Doing an enjoyable activity with a child can develop better skills and more creativity than reading. To what extent do you agree?

It is concurred by many that focusing on reading at an early age can be detrimental/ harmful/ deleterious, and participating in fun activities with toddlers is far more beneficial.

This

essay supports the above assertion to a major extent as children enhance fine motor

skills

as well as hand and eye coordination through the play-way method, but reading is

also

important if done for a short duration on a daily basis. A fundamental/ primary reason for

this

is that there is no biological age for reading, and pushing toddlers to acquire

this

skill before they are even ready can have a negative impact on their mental well-being.

For example

, in the UK, many boys are reluctant readers, possibly because of being forced to read, and

this

hampers their interest in reading.

Besides

this

, by indulging in other activities, and developing other

skills

such

as creativity and imagination, they will become useful members of society.

Furthermore

, playing allows youngsters to mature emotionally, and gain self-confidence. There is no scientific research which suggests reading at a young age is essential for a

child’s

development.

In addition

, the importance of encouraging creativity and developing a

child’s

imagination must be acknowledged as children develop social and cognitive

skills

more through interactive learning methods,

for instance

, they are more likely to learn vocabulary through context/ live examples than learning it from a book.

On the contrary

, reading should

also

be included in a

child’s

daily routine as overall growth is vital for every toddler and it will

also

help the parents in diverting their children to paper books which in turn would reduce screen time as well as improve their vision. In conclusion,

although

I am a firm believer in

this

non-reading approach, I strongly recommend incorporating bedtime stories into a

child’s

daily routine.

However

, reading as a regular day-time activity should be swapped for something which allows the child to develop other important

skills

.