Mental Health Benefits of Childhood Reading for Pleasure

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Ever wondered if there was a mental health connection to childhood reading for pleasure? It sounds tenuous in one sense but then… well,  after a little thought it seems perfectly obvious! Let’s see why.

New research was carried out to examine the relationship between reading for pleasure in childhood and young teens’ assessments of

  • cognition,
  • mental health and
  • brain structure.

A group of 10,000 young adolescents took part. All the usual strictures were in place for proper research.

You can go read all the official blurb about the research but let’s start with the basic fact: children need early help with pictures, fun and practice to learn how to read the printed word and move on to stories.

From there we can make the jump to childhood reading for pleasure.

Let's imagine a few years passing... and – as the research showed –  “The adolescents who had read for pleasure as children at an early age had beneficial effects in all these measures compared with the adolescents who had never read for pleasure or who had started reading for pleasure late in childhood.”

‘Nuff said.

Let’s look at why this might be and how we can help encourage children to love reading, despite all the side attractions of virtual games, msg scrolling and TikTok!

What does childhood reading for pleasure bring in its wake?

1 Childhood reading for pleasure brings knowledge

If we start with very simple picture books showing a story, and verbalise the story through talking with our child, they can’t help but learn new things – stuff they might not experience in their own life. For example, you don’t own a dog, but they can learn about mischievous puppies, looking after dogs, and what it’s like to have one.

Or maybe, what it’s like to live in a different sort of dwelling, perhaps in a different land with different weather patterns.

As they get older they make more sense of this new knowledge. But they “know” about it already. This is smart. It’s brain food!

2 Childhood reading for pleasure enhances imagination and problem-solving

Another benefit that shows up is this. By reading all kinds of fiction as they go from early readers to novels, they learn how imaginative solutions can bring success. Their imagination gradually grows and matures – and with it the natural desire and ability to sort out a problem. 

Without a decent imagination, though, no child can even see a time when the problem might not be there or could be overcome by their own ingenuity and perhaps a little help from you.

Not seeing such a possibility means, for instance, you’ll struggle more to help them with all the anxiety-solving strategies I offer on this website! You’d be starting back a stage. Possible but harder.

But don't worry. You helping them with the strategies grows their imagination just the same – only without the fun reading experience earlier.

3 Childhood reading for pleasure improves speech, verbal dexterity and school attainment

This benefit is a "given" when so much of education depends on reading, reasoning and writing. Maybe it shouldn’t, but education these days is what it is.

So you can work with the status quo and help engender childhood reading for pleasure – which grows their word base and speech. 

It’s pretty obvious how feeling confident you have lots of knowledge, having a great imagination to solve problems and  doing well at school with good spoken and verbal ability is going to support great mental health in your child and later your teen. What’s not to go for?

Here are some hints on how to work the magic that means your child will read for pleasure!

How to encourage childhood reading for pleasure

1 Create a Reading-Friendly Environment

  • Set up a cozy reading space with comfortable seating, good lighting, and a variety of age-appropriate books.
  • Have the books easily available so they catch your child's attention.

2 Be a Reading Role Model

  • Demonstrate your own love of reading by letting your child see you engage with books, magazines or other reading materials regularly.
  • Share stories about your own reading experiences and talk about the books you enjoyed as a child.

3 Offer Diverse Reading Choices

  • Provide a range of books that match your child's interests at first. Read the blurb so you know the kind of story it is and can match it with what will fire your child’s imagination at any given time. Topics can expand later.
  • But also allow your child to choose their own books. This fosters a sense of autonomy and excitement about reading. You can, for example, provide extra pocket money that is only available for a monthly book choice!

4 Read Aloud Together

  • Schedule regular times when you read aloud to your child. This can include picture books for younger children and chapter books as they progress. 
  • Try to maintain this habit for as long as they allow it – bedtime is excellent for this. You read chapters to them from books that are super interesting to them but slightly beyond their own reading ability.
  • Either way, use different voices and expressions to make the characters come alive and the story more engaging.

5 Engage in Discussions

  • After reading, or while doing chores, start casual conversations about the story, characters, and even themes as they get older. Nothing too serious, no rights or wrongs. Just encourage your child to express their thoughts, opinions and predictions.
  • As they get even older, ask (innocently posed!) open-ended questions that stimulate critical thinking and encourage them to delve deeper into the material. This is super helpful for school work and confidence.

Immediate and long-lasting mental health benefits of childhood reading for pleasure

The outcomes of the research I mentioned were exactly as I said: positive on all scores.

But you’re not just aiming at mentally healthy teens.

The mental health benefits from childhood reading for pleasure are there and visible every week throughout their younger years.

It’s like putting a down-payment on something and getting full legal ownership from day one! Give it a go?

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