Children should always be invited to activities that will stimulate their cognitive development. And one of them is reading, for sure. Not only for the obvious reasons but because reading has an impact to the increase on mental ability.

And this is due to the fact that reading a story will put into action many areas of the brain and not only those linked to language skills. Also, an early childhood stimulation will have an impact on someone’s brain up to their teenage years, accordingly to a study created by the Centre for Neuroscience and Society at the University of Pennsylvania. Having said that, let’s find out what exactly reading can offer to your child.

Reading boost reasoning and problem-solving skills

Stories are full of mysteries and twists, so it is understandable that reading will boost your children's reasoning and problem-solving skills. While they are reading or listening to tales, your child will try to make sense of what it is happening on the pages, to guess the characters’ next move and solve the plot.

And this is just the beginning, as you can also talk about related subjects, such as how the animal kingdom is in real life, after reading a story full of animals to them. So you can bring those topics closer to their everyday lives.

Reading helps children to improve their creativity

It is well known how reading can inspire children’s imagination, and their creativity as a consequence. So this is for you to understand that it is always a great idea to read for your children as often as possible.

More they read and more different scenarios they start to create in their minds, more likely is that they will bright their ideas up. And it will lead to adults more capable of having innovative plans to share.

Reading develops a better memory

Especially those created to early childhood, the majority of children’s books bring rhymes and other auditory resources that can be used to develop a better memory among the youngest. It gives phonemic awareness to them, and this ability to break words into smaller parts will also reflect on their writing skills.

Also, you must know that children love to listen to their favourite stories over and over again, so, by the end of the week, they can repeat the story by heart (even though they will want you to read it again anyway) - this is because they learn by repetition, so, instinctively, they are just turning on their most effective learning method.

Reading develops social cognition

Most of the stories that you will read to your kids, or that they will read by themselves, will bring some kind of social struggle with it - it might be a fight among siblings, a quest in family, or a first day at school. And the good thing about it is that your child will have the chance to reflect and learn some social skills beforehand.

It not only gives you the opportunity to discuss those subjects with them but also to your child to face those challenges without having to go through them. Of course, it doesn’t substitute a real experience, but it will help them to build some concepts, become more confident, and decrease anxiety when it actually comes to happen.

In conclusion

Reading is a mandatory activity in every house with children, especially those with small ones. It will increase their mental ability, but also create a great fun time to all family. They will give you a lot to share and talk about just before bedtime or any time you wish.

So go to the closest library and make sure that your children have their own card since they are born – or maybe even before it. Also, buy some books (second-hand books are also perfect for it), so they can have a mini library at home and start to see books as their friends. Soon you will see how this approach will reflect on their first years at school.