Reading is an activity that has innumerable benefits. It paves the way to acquire knowledge as well as keep yourself engaged the right way. It is the duty of parents to introduce this reading habit to the child right from childhood.

Reading as a skill is learnt right from childhood. A child reads aloud the words and short sentences while in nursery. Then as a primary school student he reads all his subjects. This continues in middle school and high school.

Even as the child is reading his school books, parents will have to introduce other books such as story books and children’s encyclopaedias to the child. The child should experience the joy of reading story books when he is seven years. Reading books should slowly be a habit for the child. Why should we introduce encyclopaedias at this age? Well, ‘knowledge is power’!

To participate in conversations one needs knowledge. We cannot and should not be mere listeners. If you wish to be heard, you need to be knowledgeable. You gain knowledge only by reading a lot.

The other benefits of reading habit are that you improve your vocabulary and also learn grammatical structures. Rich vocabulary becomes a part of you only when you see the words again and again. By doing this, you gradually start using these words in your daily conversation when the occasion demands. Thereby, these good words have become your active vocabulary.

As the child becomes a teenager, encourage him to read novels. Reading novels enables the child to enjoy reading silently and for longer duration. Novels transport the reader to an imaginary world. Dwelling in this world too is a nice experience. Analyzing the characters in the novel and their relationships later become yet another beautiful experience.

So, let’s cultivate reading habit in our children from childhood, when they are ready to accept what we give. Once we inculcate this good habit, it yields rich dividends, be it as a leisure time activity or an academic pursuit.