Children enjoy all-genre reading sessions with their parents this vacations

GURGAON: As holiday season is on, the city children spend time reading stories, songs and rhymes with their parents in special all-genre readings sessions.
10-year-old Parinidhi Sachdev, a resident of DLF Phase III, decided to enroll for special reading sessions this holiday season. “Like travelling, reading stories gives you a wonderful experience. I therefore decided to enroll for reading sessions this vacation, rather than travelling abroad,” said Sachdev.
Shikha Talwar, who organizes reading sessions for children in Sector 40, said, “Many studies have shown that it benefits if children read with their parents.Through reading sessions, we are just trying to inculcate the habit of reading among children in presence of parents. After vacations, reading sessions could be part of a bedtime routine and is a nice break from the computers and smart phones. We have got a very good response this vacation as we have children in age group ranging from 5 years to 15 years.” She encourages children to read all genres.
Talking about the importance of reading for emotional well-being of children, renowned author Sharat Kumar said, “We consist of three things – physical body, intellect and emotional state. Most parents these days work on intellectual needs of children, while emotional needs are grossly ignored. That is why we are not raising happy children. So let children read and undergo an emotional experience to improve their emotional well-being.”
Interestingly, Kumar who is soon going to release his book ‘The White Marble Burzi and Other Stories’ (a compilation of short stories), also spoke about importance of stories based on relationship and romance. “The most important thing in life is love between men and women. Children who grow up with loving parents are always happy and those who see parents fighting with each other end up becoming introvert and scared. Therefore studying about relationships and knowing them well is important for everyone, including children. After all, children are sent into the world to teach adults how to live life!” Kumar added.
Parents also appreciated the move. “The move to organize special reading sessions for children with parents helps us know our children well and spend some quality time with them. Reading different genres such as science, fiction and relationship gives different experience to children,” said Radhika Khanna, parent of a 13-year-old from Sector 56.