Should Your Kids Read?

The Guardian sharply criticized the reading habits of Indians in an article dated 9 February 2026. Let us ignore the harsh criticisms of our old aunt on her deathbed and actually debate the matter: should our children read?  

Imagine yourself not as a pedagogue, or a publisher with vested interests, or a writer with even more vested interests, but as a parent to the next generation of Earthlings. 

Do you believe there is any worth and value in kids and reading? This blog explores the matter.

What is Reading?

Reading is to open a book with words (either stories or facts) and say each word out, either aloud or in your head, piece together the words which describe thoughts, so that you ultimately know and understand what it is the writer wanted to say.

A book is a tiny capsule of work that burst forth from someone’s imagination and thoughts and spilt onto pages through the act of writing.

By reading, you are entering the thoughts of another. It is the clearest way humankind knew how to convey what was eating them up on the inside to their fellow men, after the act of speaking. 

A person puts words on paper to seal them up as forever final. And by reading his or her work, we too acknowledge and enjoy the finality of his or her thoughts.

Why is it Beneficial to Read to Kids? 

In India, parents seldom buy books for their young because they see no point in burying one’s nose in the pages of a thick tome when there are other more engaging media for entertainment such as the mobile phone. 

With the State government of Karnataka banning the use of mobile phones for children under the age of 16, what are parents to do now? 

Reading will come back as a means of keeping children profitably engaged.  If I may add, reading happens to be a happy national pastime in Argentina and Germany, and you will find citizens reading on the trains and in cafes in these two countries separated by the Atlantic. It will be an amazing wonder to see any reading culture flourish in India, except for the one at an International Book Fair. 

Let’s get back to reading for children. Reading out loud by a parent to a child who cannot yet read for themselves is an act of investment in the child’s life that surely will bear results later.

Young children, whose parents read aloud to them, can recognise around 2 lakh more words than children whose parents did not read to them before kindergarten! 

The Indian parent who puts enormous pressure on their young to perform well in school from a tender age, can surely give their little ones a leg up in life by reading aloud to them as children, pointing to words, making the funny sounds and the animal impressions… 

Are there not more benefits except the pedagogic value of reading to children at a tender age? 

• Reading Builds Stronger Emotional Bonds

A parent’s voice is the voice of nurture, love, and authority. Not the voice of the reader on a YouTube channel, no matter how much your child enjoys those shows and how convenient it is for time-poor parenting.

A father’s or a mother’s voice with its tones, cadences, facial cues and tonal clues, draws a child closer to them. Snuggling together in bed, hearing their parent’s heartbeat and feeling their warmth all leads to the thread of love knitting them closer. 

Any activity for that matter results in children trusting and awakening to their parents’ nurture, but reading is an easier option after an exhausting day at work. 

Pop-up books, colourful books of poems and moral stories are all wonderful books to read at this stage. There are also mythologies and religious tales that children can explore since these are woven into the fabric of later life. 

Books make a child wonder, and who better to answer their thought-provoking questions than their own parents? Unless you want to leave parenting to a robot nanny. 

• Reading Builds Stronger Emotional Understanding 

Story books, especially those with a bent of morality, build stronger emotional understanding in children. Empathetic children relate with the stories and love to hear their favourite tales again and again. They understand, through the stories, that the fox is bad and the rabbit is lazy and the crow is the cleverest of them all. Emotional understanding is a highly prized human trait and this trait can be strengthened and reinforced through reading.   

What are the Benefits of Reading? 

Once children grow older, they are free to read by themselves, as long as they see adults reading something other than the morning newspaper! 

Older children can pick out their books, use their own judgement in choosing a genre they like and sometimes they can save up their pocket money to purchase their own books. 

With the ease of purchasing books online or becoming a member of a lending library, or buying books second hand from the footpath or from random vendors on the train, there really is no excuse if India wants to develop a reading culture.    

• You Gain Knowledge

When you read non-fiction you gain knowledge of the past and the present. You get exposed to ideas that someone else on another continent had and the magic when both your private thoughts and theirs align is simply sublime! All avid readers know this feeling. Knowledge is a wonderful thing to have and Indian parents want that one-uppance knowledge more than anything else for their offspring. 

• The World Opens Up

When you read, the world opens up. You become closer to the Americas, the Caribbean, Nigeria, Europe, Argentina, Israel, Iran, Japan, China  and so many other beautiful countries with their own experiences of what it means to be human. 

You feel what they feel. You think as they think, if only for the duration of the book, and you put those thoughts together and ruminate on them. Are the English really as comical P.G. Wodehouse portrays them or as quaint as Enid Blyton draws them? 

Are the women of Edith Wharton’s divorce sagas not more superior to the virgins of Jane Austen’s betrothals? Doesn’t Han Kang leave a taste in a mouth that is so uncomfortable? Isn’t O’ Henry the master of a twist in the tale? Is Tolstoy the greatest writer who ever lived or is it Dostoevsky?  

These are some of the many questions children exposed to books at a young age can ask themselves and this ultimately shapes human thought, and not ChatGPT’s answers.   

• Linguistic Ability Develops

Verbal expression puts children ahead of other kids in school. A child who can articulate thoughts well can also write answers well and can consequently score well in school examinations. Critical thinking skills are developed, vocabulary is expanded, linguistic ability is sharpened, all through the habit of slow and steady reading. Overall, cognitive ability is also improved.  

• Imagination Grows Wild

Was it not Mary Shelley who gave us the idea of a creature made by the power of electricity who ultimately hates his master and wanted nothing more than to destroy him? Did not Karel Čapek give the world the word “robot” in his play R.U.R. which ultimately inspired a Japanese professor to build an actual robot? Did these ideas not first spring from a field of ripe imagination and consequently occupy the physical world as we know it? 

• Increased Concentration 

To devour a book, one needs concentration. And reel-watching hoi-polloi of today lack concentration or the ability to be still or the ability to stay calm and wait. All these are wonderful traits to have and people can cultivate them cheaply and easily through reading. Remember yoga does not add any knowledge of the physical world, though it may claim to calm you down!    

Is Reading An Expensive Activity? 

As a mother or father do you hold back from purchasing books instead of toys because you inherently believe books have no value or is it because you believe they are not worth the price tag or is it because you cannot afford the cost?

Reading can be done cheaply. The secondhand book stalls of India are famous throughout the world, especially those of Kolkata. One can furnish a small private library over time and ultimately enjoy the books enjoyed by others.    

Frequently Asked Questions 

1. What is immersive reading? 

When you have the physical copy of a book or its e-book open in front of you while simultaneously listening to the audio book, it is known as immersive reading. The sense of sight and sound help you “immerse” into the content.  

2. Is immersive reading still reading?

No, immersive reading isn’t still reading. Reading is still reading. Immersive reading is reading and listening both simultaneously.  

3. Are audiobooks good for children?

Audiobooks can be a good option for children, especially if pre-recorded by a busy Mum or Dad. You can turn on the audio book and follow along with the story book for a kid-friendly immersive reading experience.  

4. What is an augmented reality book?

An augmented reality book is a new form of the old-style pop-up books. It involves scanning codes with a device camera and watching interactive 3D content overlay onto the physical pages of the book. 

Should Kids Read and Be Read To From A Young Age?

• Yes
• No