Learning social skills is a vital part of a child’s growth and development, perhaps more so now than ever before. Technology has led to the atomisation of society and the irony that while we are all connected more than ever in the digital world, we are often less connected in daily life.
But did you know that reading can be beneficial to a child’s social development, as well as to their academic success?
Reading improves concentration and patience – a good reader knows how to give their full attention and focus, to wait for a thought to be expressed before adding their own, and to persevere even when something might seem tedious or disagreeable. These are all good traits for a reader persisting with a troublesome novel. But they’re also applicable to dealing with people and conversations, too!
Research shows that reading increases empathy, a vital social skill in ever-shorter supply today, by allowing readers to step into the minds and lives of others and experience things from their perspective. It’s now thought that empathy is not always an innate condition but something that has to be cultivated through interaction and experience. In a world where people are often less directly connected than ever, any benefit to empathy is important.
Similarly, reading offers endless examples of social problem-solving that help with modelling social interactions and defusing conflicts. This helps with emotional development by enabling children to experience moods and situations they might not be privy to in real life yet, thus modelling them in a “safe” way for the inexperienced.
Finally, reading offers opportunities for discussion that can spark social interaction on an unprecedented scale, as well as serving as a catalyst for new learning and widening ideas.
CARS & STARS Online is a digital reading comprehension program based on twelve core reading strategies that is designed to turn every student into a comfortable and proficient reader who can approach every type of text with an advanced level of reading comprehension. A student progressing through the CARS & STARS Online program will become a better reader – and, by extension, a more fully-rounded and socially engaged person.
If you are interested in learning more about the CARS & STARS Online subscriptions and how they can help children to achieve better results, then sign up for a free trial to be an integral part of your child’s reading success.
