Reading Vs. Television - Pros & Cons

What is the advantage to having your children sit down with you to read a book versus sitting them in front of the, "boob tube"?  One of the best things about picking up a book versus the television is the opportunity to expand your child's mind.  It gives the child a chance to use their imagination.  It also allows them the opportunity to increase their vocabulary.  Reading can also help your child become a better speller.  Reading is a good source of information in general.  It can help them learn to focus and build their attention spans.  Watching television isn't always conducive to these two areas because of constant interruptions with commercials.

There are a variety of advantages to getting your child to sit down, and read a good book.  Reading is a good way to increase their comprehension skills.  Along those lines, you can help your child out by making reading a family activity, and actively discussing the book afterwards.  That way you can tell how much your child's retaining from what they read, and it allows them time to ask you questions as well.  If there's words in the story they don't understand you can have them look those up in a dictionary, and practice using them in a sentence.  This can be an exercise to help them increase their vocabulary.  Very seldom do you get this kind of interaction watching a television show.  

Watching television shows may be a good source of entertainment or fun in general, but reading is something that can help broaden their minds.  It can broaden your child's horizon's, whether they're reading for fun or educational purposes.  When was the last time you heard someone say, "That television show changed my life!"  Chances are you haven't, but there's a pretty good chance you've heard someone say, "Reading that book changed my life!"  Reading books can make your child smarter.  Books are a great source of information!!