I am often talking about the benefits of reading to children. All the children I nanny are members of Standish library, and we visit often.
The benefits of reading to children are just too many to list but I'm going to try, because I'd like to persuade every single person that reads this to read to a child tonight, if not to a child read yourself.
Reading books to children from a very early age encourages the parent child bond.
There are many people with warm memories of sitting on a parent or grandparents knee listening to a story. Enveloped in love as they are transported into the book. Their imagination is inspired as they learn problem solving, empathy and critical thinking.
Through reading and being read to children begin to develop an understanding of the world around them. They learn empathy and ways to communicate using enhanced vocabulary. Then as they get older and they begin to look at books themselves they learn fine motor skills from simply turning the pages.
I'm sure that many people can remember a favourite childhood book, I know I can. Mine was always the Shirley Hughes ‘Alfie’ books.
Shirley Hughes wrote her first book in the 1970s, entitled ‘Lucy and Tom's Day’ she also illustrated it with beautiful nostalgic pictures of families and communities.
She then went on to write “Dogger”, a beautiful book about a little boy's love for his teddy. More than fifty books followed, all of them beautifully capturing the essence of childhood. From Shirley Hughes books I learned nurturing, I learned about other cultures, (Shirley Hughes was one of the few authors and illustrators of the day who wrote and used multicultural stories with pictures of all ethnicities. I task you with picking up any of Shirley Hughes books and not be instantly transported to childhood in the 1980s.
Which brings me to the benefits of reading as an adult. I read every night it helps me to sleep and transports me from the real world, all my worries taking a back seat as I get lost in a character. I simply cannot relax in any other way!
When asking my 14yr old daughter about her memories of reading she tells me her favourite book from being a little girl was a book that has been in my family for many years.
Entitled “Magic Windows” It’s an interactive book, first printed in the 1800’s and reproduced in the 1980’s.
It is magical, I hope it will continue to be in our family for many years to come.
That’s the magic of reading. It’s a gift that never leaves.