Parents fail to inculcate reading habits in children

Reading habits help a child grow from within and mature at the right age, apart from developing their language and knowledge.
Gone are those days, when a child picks up a book to read every time he is taken out by his parents. But now, they have shied away from making their kids read books.

Rather, they would let them pick up their knowledge through various television channels, gaming consoles and other newer things. To put it straight, most of the parents don’t have the time to spare or the habit to inculcate reading culture in their children.

At a workshop organised by EasyLib.com, children above seven years of age were trained to read and write their own stories — an effort to initiate reading habit among young ones.

Aisiri Deepak, a class four student said, “I love reading books, especially fantasy stories. Not only do I get to see lot of good and colourful pictures, but it also helps me learn the language.”

She, along with other children who attended the workshop, was given three chits and asked to connect them to form pictures and scenes, and then write a story. She wrote about a stick that saved a girl and a fish, which reflected her thinking pattern.

Others in the club like Chetan wrote about animals and their adventures, while Sampada wrote ‘The Three Cheecky Things’ trying her best to connect a cup, cap and a walking bag. They were all assembled with one interest — reading books.

The children at the two-day workshop, which ended on Sunday, were made to present stories created by them to their parents. Most of them were in fact happy to realise their wards’ creativity.

Unfortunately, the number of participants was very less, which brought into light the parents’ disinterest in the kids’ future.

“This meagre number reflects parents’ efforts in grooming their children in the right way. Most of them are keen on pushing their children to score maximum marks in the class, but that is not all,” says Vani Mahesh, proprietor of EasyLib.com.

“Reading habit is something which makes them know the world through books and brings in a lot many other qualities like concentration and developing language and the art of creating something new,” she added.

Neethi Mahesh, a class eight student and Vani’s daughter, admitted that she was not into so much reading until her mother showed her the way. “My mother used to lure me by saying that if I read a book, I will get Rs2 or a chocolate. Eventually, I grew to be a voracious reader and I feel that books are the best friends of mankind,” she said.

Vani welcomed all those children who love books, and assured them that there would be many other occasions where they can get to read books and have fun.