‘Bored’ Easily, Why Aren’t We Then Motivating Our Children To Read Books?

By Bhavna Sultana:

It is for a reason that there are so many quotes on books and not on smartphones or tablets. Books are the most constant of friends and the wisest of companions. But with advancements in the field of technology, a culture of flashing news and an incessant hunger for information has surfaced. While earlier, people used to read books, you can now see them staring at their mobile screens or typing frantically on their laptops. It’s high time we realised that the culture of reading books should be brought back.

The Internet is a good source to gather knowledge, do some research and find out about the latest happenings. However, it is hardly utilized for these productive things as is evident if one takes a quick look at the list of the most viewed websites: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. I do not wish to imply that Facebook or Twitter are not productive. We all know there are useful websites that will never make it to the top of the list because the internet is a place of many distractions. You cannot stop yourself from opening a Facebook tab while simultaneously working on a project where you need the internet.

However, there are libraries. You might find it to be a waste of time to go there and search through piles of books, but that experience is from another world altogether. It’s meditative to read – to sit with a book in silence, pouring into it while the book pours into you. Discovering each other. As Doctor Seuss once said, “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”

We need to teach patience to a generation that complains of boredom and doesn’t take a moment to pause and reflect. Books teach patience. They open up a world of imagination and infinite possibilities. Books help in mental stimulation, reduce stress, improves memory and writing skills. Staring into your screens for knowledge might make you knowledgeable, but it comes with a multitude of stress problems and health concerns. So why aren’t we motivating our children to read?

“There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them.”
― Joseph Brodsky