Encouragement – it’s one of the best gifts we give to our grandchildren. When we take the time to encourage them, we inspire with courage and spirit. We also stimulate by assistance and approval.
Encouragement looks forward. One way to think of it is as cheerleading! Grandparents should be their grandchildren’s biggest cheerleaders, and our cheers can take many forms. For example, you can call your grandchild before a job interview, send them a text before a major exam, mail a card at the beginning of a new school year, or take your seat in the stands for a sporting competition or musical performance.
The bottom line is, whether your grandchild wants to mow the grass on their own, audition for the symphony orchestra, or learn to read, you need to be right there with them with actions and words of support that scream, “You can do it!”
Reasons to Encourage Your Grandchild to Read
It’s easy for many of us to get caught up in cheerleading our grandchildren in their musical, artistic, or sporting endeavors. However, we often don’t think much about encouraging them in the social or academic skills. After all, these things are typically a little more work on our part.
I’d like to suggest that our grandchildren need our encouragement in these areas as well. Consider, if you will, the skill of reading and the many reasons to encourage it with your grandchildren.
READING GENERATES A POSITIVE ATTITUDE TOWARD READING
When you fill your home with books, read aloud to your grandchildren, and engage in reading focused activities such as visiting your local library, your grandchildren learn early that reading is not a dreaded chore. Rather, they see it as fun! Additionally, young children who read or are read to tend to develop a positive attitude toward reading, generally becoming adults who like to read.
READING HELPS DEVELOPMENT OF BASIC READING SKILLS
When preschool children (and even babies) are read to, they learn the basics of reading early. Among other things, they learn that words represent sounds and concepts, that words are read from left to right, and that stories continue when you turn the page.
READING LEADS TO BETTER SCHOOL PERFORMANCE
Reading improves one’s overall capacity for learning.
Exposure to language through hearing the words read tends to help preschool children do better in school. Also, development of comprehension skills through the discussion of events within a story works to improve your grandchild’s memory function. Similarly, the repetition that comes through reading a favorite book or story over and over helps them to retain what has been read.
READING INCREASES VOCABULARY
Another of the many reasons to encourage your grandchildren to read is the benefit of increased vocabulary. Sharing books with your grandchildren helps to build their vocabulary by introducing them to new words. While reading your grandchildren will be exposed to words they likely won’t hear on television or in their everyday conversation. Likewise, over time your grandchildren will become more familiar with the words in their reading and gain an understanding of what these words mean. Reading regularly will not only increase your grandchildren’s knowledge of language, but it will also lead them to better comprehension and understanding of written content.
READING INCREASES ATTENTION SPAN AND BUILDS LISTENING SKILLS
Reading to children of all ages can help promote a longer attention span, which is an important skill for concentration and performance.
By increasing their reading skills, children will gain better focus. As children become immersed in stories about adventures, friends, animals, and everything else imaginable, their attention will begin to become more directed, and they will have better concentration.
Additionally, as you read aloud to your grandchildren, you are pouring sounds and syllables into their ears, enabling them to develop greater language and listening skills.
READING EXPANDS KNOWLEDGE BASE
Creating healthy reading habits helps to expand your grandchildren’s knowledge base. Through books, young grandchildren learn about colors, shapes, numbers, and letters, and through books, older grandchildren discover increased knowledge on topics of interest to them.
READING DEVELOPS THINKING SKILLS AND IMAGINATION
Reading to children has been proven to help in developing thinking skills and imagination. Cognitive development affects how children think, learn, and explore. As they read children learn to understand things like cause and effect. Reading helps to stimulate logical thinking and the ability to think in abstract terms. Increased brain function is important for children to learn how to solve problems and understand what is going on in the world around them.
READING ELICITS A CALMING EFFECT AND RELIEVES ANXIETY
Reading has the power to produce a feeling of calm, especially when your grandchild is fretful and restless. It also does wonders to relieve anxiety and help your grandchild cope with new experiences and unfamiliar situations. For example, if your grandchild is stressed about their first day of school or a family move, you can read together or suggest a book that shows how these experiences do not have to be painful.
READING BUILDS EMPATHY AND UNDERSTANDING
Reading books aloud with your child allows them to see other perspectives, to learn more about themselves, and to experience worlds they might not access otherwise.
READING INCREASES COMMUNICATION AND DEEPENS RELATIONSHIP
Sharing a good story together is a wonderful way to increase the bond you share with your grandchild. Reading aloud is a highly interactive experience that allows for a partnership between reader and listener. The experience brings the two (or more) of you physically closer together. Unlike activities involving screens, reading invites you to share the same book side-by-side or even curled up together.
In this position of close physical proximity, the sharing of a masterfully written text can lead to so many wonderful relationship-building things.
First, this close-together space is an ideal setting for learning more about your grandchild. By asking great questions about the story or any of its characters, you can get a sense of your grandchild’s mental and emotional maturity. An added bonus, conversations that develop from these open-ended questions also often lead to teaching opportunities.
Additionally, reading together also aids in the exploration of emotions, helps your grandchild become more honest with you about their feelings, and offers you occasions for observing and enjoying your grandchild.
The knowledge gained from these times of reading together will lead to more effective communication and a deeper relationship between you and your grandchild.
A Tool for Grandparents
By encouraging your grandchildren to read, you can help them reap the bountiful benefits produced through this skill.
So whether you want to fill your home with great reading materials in this effort or give masterfully written books as gifts, The Ultimate Book List for Grandparents is an indispensable tool.
As you peruse the list searching for great titles, you will note that the books have been grouped loosely by reading level. However, I caution against simply choosing by reading level. Instead, carefully take into consideration the maturity and personality of each of your grandchildren before sharing any book with them. Some children, for example, don’t enjoy Where the Wild Things Are because they find it too scary. Also, be sure to check with your grandchildren’s parents before providing books to your grandchildren as some parents have strong preferences against certain types of books.
Secondly, regarding the list, please note that while I wish I could say I have read all the books on the list, the truth is that I have not. I have, however, taken the greatest care to select excellent titles from trusted sources. (Since it is impossible for me to make any guarantees about content or reading levels, your discretion is advised before choosing any books from the list for your grandchild.)
Whether you are looking for a Christmas gift, Easter basket filler, birthday present, or simply a book to encourage your grandchildren to read, it is my hope that you find this tool helpful.
