However, the very best stories were those told to us by our
Nana. She would tell us the most captivating stories from her head, not a book…imagine
pinching yourself to stay awake just to hear more, but eventually succumbing to
sleep with visions of heroes and heroines. Our stays with our Nana were
memorable and long lasting and her ability to weave magic into each of her
stories is something that I have tried to pass onto my children.
I guess depending upon your personal preference, fiction or
non-fiction can either whisk you away to exciting places with your imagination
or tantalise and stimulate your synapses mentally. The point is, are we
encouraging our young ones and others to read enough to keep the brain matter
growing? There are some book lovers who are, but it is not enough. It seems
that people read less now and prefer instead to watch TV or play on their
phones.
There are so many benefits to reading, it can develop our
minds, help our children with language skills and a good book can open up
dimensions of thoughts as you try to connect events, emotions and experiences
of the characters that you read. The
tragedy today, is that we have a huge number of Australians that lack the
necessary literacy skills they need to function in life and work. Many young
people that I have spoken to cannot speak properly, they don’t read, they
cannot string a sentence together and worse still, some cannot read.
What is the matter with us? Our children are born ready to
learn; a wonderful opportunity exists for parents today to better equip their kids
before they enter their school years. Read, teach and encourage a love of
books, you will be guaranteeing them success for their future, don’t make them
struggle in an already difficult world.