Living in a dynamic, fast-paced and competitive world is not without challenges. With the internet influencing our lives, information bombarding on us day in and day out, new avenues and opportunities opening out at every corner across the world and knowledge is going to be the supreme power which is going to sustain the livelihood of the fittest.

The first step to gaining knowledge is acquiring the power to read, learn, understand and assimilate. This is a continuous process throughout our life but it should start at a very young age for children to develop the quest for learning.

Children are tested of various abilities right from their tender age. The first skill that they require to develop is the interest to read. This attitude will clearly determine the child’s aptitude and enhance his potential to the fullest.

Give the right environment for the child to develop this skill. At the infant stage, read out to him regularly so that the child starts listening to the various sounds. As the speech evolves slowly introduce him to easily pronounceable words and slowly educate the sounds. This training would help him to proceed further and start reading uncommon words.

When the reading evolves, try to make the child independent in such a way that he can read on his own. Develop vocabulary at the initial stage giving interesting colourful books to read to sustain the interest and attention. Make reading a fun activity than an enforced rule. The child should develop the willingness to read by himself. Only then, he can develop his knowledge on any subject.

Buy him colourful books initially. This increases the observation power of the child as he assimilates facts with the given pictures. Try and know the kind of books your child enjoys and give priority to buying that genre of books. Do not compel the child to read books that do not interest him. This would actually bring down the interest.

Reading serves as relaxation to many children instead of just whiling away their time. The curiosity increases over a period of time and develop other important abilities like creative thinking, problem solving, writing, speaking and also research.

The child also gets to develop the habit of learning the spelling automatically and pronouncing new words correctly by constant reading. This makes reading a fun experience than a burden or a chore. The child would start enjoying doing the homework as much as playing with friends.

Every parent should motivate the child to read. Be very patient with the child when he is just learning to read so that he does not develop an aversion. Teach the art of perseverance if the child finds it difficult initially. Motivate the child to speak out what he has understood so that you can help him to develop the ability of expressing.

Developing the reading habit is sowing the seeds to gaining knowledge and develops the power of thinking. It stimulates the human brain in a very constructive way thereby creating a genius.

Kyle Oliart

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