenting>All About Reading>Helping Reluctant Readers
For many kids, reading just doesn't come easily. Some kids have difficulty connecting letters and their
corresponding sounds. Others have yet to discover that special enchanting story that grabs the imagination
and shows just how fun reading can be. For all kids, though, being at ease with letters, their sounds, and
words is an important foundation for learning throughout life.
Here are a few simple ways to help kids become eager readers:
Start with your child's picks. Comics or joke books may not be your first choice to cultivate literacy, but
they can motivate kids to read.
Don't worry that these texts may not be substantial enough. They can play important roles in helping kids
understand some fundamentals, like how events take place in a sequence and stories are laid out. They also
help build vocabulary and show that books can be visually appealing. Once your child becomes comfortable
with the experience of reading, you can encourage other literature selections with a variety of challenging
content.
Read and reread and reread. Many kids reach for the same books over and over again. That's OK. Through
repetition kids can master the text and eventually sail through it with ease and confidence. Each new reading
of the book may also help them understand it just a little better. And that positive experience may inspire
them to give new books a try.
Read aloud. By reading aloud, you can help build your child's vocabulary, show that you enjoy reading for
fun, and help your child connect sounds with letters on the page. Above all, reading aloud provides together
time that you'll both enjoy. And it doesn't have to end once kids get older. The comfort of a parent's voice
and undivided attention is something kids never outgrow.
Create opportunities to read and write beyond the pages. Provide kids with many rewarding chances to
read every day. Write notes and leave them on a pillow, in a lunchbox, or in a pocket. Ask friends and
relatives to send postcards and letters. Leave magnetic letters and words on the refrigerator, and you may find
kids spontaneously creating words, sentences, and stories. On road trips or errands, play word games that
strengthen language skills. You might try "I Spy" ("I spy something that starts with an 'a' …") or games
where you pick a category like "food" and then everyone has to name foods that begin with a certain letter.
Kids often like reading signs seen while you're on the road, like those on restaurants.
Get help if you’re worried. If you're concerned about your child's ability or willingness to read, don't wait
to get help. Consult with your child's doctor or teacher. If they share your concern, they may be able to
suggest resources to help your child become an eager reader.
Reviewed by: Gail S. Diederich, MS
Date reviewed: August 2007
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KidsHealth>Parents>Positive Parenting>All About Reading>Raising a Summer Reader
When the lazy days of summer arrive and the schedule is packed with swimming, camp, and family
vacations, it can be a challenge to find time for learning.
But kids' reading skills don't have to grow cold once school's out. Here are some ways to make reading a
natural part of their summer fun:
Explore your library. Visit your local library to check out books and magazines that your kids haven't seen
before. Many libraries have summer reading programs, book clubs, and reading contests for even the
youngest borrowers. With a new library card, a child will feel extra grown-up checking out books.
Read on the road. Going on a long car trip? Make sure the back seat is stocked with favorite reads. When
you're not at the wheel, read the books aloud. Get some audiobooks (many libraries have large selections)
and listen to them together during drive time.
Make your own books. Pick one of your family's favorite parts of summer — whether it's baseball, ice
cream, or the pool — and have your child draw pictures of it or cut out pictures from magazines and catalogs.
Paste the pictures onto paper to make a booklet and write text for it. When you're done, read the book
together. Reread it whenever you need to fend off the cold-weather blahs!
Keep in touch. Kids don't have to go away to write about summer vacation. Even if your family stays home,
they can send postcards to tell friends and relatives about their adventures. Ask a relative to be your child's
pen pal and encourage them to write each week.
Keep up the reading rituals. Even if everything else changes during the summer, keep up the reading
routines around your house. Read with your kids every day — whether it's just before bedtime or under a
shady tree on a lazy afternoon. And don't forget to take a book to the beach! Just brush the sand off the pages
— it's no sweat!
Reviewed by: Gail S. Diederich, MS
Date reviewed: August 2007
KidsHealth>Parents>Positive Parenting>All About Reading>Reading Books to Babies
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Jacob loves books. His mom knows this because when she sits down to read to him every night, he waves his
arms excitedly.
His favorite page of "Goodnight Moon" shows a cow jumping over the moon. He squeals and reaches for the
book every time he sees it. When she is done reading, his mom usually lets him hold the sturdy board book,
which he promptly sticks into his mouth.
Jacob is only 6 months old, but he is already well on his way to becoming a reader.
Why Read to My Baby?
You may wonder about the benefits of reading to your baby. Clearly an infant can't understand what you're
doing or why. But you wouldn't wait until your child could understand what you were saying before you
started speaking to him or her, right? And you wouldn't bypass lullabies until your baby could carry a tune or
wait until he or she could shake a rattle before you offered any toys.
Reading aloud to your baby is a wonderful shared activity you can continue for years to come — and it's an
important form of stimulation.
Reading aloud:
teaches a baby about communication
introduces concepts such as numbers, letters, colors, and shapes in a fun way
builds listening, memory, and vocabulary skills
gives babies information about the world around them
Believe it or not, by the time babies reach their first birthday they will have learned all the sounds needed to
speak their native language. The more stories you read aloud, the more words your child will be exposed to
and the better he or she will be able to talk. Hearing words helps to imprint them on a baby's brain. Kids
whose parents frequently talk/read to them know more words by age 2 than children who have not been read
to. And kids who are read to during their early years are more likely to learn to read at the right time.
When reading, your child hears you using many different emotions and expressive sounds, which fosters
social and emotional development. Reading also invites your baby to look, point, touch, and answer
questions — all of which promote social development and thinking skills. And your baby improves language
skills by imitating sounds, recognizing images, and learning words.
But perhaps the most important reason to read aloud is that it makes a connection between the things your
baby loves the most — your voice and closeness to you — and books. Spending time reading to your baby
shows that reading is a skill worth learning
Different Ages, Different Stages
Young babies may not know what the images in a book mean, but they can focus on them, especially faces,
bright colors, and contrasting patterns. Read or sing lullabies and nursery rhymes to interest and soothe your
infant.
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Between 4 and 6 months, your baby may begin to show more interest in books. He or she will grab and hold
books, but will mouth, chew, and drop them as well. Choose sturdy vinyl or cloth books with bright colors
and repetitive or rhyming text.
Between 6 and 12 months, your child is beginning to understand that pictures represent objects, and most
likely will develop preferences for certain pictures, pages, or even entire stories. Your baby will respond
while you read, grabbing for the book and making sounds, and by 12 months will turn pages (with some help
from you), pat or start to point to objects on a page, and repeat your sounds.
When and How to Read
Here's a great thing about reading aloud: It doesn't take special skills or equipment, just you, your baby, and
some books. Read aloud for a few minutes at a time, but do it often. Don't worry about finishing entire books
— focus on pages that you and your baby enjoy.
Try to set aside time to read every day — perhaps before naptime and bedtime. In addition to the pleasure
that cuddling your baby before bed gives both of you, you'll also be making life easier by establishing a
routine. This will help to calm your baby and set expectations about when it's time to sleep.
It's also good to read at other points in the day. Choose times when your baby is dry, fed, and alert. Books
also come in handy when you're stuck waiting, so have some in the diaper bag to fill time sitting at the
doctor's office or standing in line at the grocery store.
Here are some additional reading tips:
Cuddling while you read helps your baby feel safe, warm, and connected to you.
Read with expression, pitching your voice higher or lower where it's appropriate or using different voices
for different characters.
Don't worry about following the text exactly. Stop once in a while and ask questions or make comments on
the pictures or text. ("Where's the kitty? There he is! What a cute black kitty.") Your child might not be
able to respond yet, but this lays the groundwork for doing so later on.
Sing nursery rhymes, make funny animal sounds, or bounce your baby on your knee — anything that
shows that reading is fun.
Babies love — and learn from — repetition, so don't be afraid of reading the same books over and over.
When you do so, repeat the same emphasis each time as you would with a familiar song.
As your baby gets older, encourage him or her to touch the book or hold sturdier vinyl, cloth, or board
books. You don't want to encourage chewing on books, but by putting them in his or her mouth, your baby
is learning about them, finding out how books feel and taste — and discovering that they're not edible!
What to Read
Books for babies should have simple, repetitive text and clear images. During the first few months of life,
your child just likes to hear your voice, so you can read almost anything, especially books with a sing-song or
rhyming text. As your baby gets more interested in looking at things, choose books with simple pictures
against solid backgrounds.
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Once your baby begins to grab, read vinyl or cloth books with faces, bright colors, and shapes. When your
baby begins to respond to what's inside of books, add board books with pictures of babies or familiar objects
like toys. When your child begins to do things like sit up in the bathtub or eat finger foods, find simple stories
about daily routines like bedtime or bathtime. When talking starts, choose books that invite babies to repeat
simple words or phrases.
Books with mirrors and different textures (crinkly, soft, scratchy) are also great for this age group, as are
fold-out books that can be propped up, or books with flaps that open for a surprise. Board books make page
turning easier for infants and vinyl or cloth books can go everywhere — even the tub. Babies of any age like
photo albums with pictures of people they know and love. And every baby should have a collection of
nursery rhymes!
One of the best ways you can ensure that your little one grows up to be a reader is to have books around your
house. When your baby is old enough to crawl over to a basket of toys and pick one out, make sure some
books are included in the mix.
In addition to the books you own, take advantage of those you can borrow from the library. Many libraries
have storytime just for babies, too. Don't forget to pick up a book for yourself while you're there. Reading for
pleasure is another way you can be your baby's reading role model.
Reviewed by: Mary L. Gavin, MD
Date reviewed: December 2008
KidsHealth>Parents>Positive Parenting>All About Reading>Reading Milestones
This is a general outline of the milestones on the road to reading and the ages at which most kids reach them.
Keep in mind that kids develop at different paces and spend varying amounts of time at each stage. If you
have concerns, talk to your child's doctor, teacher, or the reading specialist at school. Early intervention is
key in helping kids who are struggling to read.
Infancy (Up to Age 1)
Children usually begin to:
imitate sounds they hear in language
respond when spoken to
look at pictures
reach for books and turn the pages with help
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respond to stories and pictures by vocalizing and patting the pictures
Toddlers (Ages 1–3)
Children usually begin to:
answer questions about and identify objects in books — such as "Where's the cow?" or "What does the cow
say?"
name familiar pictures
use pointing to identify named objects
pretend to read books
finish sentences in books they know well
scribble on paper
know names of books and identify them by the picture on the cover
turn pages of board books
have a favorite book and request it to be read often
Early Preschool (Age 3)
Children usually begin to:
explore books independently
listen to longer books that are read aloud
retell a familiar story
recite the alphabet
begin to sing the alphabet with prompting and cues
make continuous symbols that resemble writing
imitate the action of reading a book aloud
Late Preschool (Age 4)
Children usually begin to:
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recognize familiar signs and labels, especially on signs and containers
make up rhymes or silly phrases
recognize and write some of the letters of the alphabet
read and write their names
name letters or sounds that begin words
match some letters to their sounds
use familiar letters to try writing words
Kindergarten (Age 5)
Children usually begin to:
understand rhyming and play rhyming games
match some spoken and written words
understand that print is read from left to right, top to bottom
write some letters and numbers
recognize some familiar words
predict what will happen next in a story
retell stories that have been read to them
First and Second Grade (Ages 6–7)
Children usually begin to:
read familiar stories
sound out or decode unfamiliar words
use pictures and context to figure out unfamiliar words
use some common punctuation and capitalization in writing
self-correct when they make a mistake while reading aloud
show comprehension of a story through drawings
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Second and Third Grade (Ages 7–8)
Children usually begin to:
read longer books independently
read aloud with proper emphasis and expression
use context and pictures to help identify unfamiliar words
understand the concept of paragraphs and begin to apply it in writing
correctly use punctuation
correctly spell simple words
write notes, like phone messages and email
enjoy games like word searches
use new words, phrases, or figures of speech that they've heard
revise their own writing
Fourth Through Eighth Grade (Ages 9–13)
Children usually begin to:
explore and understand different kinds of texts, like biographies, poetry, and fiction
understand and explore expository, narrative, and persuasive text
read to extract specific information, such as from a science book
identify parts of speech and devices like similes and metaphors
correctly identify major elements of stories, like time, place, plot, problem, and resolution
read and write on a specific topic for fun, and understand what style is needed
analyze texts for meaning
Reviewed by: Gail S. Diederich, MS
Date reviewed: August 2007
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KidsHealth>Parents>Positive Parenting>All About Reading>Reading Resources
You have a toddler who loves books and stories and may even be ready to read simple books but you aren't
quite sure how to encourage that. Or maybe your school-age child is having trouble reading books for
homework.
Regardless of a child's age or ability level, almost every community has programs and resources that can
help. One of the best is the local library. Besides a wealth of reading materials, many libraries offer storytime programs for babies and toddlers, homework help for school-age youngsters, and summer reading
programs for kids of all ages. Look for recommended reading lists, prize-winning and new books, and
holiday or theme-related books throughout the year.
Also remember that the library offers more than books. You'll also find magazines, activity packs with
puzzles and games that relate to specific topics, lists of recommended websites for research, and audio
recordings of favorite stories. A librarian can make suggestions based on your child's interests and needs.
Nursery school teachers, childcare providers, teachers, and pediatricians are also good resources for reading
information.
Elementary schools often have a reading specialist on staff. These professionals support teachers in the
classroom by working on specific reading skills with individual students, assessing and organizing the
reading curriculum, and acting as a resource for parents. Reading specialists can discuss your child's reading
development and offer suggestions for activities to try at home. They may also offer parent workshops and
provide information about community reading programs.
In many areas, schools and community organizations run literacy programs after school. The reading
specialist or your child's teacher should be able to direct you to such programs in your area.
Lots of kids struggle with reading. The most important thing you can do is get help as soon as possible. If
you're concerned about your child's reading ability, talk to a pediatrician, teacher, or reading specialist.
Reviewed by: Gail S. Diederich, MS
Date reviewed: August 2007
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KidsHealth>Parents>Positive Parenting>All About Reading>School-Age Readers
Listening and Learning
From kindergarten through third grade, kids' ability to read grows by leaps and bounds. Although teachers
provide lots of help, parents continue to play a role in their child's reading life.
A child first learning to read gets more information from listening to books than from reading them
independently. This is especially true of vocabulary — your child will learn more about what words mean by
hearing books read aloud and discussing words with you than from reading on his or her own.
And even as a child's reading skills improve, reading aloud together can foster a sense of closeness and help
improve vocabulary and reading skills. Encouraging kids to talk about characters or share reactions to books
reinforces the connection between books and their own lives. You also show that you take their reading
seriously and care about what they read. Positive, loving attention from you helps your child feel safe,
accomplished, and loved.
Your Growing Reader
Here's how reading usually progresses from kindergarten to third grade:
Kindergarten. Most kindergarteners are on the cusp of becoming readers. They "read" stories by looking at
pictures and relying on memory. By the end of the school year they will probably know most letters and their
sounds and start to read and write simple words. They might be able to read simple text as well.
First grade. In this year, most kids learn to recognize printed words. They sound out words, recognize some
by sight, and know what they mean. Most first-graders can read simple books independently by the end of
the school year.
Second and third grade. By this point, kids should be reading independently, using books to explore new
words, learning about the world around them, reading aloud more expressively, and enjoying specific authors
and types of books. Kids who are not making good reading progress may have a reading disability, such as
dyslexia.
If you have concerns about your child's reading level, talk to your child's teacher, school counselor, and
doctor to find out ways to address the situation.
What to Read
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As your child becomes a more confident reader, continue to introduce a wide range of books. When it comes
to reading aloud, look for two types of books — those that could be read alone and those that are above your
child's current reading level. With this mix, your child can re-read some of these books independently, while
you'll have to do the reading (or at least help) with the challenging ones that allow your child to enjoy a more
sophisticated story and learn new words.
Let your child's interests lead the way when you are choosing books. Sports? Music? Dinosaurs? Look for
books on topics you know are of interest and ones that relate to these things. For example, if you know your
child is interested in whales, look for books that talk about famous explorers or historical fiction set on
whaling boats. As your child gets older, you will find that he or she enjoys increasingly complex books that
can each about the world and introduce social and ethical issues.
Talk about the books your child is reading independently and for school and about favorite topics and
authors. If the author writes a series of books, encourage your child to read them all. Some kids enjoy
keeping a checklist of favorite authors' books.
Other types of books your child may like include:
biographies of famous people
books about kids dealing with challenges
books containing plot twists or language play
mysteries
science fiction and fantasy
Another way to grab your child's interest is to pick books that have a personal connection. Introduce your
childhood favorites and talk about why you love them. Your child may also like to read junior versions of the
same magazines you read.
When and How to Read
The school-age child's schedule can be a busy one. You may be having dinner on the go as you scoot from
soccer practice to music lessons. But if you can find 30 minutes a day to read with your child, you will help
ensure future reading success.
Use the same strategies you did when your child was younger — talk about what you read before, during,
and after, asking open-ended questions that encourage your child's involvement. Read expressively and with
enjoyment.
But at this age, be sure to let your child read a book to you. Or you might choose to take turns reading.
If your child is reading and can't sound out a word, encourage him or her to skip it and read the rest of the
sentence before deciding what word would make sense. As your child becomes a strong independent reader,
you might allow some mistakes while reading, then ask questions to reveal them ("Do you think that word
makes sense in this sentence?"). If your child seems discouraged or tired while reading, offer to take over.
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If you are reading a longer chapter book over time, here are some tips for maintaining your child's interest:
Save questions for the end so your child can simply enjoy the story, but before you begin the next chapter,
talk a little bit about what happened in the previous one.
Re-read lines your child found funny.
Let your child read too (if he or she wants to).
If a block of text is too challenging for your child, don't be afraid to summarize or skip over it.
Ask your child's opinion about a character's actions or decisions. What would he or she do in the same
situation?
Offer your own honest opinions about what you've read, and ask for the same from your child.
Making Time to Read
Reading aloud isn't the only way to encourage kids to read. Provide other chances during day-to-day life, like
cooking together and having your child read you the recipe. Or when you play a new game, ask your child to
read the directions aloud.
Buy a dictionary for kids so that your child can look up definitions of new words, and help him or her look
up the answers to questions in an encyclopedia or online.
Kids should have a library card and lots of opportunities to use it. Let yours make selections or ask the
librarian for help finding books.
As your child gets older and spends less time every day with you, reading together can be a way for you to
connect on a daily basis. Talking about books gives you a window into a child's imagination and thoughts
about the world.
Reviewed by: Laura Bailet, PhD
Date reviewed: April 2006
KidsHealth>Parents>Positive Parenting>All About Reading>Story Time for Preschoolers
Becoming a Reader
"Rattle, shake, screech, roar - who's knockin' at my door?" Matthew tears through the house, a sheet over his
head. "Boom, boom, in my room!" he yells. "A witch is flyin' on her broom!"
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For the past month, Matthew has immersed himself in a world of Halloween books. Although he does not yet
know how to read text, he spends time every day looking at books with spooky ghosts, goblins, and
skeletons. He recites lines he has memorized from the many times his parents have read them aloud. And he
makes up his own, like the ones above. All this adds up to one thing: Matthew is becoming a reader.
Moving Toward School - and Reading
Your preschooler knows a lot of things he or she didn't as a baby. Preschoolers don't read independently, but
if they've been read to a lot, they know a thing or two about reading.
They know books are read from front to back.
Pictures should be right-side up.
Reading is done from left to right.
The language of books is different from spoken language.
Words have different sounds in them.
There are familiar and unfamiliar words.
All of these are emergent literacy skills - important building blocks toward the day when your child will read
independently. How can you encourage your child to further develop these skills? Just keep reading aloud.
Choose lots of different books to read aloud to help your preschooler increase his or her vocabulary, acquire
knowledge about many different topics, and understand how stories are structured and what characters do in
them. Your child also will learn that:
Text is words written down.
Letters in a specific order form a word.
There are spaces between words.
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Understanding these basic concepts will help when your child starts formal reading instruction in school.
When and How to Read
Many children this age have moved beyond the small world of your household to child care or preschool.
They may even be enrolled in lessons or classes. Read-aloud time can be a chance to slow down and spend
time together.
Try to have set times to read together. Before bed works well, as do other "down" times in the day - when
your child first gets up in the morning, or after meals. Your child will enjoy cuddling with you, hearing your
voice, feeling nurtured, and receiving your undivided attention.
Children between the ages of 3 and 5 are eager to show off what they know and love to be praised. Continue
to choose some books with simple plots and repetitive text that your child can learn and retell. Encourage
your child to "read" to you and praise the attempts.
Here are some additional tips:
Yes, you should read that book for the millionth time - and try not to sound bored. Your child is mastering
many skills with each re-reading.
When you are looking at a new book, introduce it. Look at the cover and talk about what it might be about.
Mention the author by name.
Ask your child why a character may have taken a specific action.
Ask what part of the story your child liked best and why.
Talk to your child about the parts of the story - how did it begin? What happened in the middle? What did
he or she think of the ending?
Move your fingers under the words as you read to demonstrate the connection between what you are saying
and the text.
When you come to familiar or repetitive lines, let your child finish them. ("I do not like green eggs and....I
do not like them, Sam....")
Ask your child to point out letters or words he or she might recognize. You might also occasionally point to
words and sound them out slowly while your child watches.
But even as you ask your child more complicated questions, your top goal should be to enjoy reading and
have fun. Don't make reading a book like a test your child needs to pass. Look at the pictures, make up
alternative words together, and be playful and relaxed.
Also, remember that reading comes to different kids at different times. Some children fall in love with books
earlier than others. So if your child is one who doesn't seem as interested right away, just keep reading and
showing how wonderful it can be
The Best Books for Busy Minds
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Preschoolers like books that tell stories; they are also increasingly able to turn paper pages and sit still, so
longer picture books are a good choice for this age group. Continue to read your child books with predictable
texts and familiar vocabulary, but include those that have a richer vocabulary and more complicated plots.
Consider reading chapter books that take more than one session to finish.
Your child is curious and likes reading books about kids who look and act like him or her, but also will want
stories with kids who live in different places and do different things. Expose your child to many characters
and talk about how they act and what decisions they make. Make sure that there are talking animals,
monsters, and fairies in the mix to stimulate your little one's vast imagination.
Reinforce your child's positive feelings about something he or she has learned to do (kick a soccer ball, paint
a picture) by reading books about children who have done the same thing. And pick books that will challenge
your child and help further developing skills. Alphabet books, counting books, or books with lots of new
vocabulary are all good choices.
Books about going to school - especially when your child is about to start preschool or kindergarten - are a
great choice for kids this age. So are books about making friends.
Pick nonfiction books that talk about a single subject of interest to your child - owls, the ocean, the moon,
Borneo - especially if they have great illustrations. And don't forget poetry - preschoolers still love rhymes.
This age group is starting to enjoy jokes, so silly poems or songs will be a huge hit.
Wordless picture books that convey meaning through the illustrations are also a good choice. Once the two of
you have been through a wordless book a couple of times, your child will most likely begin telling you the
story - and may even be found "reading" the story to favorite stuffed animals or dolls.
Try homemade books too - photo albums with captions and scrapbooks captivate preschoolers. When your
child makes drawings, ask him or her what they are, label them, then assemble them into a "book" that you
and your child read together. You can even laminate the pages and have fun creating book covers so that they
will last for years to come.
Books aren't the only things your preschooler will love to read - magazines with lots of pictures and
catalogues also are appealing. And ask people your child loves to send letters or postcards. Read these
together and keep them in a special box where your child can look at them.
Other Ways to Encourage Book Time
Read-aloud time isn't the only opportunity your child should have to spend time with books - preschoolers
love to choose and look at books on their own. Keep books in a basket on the floor or on a low shelf where
your child can reach them easily and look at them independently. Keep some books in the car and always
have a few handy in your bag for long visits to the doctor or lines at the post office.
At this age you might choose to foster independent reading by putting a reading lamp by your child's bed and
letting him or her look at books for a set period of time before going to sleep. And kids who have just given
up naps can be encouraged to spend "quiet time" looking at books on their own.
Most important of all: Remember to let your child catch you reading for enjoyment. Turn off the TV, pull out
a book, and curl up on the couch where your child can see you - and join you with his or her own favorite
book.
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Reviewed by: Barbara P. Homeier, MD
Date reviewed: October 2005
KidsHealth>Parents>Positive Parenting>All About Reading>Storytelling
It may already have happened: When books, toys, songs, snacks, video games, and DVDs have lost their
charm, your child pipes up with "I'm bored! Tell me a story, please." Your mind blanks and your child looks
at you with anticipation. What should you do?
You may not realize it, but you have a wealth of stories to share. You don't have to invent them on the spot.
Personal stories, particularly from your childhood or from books you've read, are good starters.
Preschoolers and toddlers enjoy stories about characters from their favorite books. Whether you take Little
Chick on a walk through the barnyard or Firefighter Bob on an exciting drive through the city, don't worry
too much about plot. Young kids enjoy the chance to share the chick's peeping or the siren's squeal.
Older kids can appreciate a funny twist, so take a favorite story and turn it upside down by changing the
setting, characters, or plot. Make that zany cat with the big striped hat fly to the moon on a spaceship or come
to your neighborhood and cause all kinds of problems. Make your child the main character in a wacky
adventure that fits his or her interests (for example, traveling back to see dinosaurs or working as a train
conductor).
Young kids enjoy hearing stories about you and your family. When did you lose your first tooth? Who was a
favorite teacher? Thinking about Mommy or Daddy as a little kid may spark the imagination. Maybe you
want to share the story, passed down to you, about the ghost that lived in your great-grandmother's attic. And
there's nothing more delightful than a story about the time a parent did something mischievous and the
consequences. Kids delight in these glimpses of a past that is connected to them.
When you tell stories, you show how to put words together to make meaning. You share something new
about yourself that your kids may find interesting or exciting and that might be a springboard for questions
and discussions. Most important, you nurture a love of language and stories that kids will have for life.
So take a deep breath and begin: "Once upon a time …."
Reviewed by: Gail S. Diederich, MS
Date reviewed: August 2007
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KidsHealth>Parents>Positive Parenting>All About Reading>Toddler Reading Time
Small Doses of Reading
Gabrielle takes a break from playing at her kitchen set and reaches into her basket of books. She roots around
until she finds her current favorite by Richard Scarry, then delivers the book to her mother, who knows just
what page to skip to. Gabrielle sits in her mom's lap as the two of them examine the page - her mom names
the orange juice, milk, and waffles and Gabrielle points to the pictures.
Soon, Gabrielle slides off her mother's lap and moves over to her stuffed animals. Her mom knows better
than to try to finish the book. For Gabrielle and lots of other toddlers, these little bits of reading are just right.
Why Should I Read to My Toddler?
Studies show that children with active exposure to language have social and educational advantages over
their peers - and reading is one of the best exposures to language.
Reading to your child lays the foundation for later independent reading. But before your child can read
independently, he or she needs a set of skills called emergent literacy skills. These include:
having a large vocabulary of words and knowing how to use them
understanding that words are made up of smaller sounds (this is called phonemic awareness)
understanding that marks on a page represent letters and words
knowing the letters of the alphabet
You don't need games, flashcards, or special instruction to help your child gain these skills. You just need
books, your child, and you. Reading to your child as often as possible is the best thing you can do to help him
or her learn to read independently.
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Helping the Transition to Toddlerhood
Reading aloud is also an important way to help your child make the transition from babyhood to toddlerhood.
Between the ages of 1 and 3, your child will have triumphs and challenges. It can help for your child to hear
stories about other kids and how they managed fears about what's under the bed and tackled the challenge of
using the potty.
Your child will make big leaps in vocabulary during this time, and will learn about letters, shapes, colors,
weather, animals, seasons - all of which can be reinforced through books. Choose ones with many pictures
your child can point to and name.
But while eager to learn about the world and experience it, your toddler also needs a strong connection with
you. Reading together regularly can strengthen that connection, helping your toddler feel safe and
comfortable.
When and How to Read to Your Toddler
Experts recommend you read to your child as often as you can and that you strive to have at least one
scheduled reading time each day. Choosing regular times to read (especially before naps and bedtime) is a
way to help your child learn to sit with a book and relax. But you can read anytime your child seems in the
mood.
If your toddler will let you, hold him or her in your lap when you read. It's a great spot for:
helping your child feel safe, happy, and relaxed
giving undivided attention
showing new things
inviting participation
You'll find that your toddler has a mind of his or her own and wants to be independent and successful.
Nurture these instincts by offering three or four books to choose from, praising your child's selection, letting
your toddler help you turn pages, and asking for help as you find things on a page. Your child will love to
finish sentences in books with repetitive phrasing or rhymes.
Here are some additional reading tips:
Read whatever books your toddler asks for, even if it's the same book every night for weeks and weeks
(and weeks and weeks).
Read slowly enough for your toddler to understand.
Read expressively, using different voices for different characters and raising or lowering your voice as
appropriate.
Use puppets, finger plays (like the "Itsy Bitsy Spider"), or props while you read.
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Encourage your toddler to clap or sing when you read rhythmic, sing-song books.
Talk about the illustrations with your child. Point to items and name them. Then ask your child to name
them with you and offer enthusiastic praise as he or she does so.
Ask open-ended questions - "Why do you think the lion is going into the woods? What do you think will
happen next?" This encourages your child to think about the story and to ask questions.
Substitute your child's name for the name of a character in the book.
Have fun! Show your child that reading is enjoyable.
Sitting Still Not Required
Trying to read to a toddler who just won't sit still can be frustrating. It's important to be patient and keep
trying. Find a book or a few pages that capture his or her interest. If you can't do that, don't force the reading
but be sure to try again later. Remember that toddlers love repetition - if your child seems uninterested in
books, you may need to find a favorite and read it over and over again.
Some busy toddlers like to stand up while you read to them. Others like to look at a page or two before
moving on to something else. Keep the book out - he or she may want to return to it later, which you should
encourage. Don't worry if your child can't sit still for an entire book - his or her attention span will start to get
longer soon. You might want to keep reading even if your child moves around. Before bedtime, allow your
child to touch and play with favorite toys while you read aloud. The sound of your voice will be a soothing
reminder of your bedtime routine and that books are a part of it.
You may find that your child sits still better while coloring or playing with a favorite toy while you read.
Don't assume that because your child isn't looking at you or the book that he or she isn't interested or
listening.
You want your child to have positive associations with reading, so if you are feeling tense or your child is
resisting, consider setting the book aside and returning to it later.
If your child really doesn't like to spend much time reading, remember that reading to your child is just one
thing you can do to encourage emergent literacy. You also can limit TV, talk to your child throughout the
day, sing songs together, play rhyming games, and make up your own stories together. Don't forget to
provide paper and crayons so your child can practice writing.
Choosing Books for Toddlers
Toddlers want to feel included and competent; choose books that your child can follow along with, especially
those with repetitive text so he or she can fill in words. Maintain your toddler's interest by choosing books
with small amounts of text on the page and books about topics that you know are of interest.
For younger toddlers (12 to 24 months) you'll want sturdy board books with pictures (especially photos) of
kids doing the things they do every day. Books about bedtime, baths, or mealtime are all good choices; so are
books about saying hello or good-bye. Keep active hands busy with lift-the-flap pages and textures to feel.
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Toddlers from 24 to 36 months are beginning to be able to turn paper pages, so this is a good time to expand
beyond board books. They are also beginning to understand the mechanics of reading and like books that are
repetitive and easy to memorize so that they can "read" along.
By now you will start to know what your child's passions are - whether trains, trucks, or stuffed bears, find
books about these things of interest. Children this age also like books about children, families, and animals.
Toddlers love to look at homemade books, scrapbooks, or photo albums full of people they know (try adding
simple captions). Poetry and songbooks are good choices for this age group too. You may find that story time
turns into sing-along time.
Making Books Readily Available
Read-aloud time isn't the only opportunity your child should have to spend time with books - toddlers love to
choose and look at books on their own. Keep books in a basket on the floor or on a low shelf where your
child can reach them easily and look at them independently. Keep some books in the car and always have a
few handy in your bag for long waits at the doctor or lines at the post office.
Take your child to the library or the bookstore and let him or her select books to read at home. Many libraries
and bookstores have toddler story times that your child might enjoy. And let your child see you reading - he
or she is sure to imitate you.
Reviewed by: Laura Bailet, PhD
Date reviewed: April 2006
KidsHealth>Parents>Positive Parenting>All About Reading>Your Child's Handwriting
Before you read this article, quickly write the answer to this question: What is your favorite color?
This might've seemed like an automatic and mindless task, but your body and mind had to work closely
together to complete a series of steps in the right order. You had to pick up a pen or pencil, hold it steady,
remember what color you wanted to use as an answer, think about what letters appear in the word and in
what order, move your wrist and hand in the right way to shape the letters, follow what you wrote with your
eyes, and apply the proper amount of pressure to the paper.
Learning to Write
Even though we do it every day, writing is one of the most complex tasks that humans engage in, involving
both motor and critical-thinking skills. It's not surprising that learning to write is a process that takes years to
complete. It also happens in order, with each skill building on the last.
As with reading, kids are aware of writing from infancy, especially when they're exposed to it regularly. By
being read to and seeing you write, your child begins to understand at a very young age that written words
have meaning.
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It's only a matter of time before kids start trying to create words on their own. All children start writing by
scribbling, an activity most toddlers enjoy. To do it, they must use coordination to hold the crayon, keep the
paper still, and apply enough pressure to make a mark on the paper.
As time goes on, with lots of practice, they'll start to realize that not only can they make marks to create a
pattern, but by repeating the same movements, they can make the pattern again
Practicing Writing
At around 3 or 4 years old, kids may start to practice writing, and included among the scribbles may be
recognizable letters. For example, you may notice your child writes all of the letters of his or her name in a
seemingly random way on different parts of the piece of paper. That's because kids learn to write individual
letters before they learn how to put them together to form a word.
As they continue to read and develop an understanding of how words work, kids start to understand how to
group letters into words. Between kindergarten and first grade, most learn to put letters together into words
and will use these words to label pictures that they draw. Kids this age usually use only capital letters and
will not include spaces between words. They will also use "invented spelling," writing words with no vowels
(for example, BBYDLL for baby doll).
Eventually, with practice and formal schooling, kids learn what are called the conventions of print — writing
from left to right, the difference between upper- and lowercase letters, how to put spaces between words, and
how to use correct spelling in most instances.
As your child gets older and develops more motor control, his or her handwriting will become smaller and
neater. Between second and fourth grade, kids learn to write in cursive and will apply the conventions of
handwriting automatically.
Importance of Handwriting
Even as we move to a society driven by keyboards, kids still need to learn to write by hand. Handwriting is
so much more than simply putting letters on a page; it is a key part of learning to read and communicate. In
fact, experts think that developing writing skills reinforces reading skills and vice versa. In order to read, a
child needs to understand that letters stand for sounds and that the sounds are put together to make words.
Learning to write letters is an important part of this understanding.
When preschoolers start imitating the letters that they see around them, they show that they understand the
connection between the sounds they hear and the words they see on the page. When kindergartners use
"invented" spelling, they're practicing writing words the way they sound, which helps them as they learn to
read. When first-graders use words to create a poem or write about an experience, they're experimenting with
language and sharing their stories with those around them.
As kids grow older and start to use a keyboard, the motor control and communication skills they've gained
through handwriting will help them become more successful writers because they'll know how to transfer
their thoughts into words.
Handwriting is also important because kids are required to use it daily in school from kindergarten on.
Children who struggle with the mechanics of handwriting may have trouble taking notes or tests or
completing their schoolwork. This can affect both their self-esteem and their attitude toward school.
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Encouraging Handwriting
An important part of helping kids develop early literacy skills is giving them chances to practice. As soon as
your child is old enough to scribble (as early as 1 year old for some kids) offer some fat, chunky crayons or
markers and a big piece of paper and let him or her experiment.
As your child grows older, create a special art center with lots of paper (you can bring scrap paper home from
work or save junk mail) and many different kinds of art supplies like markers, crayons, colored pencils, and
paint and brushes. You can even encourage your child to practice writing and drawing while you're outside,
providing sidewalk chalk or a bucket of water and a brush to "paint" on the pavement. The more practice kids
get using their hands in this way, the more they'll develop the muscles, skills, and coordination necessary for
forming letters.
As your child enters school and starts practicing writing there, continue to find ways to practice at home too.
Suggest writing letters and thank-you notes to friends and family. Ask for help writing a list or recipe. Buy a
notebook to use as a journal and suggest that your child spend time at the end of each day writing in it.
If your child's handwriting continues to be messy and hard to read even after formal instruction at school, try
these tips:
Help your child take it slow. Many kids struggle with writing because they try to do it quickly.
Encourage your child to take time to form the letters carefully.
Explain that mistakes happen. Teach your child how to use an eraser.
Reinforce proper letter formation. Find out from your child's teacher how he or she should be forming
letters, and then encourage your child to practice writing using those patterns. Using lined paper can be
helpful.
Make sure pencil is properly positioned. Ideally your child will use what is called a tripod grasp. This
means the pencil should rest near the base of the thumb, held in place with the thumb, index, and middle
fingers. Plastic pencil grips sold at office supply stores may help if your child has trouble holding a pencil
properly.
Expose your child to lots of words. You can do this by reading regularly together, pointing out words
that surround you (such as street signs or product labels), and by hanging up examples of your child's
writing around the house.
It is important for all kids, even those who struggle to write, to practice using their handwriting. It is also
certainly OK to have them start practicing keyboarding skills, even at a young age. But unless an
occupational therapist recommends it, kids should not use a computer with a keyboard to complete
schoolwork that their peers are completing by hand.
Signs of Handwriting Problems
Kids develop at different rates, and just like adults, handwriting varies greatly among them. Some kids have
trouble learning the direction letters go in; others struggle to write neatly or use cursive writing.
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Sometimes writing problems can be a sign of other issues such as developmental delay or learning
disabilities. Often these problems have multiple symptoms, with writing being only one component.
Conditions that can affect a child's ability to write include:
memory problems that prevent a child from remembering spelling, grammar, or punctuation rules language
problems that cause difficulty with word pronunciation, spelling, and sentence structure visual or sequential
ordering problems that cause uneven spacing of words, and inability to make lists or put ideas in order
dystrophic, a neurological disorder characterized by writing difficulties (such as distorted letters or
misspellings) regardless of reading ability
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
Children with cerebral palsy or Down syndrome also may have trouble learning to write.
Signs that a child may need additional assistance with learning how to write include a very awkward pencil
grip, illegible handwriting, difficulty forming letters, an inability to concentrate and complete writing tasks,
avoiding writing, many misspelled words, letters or words that don't follow correct sequence, incorrect
placement of words on the page, uneven spacing between letters, a large gap between spoken language and
writing ability, and an exceptionally slow and difficult time writing.
If your child is struggling with writing, you may choose to have him or her assessed by an occupational
therapist. This can help you determine if your child needs actual therapy and tutoring or just some additional
writing practice at home.
Learning to read and write is key to success at school and in life. So whether you work together to make a
book or spend time on the weekend writing letters to Grandma, when you write with your child, you help him
or her develop important skills.
Reviewed by: Wendy Harron, BS, OTR/L
Date reviewed: September 2008
What are the benefits of reading books and can it improve my social and
speaking skills?
I've never been an avid reader; I only ever read books when I had to in school. Sometimes I'll come across a
book that a movie was based on and read it, and enjoy it. Right now I'm half way through the Band of
Brothers book.
Anyway, It always seems to be that book worms are very smart and articulate when they talk. I often mumble
and sometimes don't get my point across when I talk. If I'm reading books, will it eventually improve my
talking?
Additional Details
Not sure if it matters but I read the newspaper everyday from start to finish, although it's a tabloid. I should probably
start reading broadsheet newspapers and read more of the discursive sections.
Best Answer - Chosen by Voters
It felt like I was the one asking that exact question. I'm actually trying to read right now to improve my mind, and to
improve the way I talk and communicate to others. I also mumble and not getting my point across when I talk, and I'm
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trying to stop that (So you're not alone buddy). I hope reading can shape my personality and speaking skills. I actually
think that reading really do help you with your speaking skills because when you read, it puts words in your head, and
the more words you put in your head, the better you'll speak, the better you'll think, and the smarter you'll get.. Not
only reading shapes up the way you talk, but also being active, and stepping out the house to see the world helps you
communicate to others well too..Because when staying home too much, and watching TV.. Basically, you're feeding
your brain with garbage, so you have to read, and go out and be active, talk alot, and love what your doing .. It can
really change your life, and gets you to be very sociable and smart.
Also, it can make you tell stories to friends and family without forgetting what you're trying to say. Reading helps, and
I'm planning to go Barnes and noble sometimes this week to purchase a good book. I hope it helps you too..
Other Answers (3

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People are infinitely different,they think,feel,react,have fun and live in infinitely different ways.Some of
them had such a strong interest in letting others share their experiences and feelings.
There are still more people,the philosophers and scientists, with better abilities at understanding
Life,Nature,People and the Universe.
People lived differently in different ages and their lives are written as History
The only problem should be that there are millions of books and you won't have enough time to read even
a minute fraction of them
So choose the books which interest you ,the books you may need to grow your skills and be happy in the
company of the wise and the learned men who will give you company whenever you choose,through their
books.
You know what is awesome about reading. The author is letting you access his/her mind. The more you
understand others and understand how people interact the more articulate you will become. Reading is a
powerful strategy. By the way, you are a reader, but a selective one. You have high standards about what
you read. Good for you. Also there are many medias that can bring information to you. Use them.
yes
because it will tell you things you can do to improve yourself
detail by detail
What are the benefits of reading?
Answer
There are a lot of benefits of reading... but here are a few:
It expands your vocabulary. It improves your spelling. It helps you understand different ways of life. It helps
you understand different ideas. It helps you learn to communicate. It helps us find other people like
ourselves. It can be fun to read new stories and find out what happens. It expands your imagination. It helps
you know what other people know, so that instead of repeating their mistakes and experiments, you can
expand upon them and go farther as a community. It helps you drive from one place to another. It allows you
the freedom to find out what other humans have had to say over the years. It helps you know what drugs are
in which bottles. It helps when you have to mute the TV because you can read the subtitles and still know
what is happening. It helps you go on the internet and interact.
I could go on... for days, probably. But that is a start.
A few important 'practical' benefits of reading can be:
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Reading can make one learn not only languages but cultures and rituals of civilizations by making an
individual live the past, present or future of places he or she has never been to.
It is like a manual to handle a device called life where in there are so many possible situations and options
where in what counts is the experience. Reading makes an individual benefit out of the worldly experiences
of people and help shape an intellect out of that learning, help take decisions on occasions where in one has
to be in the same shoes as that of any other individual already been there.
The Benefits Of Reading Books
Reading books is a habit that is popularly taken up by more and more people. It benefits our lives by
improving our knowledge to a large extent, helping us relax and become more confident in communication.
Improving knowledge
Those who take up reading as a habit have more opportunity to gain vast knowledge. Routine reading
assists people to expand their horizons since they understand more about the world, the people and the
many events happening in every corner.
For children, a reading habit is even more useful in terms of boosting vocabulary and improving writing
skills. Regular reading helps the kids enrich their limited vocabulary and the way to use it in the most
precise way.
Moreover, reading different books written by different authors enable children to imitate the way in which
these writers put down their thoughts. There are no activities that can contribute to support the teens in
building, improving and maintaining their vocabulary and comprehension skills like reading books. It is one
of the reasons why many schools equip their libraries with the abundance of books in order to encourage
reading habits among children. The more they read, the more valuable information they pick up, then they
are able to have a solid core of knowledge.
Researchers showed that teens that have reading habits can get better academic records than those who do
not. So, parents and schools should give their children more opportunity to access more books, so that they
are able to enhance their learning and knowledge.
Relaxing
Reading books is considered to be one way of entertaining or relaxing. People can enjoy an interesting book
to relieve stress after a working day. It is also convenient for them to read books at home, in their car, on the
bus or anywhere they like. A favorite book can aid them to feel comfortable, providing them more energy to
continue working or doing other daily activities.
For some people, reading books becomes a relieving pill for their tired minds, which is vital for their
existence. For teenagers, reading good books can bring a great deal of pleasure. Being interested in reading,
they will avoid the addiction of online games or violent films which are tremendously dangerous for their
development. Therefore, parents are advised to encourage the children to read as many books as possible.
Boosting confidence
Reading books brings more confidence to the readers in communication. When you have a solid core of
knowledge, you will be able to make sure of what you are going to say or what you hear from other people.
No one can look down on you due to your deep knowledge and correct information, which is important for
your self-esteem.
It is undoubtedly undeniable that a reading habit enables you to gain admiration and respect from others.
For the old, reading books plays an important part in assisting them not to be left behind of the young. By
improving knowledge with the updated information that they get from books, they can keep their minds
fresh and also be aware of the new things or changes in life. They still feel confident in communicating or
educating their children.
Clearly, no one can deny all of these benefits that are offered by the habit of reading books. A routine
reading can have positive influences on our lives by strengthening us mentally, spiritually and socially.
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Reading Books - Your best companion is a book.
Your best companion is a book
An activity that brings about joy is for you to read a book and develop your mind through the acquisition of
knowledge.
Al-Jaahiz, an Arab writer from centuries ago, advised one to repel anxiety through the reading of books:
"The book is a companion that does not praise you and does not entice you to evil. It is a friend
that does not bore you, and it is a neighbor that causes you no harm. It is an
acquaintance that desires not to extract from you favors through flattery, and it does not
deceive you with duplicity and lies. When you are poring through the pages of a book,
your senses are stimulated and your intellect sharpens... Through reading the
biographies of others, you gain an appreciation of common people while learning the
ways of kings. It can even be said that you sometimes learn from the pages of a book in
a month, that which you do not learn from the tongues of men in a century. All this
benefit, yet no loss in wealth and no need to stand at the door of the teacher who is
waiting for his fees or to learn from someone who is lower than you in manners. The
book obeys you by night as it does by day, both when you are traveling and when you are at home. A book is
not impaired by sleep nor does it tire in the late hours of the night. It is the teacher who is there for you
whenever you are in need of it, and it is the teacher who, if you refuse to give to it, does not refuse to give to
you. If you abandon it, it does not decrease in obedience. And when all turn against you, showing you
enmity, it remains by your side. As long as you are remotely attached to a book, it suffices you from having
to keep company with those that are idle. It prevents you from sitting on your doorstep and watching those
who pass by. It saves you from mixing with those that are frivolous in their character, foul in their speech,
and woeful in their ignorance. If the only benefit of a book was that it keeps you from foolish daydreaming
and prevents you from frivolity, it would certainly be considered a true friend who has given you a great
favor."
Sayings that deal with the virtues of books
Abu `Ubaydah said:
"Al-Muhallab gave his son the following advice: `O' son, do not linger in the marketplace unless you are
visiting the maker of armor or the book vendor."'
Al-Hasan al-Lulu'ee said:
"Forty years have passed, and I have not dozed off in the day or in the night...except that a book was resting
on my chest."
Ibn al-Jahm said:
"If I feel drowsy when it is time to sleep — and wasteful is the sleep that exceeds one's needs — I take up a
book from the books of wisdom and I find bliss in coming across a pearl (of wisdom).... I am more alert
when I am happily engaged in reading and learning than I am when I hear the braying of the donkey or the
shrill noise of something breaking."
He also said:
"If I find a book to be agreeable and enjoyable, and if I deem it to be beneficial, you will see me hour after
hour checking how many pages are left, from fear of being close to the end. And if it is many volumes with a
great number of pages, my life and my happiness are complete."
And the best, highest, and worthiest of books is:
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Why Books Are Good for Adults
The Benefits of Reading for Grown-up Mental Health and Happiness
© Michelle Pannecoucke
Apr 2, 2009
With age and an ever busier life, it can be difficult to think of reading as a good pass-time. No one; however,
should miss out on the benefits of reading good books.
Reading is a great pass-time for children as they grow and mature. If the love for books that can easily be
instilled into young children continues into adulthood, the benefits of reading will continue with it. Not only
is it a healthy personal and family activity, but reading is an excellent way to keep learning and to exercise
the mind.
Reading a Personal and Family Activity
Reading is an excellent personal pass-time. Silently reading a book or a magazine is a great way to leave the
world behind and have alone time. Reading will take attention off the cares of life and exercise the
imagination. And whether it is realized or not, reading is an excellent learning strategy that takes little effort.
Reading also makes a nice family pass-time. Choosing a book that every one can enjoy and reading it with
the spouse, the children or both is a good way to spend a quiet evening. It is difficult with today’s television
and movies to remember to take the time to have quiet evenings in this way. One would find; however, that
reading is not only healthier than other media, but can be just as fun.
Classics to Contemporary
Reading classics is an excellent and interesting way to learn about cultures and history through the books that
influenced their own time periods. This list may help in finding good, enjoyable classics. Some who are not
great readers would not enjoy reading the classics for themselves, partly because of the language. In such a
case, listening to someone else read may be more enjoyable, hence the family activity. Audio books are also
a good choice and are ever-growing in popularity. Another great aspect to audio books is that they can be
listened to while falling asleep at night, while doing chores or other duties around the house and while
driving.
For those who like visual stimulation and don’t necessarily find that with only words on the page, graphic
novels are quickly becoming part of the media. A graphic novel is not a comic book. Comic books are mostly
pictures and partly punch lines that are meant to receive a chuckle. Graphic novels are fairly evenly split
between pictures and words and are not necessarily just for the comedy.
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Learning and Good Mental Health
Beyond the classics, reading is a great way to learn about almost anything, especially for readers who prefer
non-fiction. There are mountains of non-fiction books that can and will educate on anything there is to know.
People who are not great readers may find more motivation to read shorter and highly interesting non-fiction
than the kinds of books an avid reader might choose.
As children mature, reading helps improve their language skills and build their imagination and creativity.
The children also learn a lesson through the books that they are taught. These benefits do continue through
the teen years and into adulthood, even after schooling is completed, if the love for books remains. Reading
may also help prevent old age memory loss.
THE BENEFITS OF READING ALOUD TO YOUR CHILD
Reading to your child is one of the most powerful gifts you could ever give them. Here are just a few of my
favorite reasons to read a book to your youngster.

Children yearn to get their loved one's undivided attention. Reading a book out loud is all about
snuggling, cuddling, sharing, and bonding. Book time becomes a daily routine that wonderful
memories are made of. Make it a bedtime tradition.
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Reading aloud increases a child's attending and listening skills.
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Reading books aloud can be more exciting than any TV program! Children get to watch a "live"
storyteller with real-life expressions, vocalizations and gestures. Your enthusiasm will surely
transport them to special places and events.

As a speech-language pathologist, I'm in the business of helping children talk. You'll never find my
therapy bag without a book inside! Books build vocabulary, comprehension, and language
skills. Reading aloud prepares a child to read and write. I even use books to help children improve
their speech development.
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By reading the same story over and over you will soon find your young child taking the book and
"reading" the story back to you or to themselves. Memorizing a great read aloud helps your child
learn sentence structure and the connection between the oral/printed word.
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Reading aloud improves your child's creativity and imagination.
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Reading aloud encourages your child to become their own storyteller.
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Books are great teachers of different emotions like sadness, fear, anger, and joy.
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
Wonderful discussions can follow reading! Ask your child questions about a story. You will find
your child beginning to ask you questions! This is an optimum time to relate a book to your child's
own life or to personal issues at home.
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Click here to find numerous read-aloud strategies to use with the story CAN'T CATCH A
BUTTERFLY. You will also find loads of butterfly activities, games, songs and crafts to continue
the learning theme.
GREAT PARENT RESOURCE ON READING ALOUD
If you want a wonderful parenting book on reading aloud to children then here it is... The Read Aloud
Handbook by Jim Trelease. It's packed with all of the whys to read aloud, when to begin, the stages of
reading aloud, and a list of do's and don'ts. He includes a list of favorite read-aloud books. The best part
about his handbook is that all of his information is backed up by solid research findings. Don't take just my
word for it! Above is the link with a review article of Jim Trelease's handbook. I also enjoyed the comments
from parents, teachers, and extended caregivers that follow this review.
Here is another article called Reading Aloud - Is it Worth It? The author Jim Trelease talks with Education
World about the value of reading aloud.
DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONE CHECKLIST
Checkpoints for Progress in Reading & Writing for Families and Communities was
developed by a subgroup of the America Reads Challenge: READ*WRITE*NOW!
Partners Group. This resource easily explains the reading and writing skills children should
attain at each age/grade level. The checklist not only includes skill expectations but also
includes strategies and a reading list to help your child at each developmental level.
Their information also includes numerous literacy resources, federal sources for assistance, and sources of
assistance if your child has a reading or learning disability.
Reading Rockets is a national multimedia project funded by the US Department of Education. They offer
numerous resources on how kids learn to read, why so many struggle and how adults can help. This
organization includes information on building skills at home, early signs of trouble and reading resources to
supporty children in learning to read.
The Benefits of Reading Aloud
Thursday April 22, 2004
If you read to your child on a regular basis, it will benefit your child in several ways. According to "Put Reading
First: The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read", teachers should, "Encourage parents or other
family members to read aloud to their children at home. The more models of fluent reading the children hear, the
better. Of course, hearing a model of fluent reading is not the only benefit of reading aloud to children. Reading to
children also increases their knowledge of the world, their vocabulary, their familiarity with written language ('book
language'), and their interest in reading."
If you are interested in knowing more about children's books that are good read alouds, the reasons it is important
to read aloud, and suggestions for doing it well, check out my Read Alouds Subjects directory of links to Guide
articles and other online resources.
Then, let me know your reading aloud experiences by participating in the About Children's Books survey on reading
aloud.
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About The Partnership for Reading
The Partnership for Reading is a collaborative effort by three federal agencies - the National Institute for
Literacy (NIFL), the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), and the U.S.
Department of Education - to bring the findings of evidence-based reading research to the educational
community, families, and others with an interest in helping all people learn to read well. First established in
2000, The Partnership is now authorized by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (P.L. 107-110).
The Partnership's mission is to disseminate evidence-based research, a focus that makes it substantively
different from earlier information dissemination efforts and clearinghouses. This mandate to use evidencebased research as the basis for making decisions about reading instruction was advanced by the work of the
National Reading Panel (NRP), assigned by Congress in 1997 to review the available research. Setting high
standards for research quality, the NRP examined more than 460 studies to extract the essential findings
about what has been scientifically proven to work in reading instruction.
The work of the NRP was just the beginning. Through ongoing, high quality research, our understanding of
how to teach reading will continue to grow. The Partnership for Reading will stay at the forefront of that
effort in several ways. First, The Partnership will bring the substantial body of evidence established by the
NRP to the educational community through products and events that articulate the findings for a wide range
of audiences. Second, it will continue to build the connection between scientific evidence and strategies used
in classrooms and at home to make children better learners. And finally, The Partnership will add to the body
of knowledge through continual review of new and existing research, using high standards of research
quality.
Last updated: Tuesday, 30-Jun-2009 09:18:19 EDT
Facts About Reading Aloud
Source: Family Reading. NCES Fast Facts. National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of
Education.
Reading to young children promotes language acquisition and literacy development and, later on,
achievement in reading comprehension and overall success in school. The percentage of young children read
aloud to daily by a family member is one indicator of how well young children are prepared for school. In
particular, a mother's education is consistently related to whether or not children are read to by a family
member.
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In 1999, 53 percent of children ages 3 to 5 were read to daily by a family member, the same as in 1993
after increasing to 57 percent in 1996.
As a mother's education increases, so does the likelihood that her child is read to every day. In 1999, 70
percent of children whose mothers were college graduates were read aloud to every day. In comparison,
daily reading aloud occurred for 53 percent of children whose mothers had some postsecondary
education, 44 percent whose mothers had completed high school but had no education beyond that, and
38 percent whose mothers had not completed high school.
White, non-Hispanic children are more likely to be read aloud to every day than either black, nonHispanic or Hispanic children. Sixty-one percent of white, non-Hispanic children, 41 percent of black,
non-Hispanic children, and 33 percent of Hispanic children were read to every day.
Children in families with incomes below the poverty line are less likely to be read aloud to every day than
are children in families with incomes at or above the poverty line. Thirty-eight percent of children in
families in poverty were read to every day in 1999, down from 46 percent in 1996, compared with 58
percent of children in families at or above the poverty line, which is down from 61 percent in 1996.
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Reading Aloud -- Is It Worth It?
Why do teachers read aloud to their students? Are the benefits of reading aloud worth the time? Many
teachers believe reading aloud enhances classroom instruction and improves academic achievement -- and
recent research supports their belief. Included: Jim Trelease, author of The Read-Aloud Handbook, talks with
Education World about the value of reading aloud!
"During read-aloud, we share the excitement, the suspense, the emotion, and the sheer fun of a new book and
its intriguing or annoying characters," said Nancy Lacedonia, who teaches in East Longmeadow,
Massachusetts.
Lacedonia recognizes the value of reading aloud and has often listened to the moans and groans of her
students at the end of read-aloud time. She wondered How does the classroom teacher decide what to read to
his or her students?
Intrigued by the benefits of reading aloud, Lacedonia created a survey to determine how teachers decide
which books to read-aloud. She surveyed 93 Massachusetts K through 12 teachers working in urban,
suburban, and rural school settings.
The results of that survey, published in "Why Do Teachers Read Aloud?" (The NERA Journal, Volume 35,
Number 1, 1999), proved to Lacedonia that reading aloud is not a hit-or-miss activity. The survey showed
that 70 percent of primary-grade teachers read to their students every day and 37 percent of secondary-school
teachers read at least three or four times a week.
Teachers at all levels said they chose read-alouds that related to a theme or topic of study, and they placed a
strong emphasis on fostering a love of literature.
READING ALOUD IMPROVES THE CLASSROOM CLIMATE
Mary Bowman-Kruhm, a faculty associate at the Johns Hopkins School of Professional Studies in Business
and Education, teaches reading classes for prospective special-education teachers. "I read to my graduate
students at the beginning of class…because it gives them time to get settled and to clear their minds of the
day's activities," she told Education World.
"As a beginning teacher," Bowman-Kruhm continued, "I quickly became aware that reading aloud to my
class had benefits... my students became very quiet, they heard some good literature, and they got through an
entire book. One student said it was the first book he had read in its entirety since first grade."
What Bowman-Kruhm learned from reading to her secondary and graduate students is true of students at all
age levels. Probably the most important daily activity parents and teachers can do with pre-school and
kindergarten children is to read aloud.
THE PRINT-RICH ENVIRONMENT
Print-rich classrooms offer a variety of books that take into account the different levels of ability and
disability in the classroom. "The wider the variety of books, the greater the variety of children whose
interests will be either met or provoked," Jim Trelease, author of The Read-Aloud Handbook, told Education
World.
For instance, children with reading disabilities "build visual images before the printed word becomes
meaningful. The child who cannot read or struggles with it can still find meaning in the picture of whales or
wolves or werewolves. A child who can store those images in the imagination will be better prepared for the
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word w-h-a-l-e when he or she is trying to decode it. If there is no visual image to match the word, it's a
foreign language immediately," said Trelease.
There is a downside. Without a print-rich reading environment, reading achievement flounders. In a preview
of the 2000 edition of The Read-Aloud Handbook, Trelease quotes the results of a 1996 University of
Southern California research study.
The researchers examined the print climate in classrooms of three California communities. They found that
students in schools with book ratios of only three books to every one pupil (versus the national average of
18:1) had low reading scores and few students went on to college.
"As the research shows, low reading scores have…much to do with the print climate," added Trelease.
"Readers raise readers because they do the raising in an environment that nurtures it."
INCREASE THE RATIO OF BOOKS TO STUDENTS
It's possible to develop an outstanding read-aloud program in an impoverished school district. "Reading to
children costs nothing! No matter how poor the community, it costs nothing for a teacher to read to a class.
They take their library card, borrow a book, and then read to the class. Money has nothing to do with it,"
Trelease told Education World.
Trelease provides tips for developing print-rich schools even if funding new books isn't possible.
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Learn about the research connecting the richness of print with good school scores.
Educate school board members about print in the classroom. Since the board members vote on the budget,
they must also know the research and the teachers' needs.
Read more contemporary children's literature for their grade level. "You cannot order or request what you don't
know about."
Post a classroom "wish list" of books. Those lists will give parents an idea of what they can give to the
classroom. Start a birthday book program, and ask parents to donate a book on their child's birthday.
Learn how to write grants. Then look for funds to build print-rich classrooms. For instance, Microsoft gives
away $2.1 million a day, according to Trelease.
MAKING READING ALOUD WORK -- THREE EXAMPLES
Julie Coiro, a special-education teacher and contributing editor for Suite 101.com, ties reading aloud to a
curriculum theme. To give her students a broad perspective, she collects nonfiction and fiction related to
particular themes.
"I like to pull in books at many different reading levels," Coiro told Education World. "This way readers will
appreciate the occasional book that's too easy, but informative, and the book that's way too difficult to read
but has great pictures."
Other ways teachers use reading aloud to enrich the curriculum include the following:
Read aloud for comprehension.
Repeated reading not only helps children learn to read but also has an impact on school success. Lifelong
enjoyment of reading is directly related to daily reading. Children see the pictures and print up close, ask
questions, and make comments.
"I read aloud to share wonderful stories, poems, and factual texts with children," wrote Sharon Taberski in an
Instructor magazine article, "Motivating Readers" (May/June 1998). "Sometimes I select chapter books that
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are slightly above the children's independent reading level or picture books that lend themselves to stop-andstart discussions."
Daily read-alouds help children "internalize language and structures they'll apply to their own reading one
day. My daily read-alouds also demonstrate how to understand what's being read."
Taberski suggests three comprehension strategies for class read-alouds.

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Strategy 1: Think about the story. "When I read the story, I stop at various points. My students and I then
discuss what's happening and what we think will happen next."
Strategy 2: Map the characters. "As we read the story, we continually refer back to what we already know
about the characters and add new information. The children make predictions based on this information."
Strategy 3: Map the story. The story map includes information about the characters, setting, problem, main
events, and resolution. The students review the story map before reading a new chapter.
"Because I introduce these strategies during read-aloud, the children support one another and become
confident enough to try strategies on their own," Taberski added.
Read to highlight math concepts.
"When I plan for reading aloud during math time, I choose books that invite my students to think and talk
mathematically, that pose a problem, or that highlight a particular math concept or strategy," said Donna
Maxim. She works at the Center for Teaching and Learning in Edgecomb, Maine. (See "Math Reading
Aloud," The NERA Journal, Volume 34, Number 1, 1998.)
"Children's literature plays an important role in confirming the notion that math is more than computation on
paper and provides opportunities for learners to develop the language of math," Maxim explained.
To help students predict the outcome of a book, Maxim asks what the title might mean? What problems
might be posed? "I teach math concepts and strategies during math class and use literature as a resource when
teaching math concepts," she said.
Two examples of books she uses to teach children to think and talk mathematically are:

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Counting on Frank by Rod Clements (Garth Stevens Publishing, 1991). The main characters are Frank, a dog,
and his master. The young boy and dog make wild calculations and share bizarre information about many things.
The book gives students opportunities to solve problems as a group.
How Much Is a Million? by David M. Schwartz (Scholastic, 1985). The author explains large numbers to
children by comparing the numbers to concepts familiar to children. "If you wanted to count to a million, it would
take you about 23 days."
Involve parents and others.
Dr. Jimmy Cook, teaching editor for Teaching K-8, likes the warm, fuzzy feeling he gets when he reads to
students.
In a Teaching K-8 article he wrote, "It's All in the Telling" (February 1998), Cook recommends that teachers
build a portfolio of entertaining, informative and age-appropriate read-aloud books and invite a guest to read
at least once a week. Likely candidates include parents and grandparents, the city mayor, and the chief of
police. "Children become excited when a new face arrives to perform some act of kindness in the classroom,"
said Cook.
How important is reading aloud? Catherine Paglin seemed to answer this question in In the Beginning, an
article published in NW Education Magazine (Fall 1998). "From being read to repeatedly, children learn that
reading is enjoyable, that pictures provide clues to the story, that books and print go from left to right, that
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print represents words and meaning, that stories have a beginning and an end. By listening, watching, and
asking questions, they add to their vocabulary and increase their comprehension."
Article by Wesley Sharpe, Ed.D.
Education World®
Copyright © 2009 Education World
The Benefits of Reading Books. The Shared Book Reading Method
The benefits of reading books are well known to many in the teaching and speech pathology professions.
On this page, I would like to introduce to you the idea of children's literature being used
as the focus of language intervention.
The term 'reading books' refers to well written picture books, used as a language
teaching tool.
There is a large amount of research data that supports the efficacy of Shared Book Reading. Even though the
success of text-based intervention is well catalouged, it is not well known, particularly in Australia.
Certainly, the benefits of reading books are appreciated by most. It's recognised that a large percentage of a
school child's academic education is centred around being able to read and comprehend books, both fiction
and non-fiction texts.
Yet the method of using children's books as an oral and written language therapy tool is not practised widely
by speech clinicians.
This website is a partial response to promoting this highly effective language intervention tool.
A Night on the Town
I recently had a night out with a friend at a Brunswick street bar in Melbourne. Some of the new bars in
Brunswick street are amazing.
This particular bar was a retro 70's type place with deep couches, soft lighting, and very pricey cocktails.
Toward the end of the evening I could barely move, and didn't really want to.
The conversations we had were many and varied. And yes, we solved...ahem...many of the world's most
pressing problems that night.
Memes and Speech Pathology Practice
One conversation stuck with me in particular. It was on the subject of memes. Memes was
first coined by Richard Dawkins in his book the Selfish Gene.
Memes are ideas or behaviors that pass from one person to another, sometimes generation
to generation, often without reflection of their continued relevance.
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Examples of memes include ceremonies, songs, dance, scientific ideas and theories. Memes can be a good
thing. Passed on memes are sometimes necessary for a particular culture to help retain rich traditions.
Unfortunately memes can also lead to certain ideas and theories being 'set in concrete.' There are several
memes that are well entrenched in both the teaching and speech pathology professions.
The defining trait of a meme is that it is resistant to change.
For a more eloquent and detailed discussion of memes in speech pathology practice please read Language
Intervention for School-Age Students , pages 124 - 126 by Geraldine Wallach.
Traditional Language Intervention is like Windows 95
I like to compare traditional language intervention to Windows 95. Windows 95 was revolutionary in its day,
but cannot really compare to Windows XP or Vista as an operating system.
It could be argued that the same is true of traditional language intervention. It still has its place and is still
effective, but has been succeeded by a more advanced operating system: text-based intervention.
I was taught language intervention in a certain way, by both lecturers and supervising clinicians.
I was taught theories based on research of language learning systems developed, sometimes, 30 years ago.
My experience as a speech pathology student is reflected in the way current speech pathology students are
taught language theory and intervention. I don't think much has changed in the past 10 years.
Of course, that's not to say that traditional language intervention has little benefit. There is much to like about
it. I continue to use traditional language therapy tools, but I now use them as a complement to Shared
Strategic Reading.
The two systems work well in tandem, so long as therapy goals are clearly defined. The benefits of reading
books to children combined with traditional language intervention works very well.
The ideas I intend to present on this site I don't expect all to agree with, but that's ok. At the very least, it
should provide a lively debate.
The reality is, language intervention is still in its infancy. It's early days. The more that researchers learn
about language functions the more refined and improved language intervention will become over the journey.
I really believe that.
This is an exciting time for the speech pathology profession
http://www.thekidswindow.co.uk/childbooks/benefits-of-reading.htm
The Benefits of Reading Books by Different Authors
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There is nothing quite like sitting down with a coffee and grabbing that latest bestseller to get stuck into for
half an hour or so. Books have the ability to transport us into different worlds and lifetimes, so it’s small
wonder that so many of us enjoy them so much. They pass away the time we spend stuck on a train or
waiting for an appointment, and they fit perfectly into a pocket or bag.
But how often do you go out with a book by one of your favourite authors? There's a reasonable chance that
you tend to rely on two or three staple authors and rarely branch out to try anyone else’s books. While it is
nice to buy a book that you know you are going to enjoy, it’s also beneficial to buy one that is written by
someone you don’t know. And for that matter it’s also good to try different genres as well.
Why is this? The main reason is so that we can expand our knowledge and awareness of the world of
literature – and that applies even if the books we read are popular fiction rather than the literary sort. If
you’ve never read a horror novel before, why not give it a try sometime? You might just be surprised. And if
you always stick to fiction and never reading autobiographies, you can enrich your views of someone just by
reading about their life and what they have achieved in it.
Books are an extremely valuable source of knowledge and enjoyment, and by sticking to just a couple of
authors or a couple of genres we are missing out on an awful lot of words that have been written for our
benefit. Of course, you can’t expect to like every book you pick up, but even with those you don’t enjoy or
even finish reading you will still be adding to your knowledge and expanding your whole reading experience.
If you like the idea of looking at different books, the best way to pick something unusual is to head straight
for an altogether different section of your local store than you normally would. For example if you always
make your way straight over to the romance section, why not try thrillers instead?
Once you have found a good uk book shop you should revisit it frequently to choose another book in a
different genre. The great thing about this exercise is that you will discover new authors that you love which
you wouldn’t otherwise have known about. After all, how did you find out about your current favourites?
The chances are you did so after taking a chance on one of their books too.
The moral of the story is clear. You will learn far more and enrich your reading experience by expanding
your horizons to include all the books you normally walk straight past. And that is always a good thing.
Daniel Collins writes on a number of topics on behalf of a digital marketing agency and a variety of clients.
As such, this article is to be considered a professional piece with business interests in mind.
Read a Book a Week
February 9th, 2005 by Steve Pavlina
Email this article to a friend
In 1992 I first learned of the habit of reading one book every week (on average), with most of them being in
the field in which you desire to develop expertise. This translates to about 50 books a year. Brian Tracy
explains that this habit will make you an international expert in your chosen field within 7 years. Imagine if
you work in sales. If you read 50 books on sales this year, will that make a difference in your success at
selling? No doubt.
I decided to adopt that habit back then, and now a dozen years later, I have indeed read about 600 books
during that time with most of them being broadly within the field of personal development. That’s a lot of
books.
This includes books on health, diet, exercise, nutrition, weight loss, weight training, healing, martial arts,
biographies, spirituality, self-discipline, time management, overcoming procrastination, relationships,
marketing, selling, management, business, entrepreneurial pursuits, finances, emotional intelligence, NLP,
courage, confidence, self-esteem, success, achievement, mental conditioning, goal setting, planning,
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execution, investing, prioritizing, generating income, writing, speaking, social skills, rapport building,
philosophy, persuasion, motivation, humor, leadership, effectiveness, productivity, longevity, organizing,
growth, contribution, love, optimism, inner peace, relaxation, meditation, thinking clearly, consciousness,
visualizing, lucid dreaming, memory, excellence, passion, negotiation, winning, honor, awareness,
masterminding, creativity, zen. I’ve also read many fiction books and technical books.
My goal isn’t to impress you but rather to let you know what lies on the far side of applying this habit. When
someone suggests a new habit, I personally find it valuable to know where it actually leads if you follow it
for 1 year, 5 years, 10 years. So possibly what I can share will be of some benefit if you’re currently on the
front side of considering this habit.
Where does it lead? I thought it would lead me to acquire a great deal of knowledge about the field of
personal development. That did happen, but it also expanded my ignorance. Imagine your knowledge of any
field as a circle. Within the circle lies what you know. Outside the circle is what you don’t know. The edge of
the circle represents your awareness of what you don’t know. As the circle grows in size, its area increases,
but so does its circumference. So the more you learn, the more you become aware of what you have yet to
learn.
There is a benefit to that though. As that outer circle keeps expanding, and you gain a better understanding of
what you don’t know, you can be more selective in what you decide to learn next. Your awareness increases.
You can use what you’ve learned within the circle to predict where you’re most likely to learn some
powerful new insights at the edge of the circle. It’s sort of a process of learning how to learn.
One concept that really came through for me was just how interdependent all these areas of personal growth
are. Often the problem we think we have is not the actual problem we need to solve. For example, you may
be suffering from a lack of motivation, but reading about motivation and trying to motivate yourself may get
you nowhere. In fact, that may actually further demotivate you. The real problem could be a lousy diet or a
lack of exercise. Or it could be insufficient social connections, leading to mild depression. Or it could be that
you’re stuck in a negative environment that’s reinforcing the wrong behaviors. Or if could be a lack of clarity
about your goals. Or even a mixture of all of these. The obvious cause of the problem is usually NOT the true
source of it. Poor diet and exercise, for example, is usually not the real source of being overweight. Those are
usually just additional symptoms of a deeper issue. You may read books on diet and exercise, and then you
go out and don’t apply them. Something deeper stops you from acting on what you know — that points to the
real problem to be solved. So I’ve developed a more holistic respect for this field.
But the actual knowledge and the new distinctions you gain from reading are not the main benefit. My
experience has shown me that the real benefit comes not from what you read but rather from the habit of
reading. When you read a new book every week, you condition your mind to keep taking in new knowledge.
Your thinking remains fresh and sharp. Your brain is always churning on new ideas, looking for new
distinctions it can make. Every day you pour in more ideas, which your brain must find a way to integrate
into your existing knowledge base. Frequent reading fires up your neural activity, even during the periods
when you aren’t reading.
This is why when people ask me to recommend specific books to help them solve a particular problem, I
often cringe. First, I don’t know that the problem the person states they want to solve is the real problem that
needs solving, especially if I don’t know the person well. But secondly, it isn’t the reading of a single book
that matters as much as the habit of reading every day. When you condition your brain to become
comfortable with a lot of fresh mental activity, your thinking improves dramatically, even while you aren’t
reading. “Use it or lose it” is very true. It’s easy to identify people who read a lot because every time you talk
to them they have some fresh ideas or anecdotes to share. They keep trying out new perspectives, new ways
of thinking. You know when you talk to them that there’s a lot going on upstairs. But when you talk to
people who haven’t read a new book all year, their thoughts are more stale, and a month later they’re still
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saying the same things, complaining about the same problems, stuck in a mental rut. They haven’t grown
much, either internally or externally.
Reading is a lot like physical exercise. Reading is a workout for the brain. You wouldn’t say, “Tell me what
workout I can do on Saturday to achieve fitness.” And it’s just as silly to say, “Tell me what book I can read
to overcome procrastination.” Just as toning your body requires the HABIT of regular exercise, toning your
mind requires the ongoing habit of reading. And just as a lack of exercise will cause your muscles to atrophy,
a lack of fresh mental exercise will cause your mind to atrophy.
This is good news, however, because it means you don’t have to stick with the habit for a decade or more to
gain the most important benefit, which is the daily mental conditioning. Within a few weeks of maintaining
the habit of daily reading, you’ll begin to notice some powerful results. An added side effect is that your self
esteem will gain a boost as well, especially if you read a lot of empowering books. Taking in positive ideas
every day serves to counteract more negative influences.
Reading a book a week is an enormously worthwhile habit. And it’s enjoyable too. All that’s required is to
set aside 30-60 minutes each day for reading, sit down, and read. But the best part is that you can double it up
with physical exercise. This morning I got up at 5am and did 20 minutes on my exercise bike while reading.
Then I thought about the ideas I just learned while doing some weight sets. Tonight when I go for a 4-mile
walk, I’ll listen to an hour of a new audio program I bought, and then I’ll probably read for another 30
minutes before bed. That’s 110 minutes of absorbing new ideas, 80 of which are multitasked. With such a
daily routine, I always have an abundance of ideas for new blog posts, articles, speeches, info products, and
even conversations. I can maintain a strong flow of interesting ideas going out because there’s a strong flow
going in. Every week I’m making new distinctions as my brain integrates new knowledge with existing
knowledge.
All of the above applies not just to reading of course but to the general practice of absorbing new
information, including seminars, audio programs, meaningful conversations, classes, etc. Reading articles or
blog entries online is also helpful, assuming you’re learning new ideas that challenge you and which make
you think. If you forget it as soon as you read it, it won’t be of much value.
Read a book a week. Do it for a decade. You’ll love the results
BOOKS FOR CHILDREN, EDUCATION, AND HOMESCHOOLING
Home of Barb's People Builders
Education is our business!
We supply the literature, workbooks, and teaching
materials you need in all subjects, preschool through high school.
THE BENEFITS OF READING ALOUD AS A FAMILY
Research has shown that reading out loud to children is the single most important thing a parent can do to
prepare a child for future academic success. Here are some of the benefits of reading books to your children:

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Reading aloud helps to bond the parent and child.
Reading aloud provides a shared family frame of reference and the material for family "in jokes" We got
lots of these when we read the Ralph Moody series together.
Being read to helps a child to understand the purpose of the printed word.
Being read to builds a child's vocabulary beyond what he is able to read for himself, and provides the
background for a new reader to recognize new words he is decoding because he knows what they mean.
Being read to helps a young child learn the connection between the written and printed word.
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
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Being read to entices a child into an exciting world of learning and entertainment
Being read to helps a child absorb great amounts of information about the world and how it works,
especially if parents lead children into discussing what is read.
Being read to develops listening skills.
Reading books aloud gives the family an alternative to the media for entertainment.
Being read to helps the child develop a taste for excellent literature.
One will only get the maximum good from reading aloud if books are carefully chosen and appropriate
for the age and interests of your child. We will offer several suggestions in these pages, and there are also
many books written to help parents choose the best literature.
One book I especially recommend is this:
Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever, by Mem Fox.
Trade paper, 156 pages of inspiration and instruction in how to make the most of reading aloud to all ages.
Cat#BTH-1952. $10.80-D
Benefits of Reading Books
Date Published: 01st April 2009
Author: Justin Kander
Reading is an important activity for many reasons, yet society often constrains people from reading as much
as they should. With television, nightclubs, and other events, it can be hard to set aside time to read.
Anybody who knows how to read has the opportunity to enjoy reading. It is one of the most relaxing
activities known to man, and there is an endless supply of books to choose from.
Reading provides knowledge that can be practically used in every day life. In addition, an extensive
knowledge of classic books enables one to understand their reference in popular culture.
While books used to be moderately pricey, they can now be bought for just a few dollars. Being that
everyone is looking for ways to save money nowadays, that is certainly a notable pro.
Since the government views reading as important, they have set up libraries where anyone can access books
for free. Libraries also offer support in finding resources and various media beyond books.
Thanks to the Internet, it is not necessary to leave your house to read a classic book. Many novels have been
transcribed and are freely available to read from one's computer. You can get access to more books by
subscribing to a paid service.
Ideally, reading should be split between fiction and nonfiction books. Fiction is definitely more exciting, but
it does not yield long term knowledge benefits like nonfiction books do.
It is a good feeling to look at a shelf of books and be able to say, "I've read every single one of those!" Not
only is that knowledge externally useful, but it is personally rewarding as well.
The author owns Quality Cheap Books, a blog focused on reviewing a multitude of books.
Which are benefits of reading books?
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[Improve]
When reading a book you gain not only knowledge but you share another person's view of the world.
A book can comfort and console and be returned to again and again, like meeting an old friend.
A book can grow with you. When you re-read it as your life develops, you will gain more and different
insights into the work.
It can be a thing of beauty.
The Benefits of Reading
by LeAnn R. Ralph
A Country Life Article
Did you know that reading can keep your mind active and engaged well into old age?
Several years ago when I was working as a newspaper reporter, I interviewed a woman who was a resident at
a local nursing home. She was 100 years old. And she read at least one book per week. Mostly novels. She was
bright, intelligent and fun to talk with.
"I love to read. It helps me keep up with what's going on in the world," she said. "A friend of mine brings me a
new book every week. I look forward to her visits and I look forward to the books. We talk about the books
we've read."
Reading has other benefits, as well.
For one thing, reading a good story can help you forget some of the problems in your own life.
"I can't get around much anymore," said the 100-year-old woman who lived in the nursing home. "When I go
somewhere, I have to go in a wheelchair now. But when I read, I can go anywhere, anytime I want. And no
one has to help me!"
Reading also sets a good example for younger generations.
From my own experience as an English teacher, and as a substitute teacher in many elementary classrooms, I
have observed that the best readers are those students who see their parents reading. And I'm not talking
about only reading novels or nonfiction books. Newspapers and magazines are important too. It's the reverse
of the old saying, "Do as I say and not as I do." You can talk about the virtues of reading until you are so
hoarse you cannot speak another word, but if you do not read yourself, your actions will communicate more to
your children and grandchildren about how much you value reading than anything you could ever say.
But why is reading so important? In this day and age, with television to give us news, and movies and videos
to keep us entertained, who needs to read?
The answer to that is -- everyone.
Developing good reading skills does not only mean that you can read a novel or a nonfiction book or a
magazine or newspaper, it also means being able to read -- and understand-- a credit card contract or an
insurance policy. Or the directions for putting together that new shelving unit you just bought. Or the
instructions for how to install a new printer to use with your computer. Or the qualifications you need to apply
for a job or to take out a loan to buy a house. Or that article you found on the Internet advising consumers
about the best, most economical car to buy.
Possessing good reading skills also means you can read and understand a product label. Or the directions for
taking medication. Or the warnings printed on a bottle of household cleaner.
In addition, developing good reading skills means that you can think for yourself. That you can read about the
advantages and disadvantages of anything from breast feeding to homeschooling to taking a vacation to
Ireland. And then you make up your own mind about what's best for you and your family.
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If the opportunity presents itself, I urge you to take the time to read to a child. Or take the time to let a child
see you reading. Everyone will benefit. The child. You. Our society. The world as a whole.
Types of reading questions
1. Benefits of kids reading?
2. How does reading benefit us?
3. What benefit does reading give?
4. What are the benefits of reading?
5. Which benefits does reading have?
6. The benefits of reading for children?
7. What benefits can you see in reading?
8. What are the benefits of news reading?
9. What do you benefit from reading books?
10. What is the benefit of mastering reading?
11. Cite the benefits you ca get from reading?
12. The benefit of reading economic information?
13. What benefits does reading selectively have?
14. What might someone benefit from reading a book?
15. What are some of the major benefits of reading?
16. Cite the benefits that you can get from reading?
17. The benefits of reading such as gain more knowledge?
18. An article or a report on book reading habit in people?
19. 3 ways that reading with a purpose benefits you as a reader?
20. What are the benefits of reading to children at an early age?
If You'd Like to Know Why Reading Matters
by Barbara Freedman-De Vito
Here Are Some of the Reasons Why Reading Is So Important for Children
Why Do We Tell Children to Read?
We're always telling children that books and reading are good for them, but have we ever really thought about why
that's true? Exactly what do older children get out of reading novels? What do younger kids get from being read to?
Does reading matter?
The purpose of this article is to say that, yes, it's true, reading really is important, and that there are some solid reasons
why that is so. Let's begin with the practical benefits and then move on to the less tangible rewards of a life filled with
reading.
Books Help Children Develop Vital Language Skills
Reading is an important skill that needs to be developed in children. Not only is it necessary for survival in the world of
schools and (later on) universities, but in adult life as well. The ability to learn about new subjects and find helpful
information on anything from health problems and consumer protection to more academic research into science or the
arts depends on the ability to read.
Futurologists used to predict the death of the printed word but, ironically, Internet has made reading more and more a
part of people's daily lives. The paperless society is a myth. The computer's ability to process and analyze data means
that endless variations on reports and other types of documents can be and are generated. Internet, itself an enormous
new source of information and recreation, is based on the humble written word. To effectively utilize the web and judge
the authenticity and value of what is found there, both reading and critical thinking skills are of prime importance.
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The more children read, the better they become at reading. It's as simple as that. The more enjoyable the things they
read are, the more they'll stick with them and develop the reading skills that they'll need for full access to information in
their adult lives. Reading should be viewed as a pleasurable activity - as a source of entertaining tales and useful and
interesting factual information.
The more young children are read to, the greater their interest in mastering reading. Reading out loud exposes children
to proper grammar and phrasing. It enhances the development of their spoken language skills, their ability to express
themselves verbally.
Reading, by way of books, magazines or websites, exposes kids to new vocabulary. Even when they don't understand
every new word, they absorb something from the context that may deepen their understanding of it the next time the
word is encountered. When parents read aloud to children, the children also hear correct pronunciation as they see the
words on the page, even if they can't yet read the words on their own.
Reading Can Open Up New Worlds and Enrich Children's Lives
As mentioned above, reading opens doors - doors to factual information about any subject on earth, practical or
theoretical. Given the wealth of available resources such as Internet, libraries, schools and bookstores, if children can
read well and if they see reading as a source of information, then for the rest of their lives they will have access to all of
the accumulated knowledge of mankind, access to all of the great minds and ideas of the past and present. It truly is
magic !
Through books, children can also learn about people and places from other parts of the world, improving their
understanding of and concern for all of humanity. This, in turn, contributes towards our sense that we truly live in a
"global village" and may help us bring about a more peaceful future for everyone. This can happen through nonfiction
but, perhaps even more importantly, reading novels that are set in other places and time periods can give children a
deeper understanding of others through identification with individual characters and their plights.
Through stories and novels children can vicariously try out new experiences and test new ideas, with no negative
consequences in their real lives. They can meet characters who they'll enjoy returning to for comforting and satisfying
visits when they reread a cherished book or discover a sequel. Books also give kids the opportunity to flex their critical
thinking skills in such areas as problem solving, the concepts of cause and effect, conflict resolution, and acceptance
of responsibility for one's actions. Mysteries allow children to follow clues to their logical conclusions and to try to
outguess the author. Even for very young children, a simple story with a repetitive refrain or a simple mystery to solve
gives a confidence boost. Children can predict the patterns and successfully solve the riddles.
Children are influenced by and imitate the world around them. While a steady diet of violent cartoons may have a
detrimental effect on children's development, carefully chosen stories and books can have a positive influence on
children, sensitizing them to the needs of others. For example, books can encourage children to be more cooperative,
to share with others, to be kind to animals, or to respect the natural environment.
Reading Can Enhance Children's Social Skills
Although reading is thought of as the quintessential solitary activity, in certain circumstances reading can be a
socializing activity. For example, a parent or grandparent reading a story aloud, whether from a traditional printed book
or from an ebook, can be a great opportunity for adult and child to share some quiet, relaxed quality time together
away from the rush and stresses of the business of daily living. They share a few minutes of precious time, plus they
share the ideas that are contained in the story. In addition, older children can be encouraged to read aloud to younger
ones as a means of enhancing their relationship.
At school or at a library story hour, books can bring children together and can be part of a positive shared experience.
For some preschoolers this may be their primary opportunity to socialize and to learn how to behave around other
children or how to sit quietly for a group activity. Make the most of this experience by encouraging children to talk about
what they've read or heard.
Reading Can Improve Hand-Eye Coordination
It may sound funny, but ebooks can be a way for children to improve their fine motor skills and their hand-eye
coordination, as they click around a childfriendly website or click the backward and forward buttons of online story
pages. They may also be picking up valuable computer skills that they'll need in school and later in life.
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Reading Can Provide Children with Plenty of Good, Clean Fun
I've saved the most important point for last. Reading can provide children with endless hours of fun and entertainment.
All of the pragmatic reasons above aren't at all necessary to justify reading's place in children's lives. Stories can free
up imaginations and open up exciting new worlds of fantasy or reality. They allow children to dream and may give them
a good start on the road to viewing reading as a lifelong source of pleasure; so read to your young children every day.
Inspire your older children to read. Give them access to plenty of reading material that they'll enjoy and discuss it with
them. Sample everything - traditional printed books and ebooks on Internet, classic children's novels and fairy tales, as
well as more modern stories.
If a child wants to hear the same story over and over again, don't worry about it. Children take comfort from the
familiarity and predictability of a beloved story that they know by heart. There's no harm in that. Reread old favorites
and, at the same time, introduce your children to new stories. Your child's mind and heart have room for both.
So Reading Really Does Matter After All
There are so many ways in which reading continues to be both a vital skill for children to master, and an important
source of knowledge and pleasure that can last a lifetime. Nurture it in your children. Make the most of all the
resources that are available and waiting for you: printed books, online books, magazines and so forth. Encourage
follow-up activities involving creative writing skills and the arts, as well, so that your children can reflect upon or expand
on what they've absorbed and, at the same time, develop their own creativity. As you help your kids appreciate the
magic of reading, you'll find that there's a whole wonderful world full of children's literature out there that YOU can
enjoy too.
Barbara Freedman-De Vito ?2004
About the Author: Visit Barbara Freedman-De Vito's site at Children's Clothing, Stories and Family Gifts from Baby
Bird Productions for baby and children's clothing all decorated with her colorful and amusing pictures. Many of the
pictures come from her animated children's stories, available on her site on CDs and as downloads. Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Barbara_Freedman-De_Vito
So what really are the benefits of reading Bedtime Stories, Children’s Picture Books and Children's Stories aloud ?
Parents who read bedtime stories, children’s stories and children’s picture books aloud to their children
provide a strong, positive influence and build a foundation for a lifetime of benefits.
But what really are these benefits ? What kind of difference would reading aloud really make ?
The difference is Significant and Real.
Here is a list of ways in which dedicated and continued reading of bedtime stories, children’s stories and children’s picture books
aloud to kids will bring noticeable life long change to their lives and yours forever.
Did you know . . .
 In this day and age of hectic lives and busy schedules, reading together is a simple and
enjoyable way for parents to take time out, focus on the family and unwind. Young children
need lots of special, dedicated time with their parents and family members.
 Reading childrens stories aloud to our kids is imaginative, can be interactive and lots of fun !
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 Reading childrens stories is a wonderful bonding time that fosters meaninful one-on-one time
and communication with our kids.
 It shows our children that they are important to us. Actions speak louder than words, so
forget the TV, chores, your boss and devote your attention to them.
 It molds our kids into becoming readers, and a child that likes to read significantly increases
their potential for academic and lifelong success.
 Children learn how to read by being read to, which is an integral part of teaching our children.
 Reading aloud helps our children master language development, and listening skills. It increases
their attention span, and develops the ability to concentrate at length. These are all learned
skills.
 It develops children's ability to express themselves more confidently, easily, and clearly in
spoken and written terms.
 It develops a child's natural curiosity, creativity and ability to use their own imagination !
 It expands their horizons, quells fears, exposes them to new situations, and teaches them
appropriate behavior.
 Reading childrens stories to our children provides the best opportunities for true life teaching
moments, which may be missed while in school.
 Reading picture books develops a young child's appreciation for the arts through exposure to
many different styles of art
Benefits Of Reading
What are the benefits of reading?
There are a lot of benefits of reading... but here are a few:
It expands your vocabulary. It improves your spelling. It helps you understand different ways of life. It helps
you understand different ideas. It helps you learn to communicate. It helps us find other people like
ourselves. It can be fun to read new stories and find out what happens. It expands your imagination. It helps
you know what other people know, so that instead of repeating their mistakes and experiments, you can
expand upon them and go farther as a community. It helps you drive from one place to another. It allows you
the freedom to find out what other humans have had to say over the years. It helps you know what drugs are
in which bottles. It helps when you have to mute the TV because you can read the subtitles and still know
what is happening. It helps you go on the internet and interact.
I could go on... for days, probably. But that is a start.
A few important 'practical' benefits of reading can be:
Reading can make one learn not only languages but cultures and rituals of civilizations by making an
individual live the past, present or future of places he or she has never been to.
It is like a manual to handle a device called life where in there are so many possible situations and options
where in what counts is the experience. Reading makes an individual benefit out of the worldly experiences
of people and help shape an intellect out of that learning, help take decisions on occasions where in one has
to be in the same shoes as that of any other individual already been there.
Who Will Benefit from Reading This Book?
Introduction
As a large percentage of its workforce nears retirement age, American business now has an opportunity to both save billions of
dollars by effectively managing baby boomer retirements and, at the same time, offer many older boomers what they want in terms
of a happy and fulfilled life in their 60s and 70s. This book tells how.
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The oldest of the 76 million people who make up the baby boomer generation are reaching ages where retirement is an option. In
many companies 50 percent of managers and key professionals will be eligible to retire by 2010, and 70 percent by 2015. If these
and other members of the boomer generation choose to leave the workforce en masse over the next few years, organizations will be
facing a severe loss of key leadership knowledge, skills, and contacts. Talent is already scarce for many organizations, and the
imminent boomer exodus will make it even more so. Companies will not be able to rely on the next generation to pick up the slack—
the Generation X cohort following the baby boomers is one-quarter smaller and not nearly as experienced. With suitable
replacements sparse, many open jobs will go unfilled for long periods or be outsourced. Recruiting and training costs will rise
sharply because finding experienced candidates will be more difficult, and many new hires will require considerable time to ramp up
and become productive.
Little known to most people is that, concurrent with the potential boomer retirements, three other scenarios are unfolding that will
have a powerful impact on American businesses in the near term:
1.
2.
3.
In terms of life expectancy and health, baby boomers at 70 will be like their parents and grandparents were in their 50s.
Full retirement is not in the cards for most baby boomers.
Many boomers will be able to collect pensions and still work for their career companies, which will provide an end-of-career
bonus for those who stay on the job.
Let's take a closer look at each of these scenarios:
1.
In terms of life expectancy and health, baby boomers at 70 will be like their parents and grandparents were in their
50s.
The projected life expectancy of a baby boomer who is 60 years old is 83. 1 For a married couple at 65, there is a greater
than 50 percent chance that one spouse will live to be 90 or older.2 Medical research consistently predicts that 75 to 80
percent of baby boomers will be healthy enough to continue working well into their 70s due to better health care and less
physically demanding work.3 Of course, boomers will experience the usual problems associated with aging: reduced
strength and endurance, slower reflexes, and a decline in sensory functions. But they should be in substantially better
physical shape than their parents were at the same age because they likely have taken better care of themselves. For
example, research by the Ipsos MORI Social Research Institute (a large U.K. survey research organization) found that
people in their 70s today are as active in sports and other outdoor activities as were people in their 50s, 30 years ago.4
And that's not all. For the last several decades, businesses have modified their work environments to become more
physically accessible by replacing or supplementing stairs with walkways or ramps, improving lighting, and installing doors
that open automatically. Also, today's computers and modern communication technologies afford older employees the
opportunity to do some or all of their work from home. In addition, modern medicine has enabled older people to restore
their bodies with new hips and knees and by medical treatments that keep arthritis and other ailments under control.
2.
Full retirement is not in the cards for most baby boomers.
Forty-three percent of baby boomers don't have sufficient savings or pension income to retire at anything approaching the
lifestyle they would like.5 For almost all boomers, retirement income will be less secure as more organizations switch from
defined benefit pension plans to 401(k) and other defined contribution plans. Even people with a seemingly secure
retirement income will be asking themselves, "What if my company goes bankrupt and dumps my defined benefit plan onto
the federal government, where the payouts won't be as much as I have planned for?" Many baby boomers will seek
additional security simply by working longer.
The fear of rising health care costs and of the possible cancellation or downscaling of retirement health care plans will force
many older boomers to work longer to maintain and save money for health care coverage for their retirement.
In addition to financial and health care issues, many individuals will miss the challenge and camaraderie of the work
environment.6 Between 60 and 80 percent of baby boomers say they plan to continue to work into their 60s and 70s, in
either a full- or part-time position, in their career organization or elsewhere. 7
3.
Many boomers will be able to collect pensions and still work for their career companies.
Currently, less than 14 percent of people working past 65 do so in their career companies. 8 This lack of employee retention
has often been the result of defined benefit pension plans that have forced people to leave their career companies in order
to collect their pension benefits. But things are changing. People over 65 now can collect their Social Security pensions
while they continue to work in any job, including their current one. Those in organizations with defined contribution plans,
such as 401(k) plans, often can start drawing cash when they reach 59½ while staying in their current job. Retirementeligible people in organizations that have amended their company's defined benefit plans (an option available January 1,
2007, under provisions of the Pension Protection Act) are able to collect their pensions upon reaching age 62 while they
continue to work with their career employers.
People who collect their company's defined benefit pensions and Social Security benefits while they are still working will
feel as if they've received a big pay increase, just in time to help them top off their personal retirement funds. This 2006 law
will allow more people to accept part-time employment with their career organization because they will suffer no loss of
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total income as Social Security and/or their company pension will make up the difference. People's view of staying full-time
or part-time with their career companies will change significantly.
Bottom Line: American businesses can survive and thrive during the deflation of the baby boomer bubble by retaining or rehiring
select older individuals.
Of those who want to continue working, 43 percent would like to continue at their career company if arrangements can be made. 9 If
boomers stay with their career company or return to it after formal retirement instead of giving up paid work altogether or taking a job
with another organization, American businesses will reap many benefits. They will:




Gain time for succession management programs to grow backups with the skills, knowledge, and experience to
successfully assume higher-level or key contributor positions.
Retain key people with critical knowledge, contacts, and experience until those assets can be shared with others or
documented.
Keep people in difficult-to-fill jobs, saving considerable capital by delaying recruitment, selection, on-boarding, and training
costs.
Meet the needs of the growing number of people who either don't want to or can't afford to retire.
There also would be important benefits realized by the U.S. government in the form of substantially reduced deficits in Social
Security and Medicare.
However, organizations will be faced with some tough tasks. They will need to:






Identify select older employees with unique skills, knowledge, and contacts, and then offer them special encouragement to
either stay at or rejoin the organization.
Create positions and working conditions that will be attractive to older workers and tailored to their needs and abilities. This
means creating transition-to-retirement jobs that will give older workers more flexibility, different challenges, and other
similar incentives.
Foster a work environment that is conducive to the success, safety, and health of older workers.
Ensure that leaders have the skills to meet older workers' special needs and to understand their unique situations.
Deal with the under-performance of a small percentage of older workers who otherwise would have been allowed to coast
to retirement under defined benefit plans. Because there soon will be no "normal retirement age," these older
underachievers will have to be either remotivated or culled from the organization. Unquestionably, this will be quite difficult
for most leaders and most organizations.
Make themselves more attractive to older workers by providing benefits that will meet their special needs.
Organizations that can successfully manage baby boomer retirements in a cost-effective, legally acceptable way will wield a
significant advantage over their competitors. The key to the success of these organizations will be Retirement ManagementSM.
Retirement Management
SM
For years, organizations have been concerned about succession management (i.e., growing their own backups for positions) and
retention management (i.e., concentrating on keeping key employees at all ages and levels from moving on to other organizations),
but they haven't spent much effort on doing anything about retirement-age workers, particularly trying to get select older workers to
stay on the job longer. Historically, most companies have felt this was a waste of time, given the strong economic incentive to leave
provided by defined benefit plans.
Retirement Management is not about talking people out of retirement or starting their own business. It is about giving the large
number of potential retirees who would like to continue contributing to their present organization's success the opportunity and the
accommodations to do so. And, it's about organizations growing more successful through better utilization of their seasoned talent.
Admittedly, Retirement Management is a new concept; most organizations have never tried it. Because they've basked in a steady
supply of replacement workers, they've often overlooked current and recently retired older workers as a valued resource. However,
given the imminent demographic shifts, they no longer will have this luxury.
Why Now?
In 2000 Development Dimensions International, Inc. (DDI), published Grow Your Own Leaders, a book that examined the projected
impact of baby boomer retirements at senior management levels and implored organizations to take immediate action to prepare an
in-house cadre of individuals (known as an Acceleration Pool®) to assume the soon-to-be-vacant executive positions. The availability
of a "ready to go" Acceleration Pool would keep organizations from trolling for senior leadership talent in an increasingly tight and
expensive job market.
While "grow your own" remains a solid strategy—at all levels and at all times—most organizations won't be ready in time to meet the
boomer retirement years. They'll need more time for this strategy to take root. I feel that companies can acquire this time by
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retaining certain people beyond their normal retirement age and, in some situations, by either rehiring individuals who have retired or
hiring older workers from the open market.
Research Basis for 70: The New 50
In addition to published research studies on issues related to older workers, 70: The New 50 is based on the following unique
research done by DDI.
(A description of this DDI research is presented at the end of this book.)
Chapter 7, which projects what baby boomers will be like as employees in their 60s and 70s, is based on a series of large-scale
studies from a wide variety of U.S. organizations. In these studies DDI collected supervisor ratings of thousands of their direct
reports and obtained test and questionnaire responses from more than 23,000 job incumbents and job applicants.
Chapters 8, 9, and 10, which deal with leading and managing older individuals, are based on questionnaire responses from more
than 100,000 individuals throughout the United States as well as on DDI's experience in providing leadership training to more than 8
million leaders.
Chapter 11, which examines selection issues, is based on research over a 37-year period involving thousands of organizations and
DDI's experience in training more than 5 million supervisors, managers, and executives in interviewing and selection skills.
In addition to this data, my associates at DDI and I interviewed more than 300 people over 60 about retirement and work issues, 20
managers with experience in leading older workers, and 50 HR managers with experience meeting the needs of older workers. 10
A surprising finding of our interviews with executives and HR professionals was the reluctance of most organizations to go on the
record about what they're doing for their older workers. They often were very proud of their efforts but reluctant to share their
experiences in print. The Conference Board has experienced a similar reticence. 11 I believe this anxiety stems from a fear that
organizations might be breaking a law with their special efforts to help older employees work longer. Legal issues are discussed in
several parts of this book. We were able to obtain data from more than 50 companies because most of the respondents were DDI
clients, and we promised anonymity.
Who Will Benefit from Reading This Book?
70: The New 50 particularly focuses on the retirement of executives, managers, supervisors, and key contributors such as big-ticket
salespeople, engineers, and scientists; although research data is presented that makes a strong argument for hiring and retaining
older, nonmanagement employees as well.
70: The New 50 is written for executives and professionals who don't want to sit back and do nothing when faced with a unique set
of interrelated organizational challenges—people who want their organizations to manage retirements rather than just accept an
ongoing drain of valuable talent, knowledge, and contacts as a fact of work life.
Why This Book Is U.S. Centric
When starting to write this book, I intended to take a worldwide view—because the issues discussed are truly global. However, I
soon discovered enough differences among countries to make worldwide coverage impossible. I point out, though, that the basic
solutions presented in 70: The New 50 are applicable around the world. Every industrialized country must face up to a wave of
retirements that will coincide with a relatively small cohort from which to draw replacements. Some countries, like Japan, are ahead
of the wave, and other countries, such as China, will experience the problem a little later; but, all will feel the impact eventually.
End Notes
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
From “98—Expectation of Life and Expected Deaths by Race, Sex, and Age: 2002,” presented on The 2006 Statistical
Abstract (The National Data Book) web site by the U.S. Census Bureau. According to this table of data from 2002, a 60year-old is expected to live 22 more years; a 65-year-old, 18.2 more years to reach 83.
From Cracking the Consumer Retirement Code (p. 8), by McKinsey & Company, 2006, New York: Author. This report is
available online at: http://www.mckinsey.com/clientservice/bankingsecurities/latestthinking/retirement.asp
From “Old. Smart. Productive.” by Peter Coy, 2005, BusinessWeek, (3939), pp. 78–86.
From “Britons Are Living Longer, but They Face an Unhealthy Old Age,” by Nicola Smith, 2006, The Sunday Times, p.
News 5.
From Retirements at Risk: A New National Retirement Risk Index (p. 11), by the Center for Retirement Research at
Boston College, 2006, Boston: Author. This statistic was also highlighted in a CNN online feature, available at:
http://money.cnn.com/2006/06/06/retirement/risk_index/
6.
From The 2006 Merrill Lynch New Retirement Study: A Perspective from Individuals and Employers (p. 5), by Merrill
Lynch, 2006, New York: Author. This report is available online at: http://www.ml.com/media/66482.pdf
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From Baby Boomers Envision Retirement II: Survey of Baby Boomers’ Expectations for Retirement (p. 24), by the AARP
(as prepared by Roper ASW), 2004, Washington, DC: AARP.
See also Staying Ahead of the Curve: The AARP Working in Retirement Study (p. 15), by S. Kathi Brown, 2003,
Washington, DC: AARP. This study is available online at: http://www.aarp.org/research/reference/publicopinions/
8. From a Micro-Level Analysis of Recent Increases in Labor Force Participation Among Older Men (p. 33), by Kevin E. Cahill,
Michael D. Giandrea, and Joseph F. Quinn, 2006, Washington, DC: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This report is
available online at http://www.bls.gov/ore/abstract/ec/ec060120.htm.
9. From Voices of Experience: Mature Workers in the Future Workforce (p. 22), a research report by Deborah Parkinson,
2002, New York: The Conference Board.
Also see “Phased Retirement: A Retention Strategy Whose Time Has Come,” a 2004 article featured in the Watson Wyatt
journal Insider, 14, p. 6. Available online at: http://www.watsonwyatt.com/us/pubs/insider/pdfs/2004_04.pdf
10. This research is included in a soon-to-be published manuscript, Age Effects on Competency-Based Job Performance, by
Evan F. Sinar and William C. Byham of Development Dimensions International.
11. From Managing the Mature Workforce: Implications and Best Practices (p. 7), by Lynne Morton with Lorrie Foster and Jeri
Sedlar, 2005, New York: The Conference Board. While many corporations agreed to speak to The Conference Board on
the record for this study, the majority requested anonymity. Many issues preclude corporations from having open dialogue
with their employees about their retirement or future plans, including benefits, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act
(ADEA), and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). Both corporations and employees expressed a
desire to have effective, legal ways to openly discuss future plans and work options, particularly when an employee’s
decision would affect organizational plans
7.
Why People Should Read for Pleasure
http://www.eslbee.com/why_people_should_read_for_pleasure.htm
"In the past years the use of the television and the internet has
increased; this situation has caused many people to change their likes
and the way that they enjoy their free time. Because of television
and the internet, many people spend less time reading, so the purpose
for this essay is to present reasons why people should read just for
pleasure. The reasons that I give you are quite simple: to improve
your knowledge, to expand your general culture, to have more fun, to
make your imagination fly, to find new ways to express your ideas, and
finally to expand your vocabulary.
The first reason that I give you to enjoy reading is that when you
read, you can expand your knowledge and also your culture. There are a
lot of good books in which you can find history, novels, tragedies,
comedies and a variety of other themes. You can see that people who
read more often frequently have a bigger knowledge of life and also a
bigger perspective of their environment. I think that fact gives them
an advantage over all others who do not read frequently.
The second reason to read more often is that through books you can
have fun and even travel in your imagination. Children have not yet
lost the ability of getting into their dreams, and because of this,
in their first years the parents read a lot of tales in which they
use their imagination. Adults should try to keep this ability, so we
do not forget the importance of the use of the imagination. The
imagination also represents a tool that could help you to develop your
professional career in a creative way.
Finally, the third and the most important feature that reading offers
you is that it does not matter the age that you have, you always could
expand your vocabulary and the ways to express your ideas to the
others in a simple and correct form. By the time you can improve the
kind of books that you read, there are a lot of categories, so you
will never stop learning from the pleasure of reading. People who know
how to choose a book generally have the capability of choosing a
formal book in which they can find formal grammatical structures and
obviously a formal vocabulary. All these things allow them to gain
greater fluency in their communication."
=========
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85
Arizona State Universtity College
http://www.asu.edu/xed/reading/
Reading Skills Programs for Children and Adults
"and also helps to stimulate a lifelong interest in reading for pleasure.
Of all the things parents do for their children, there are very few as
important as helping them to develop a love of books and the habit of
reading independently for pleasure.
The benefits of enjoying reading last a lifetime. Reading well
profoundly affects your child's academic and professional success, and
it also shapes your child's character. No matter what your child's
age, level of reading skill, and current attitude toward books, it's
never too late to develop a love of reading".
=========
Home Schooling Resources
http://www.home-schooling-resources.net/homeschool-books.html
"Education through books goes far beyond the use of text books. Home
schooling families have used books of all types as critical tools to
educate their children. Simply, reading for pleasure can be the best
reading lesson for your child."
=========
An excellent article you might be interested in purchasing to read
online is titled "Making the Case for Pleasure Reading"
Want to learn English Language properly, then check this Successful On-line Course To Learn English in a
Fast And Easy way from Emanuels School Of English.
There are many, many other books out there that have a reputation for changing lives including Getting
Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, Handbook to Higher Consciousness, Atlas Shrugged , A
Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Lord of the Rings and Black Boy to name a few. But you can start in your chosen
field and work your way outward.
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