These are the top FIVE reasons why every child needs to read a children’s newspaper every day.
- Vocabulary – Books around us do not have the vocabulary that kids need. In our paper, we are covering the SAT word list. A child who starts reading at Grade 4 will be done with SAT vocabulary by Grade 8 and they will not even realise it. All children’s papers are doing something similar.
2. GK – This is the main reason why parents want kids to read newspapers. They may not remember everything from the paper on a day to day basis, but they will need that consolidated information at some point and it WILL come back to them when they need it. Its not just current affairs, but general awareness about various topics too. most children’s papers combine current affairs with other GK too.
3. Diversity of exposure – The best way for a child to learn about many different domains of knowledge is the newspaper. A newspaper covers everything from puzzles to literature and science to history. The child might read some items carefully and gloss over the others, but there really is no other way to ensure that the child gets this diverse exposure on a daily basis.
4. Logic Puzzles – Indian students perform badly in the Critical Reasoning section of most aptitude tests. The reason is that logic puzzles are not a part of their growing up. It is not that Indian children cannot analyse or do critical reasoning. it is that they have never been taught how to. A children’s paper brings them bite -sized, fun puzzles and before they know it, they are ready for Critical Reasoning. This is a tried and tested formula. My aunt ensured that I do logic puzzles as a child and after growing up, when i aced CR, i understood the importance of what she had done.
5. Imagery – Imagery, or visualisation, is one of the most critical adult skills. But it can only be developed in a child’s mind. As a child consumes text input, its brain automatically converts the words to pictures. This ability is called imagery or visualisation. These are the people who, when they grow up, are able to visualise complex scenarios, do wireframing, and other critical tasks for success. Children who are only given visual inputs cannot develop this ability. A newspaper, therefore, and not news channels or online games. Chapter books and not graphic novels. Illustrated books, but not videos. Newspaper is one of the BEST ways to develop the visualisation skill in a child because it is consistent and happens EVERY DAY.