So please, oh PLEASE, we beg, we pray, Go throw your TV set away, And in its place you can install, A lovely bookshelf on the wall.” — Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
How often do you encourage your children to read books? How often do you read books? Now it is so easy to gain access to mystery, adventure and information via the screen and many of this viewing is wonderful but we also need to take the time to slow down and access this information through books.
Research has shown that when we read books to find facts we absorb the information more easily as we are slowing down, focussing on one thing at a time and thinking about the facts rather than trying to process a few different things at the same time. We have some great new fact books in the library – Science experiments, cars and autobiographies.
When we read mysteries, humorous or adventure stories we have time to reflect on the story, we can take a break and think about the last chapter we read before moving onto the next event and we can also invent the characters and setting to some extent – igniting our imagination.
Reading with a child rather than watching television with them also increases conversation, encourages questioning and closeness. It is important to keep these lines of communication open when our children are young so that they remain open as they grow older.
We don’t need to get rid of our televisions but rather think about what else we can encourage our children to do when they need some down time. What would you like to see in our library so your child is keen to continue to read rather than grab the screen?
