Children’s Books — Critically Important

#1 Children's Books Why

My number one reason when asked the question of why are children's books so important is NOT what you typically read from child development specialists!  And in the spirit of disclosure, I am not one of those.  I am a business person who has worked at all levels of private and public corporations.  What I have witnessed in my various roles surprised me.  I had never really considered the importance of reading and starting young with children's books.  Nor had I even given a thought to the critical nature of this skill to thrive in all sorts of economic climates.

But with the rise in psychological assessments prior to offering someone a management or executive level job, it is logical that one be able to read and process what they're reading well.....and quickly.  Further, many retail businesses are requiring passing scores for entry level positions before they will even conduct a personal interview.  From what I hear, failure rates are high.  Why?  I'm convinced that many children in our most recent generations did not have children's books read to them or they didn't read children's books themselves.  Rather, they sat in front of the television or "played" on the computer.

I'm aware of one individual who was advancing in their particular company in a rather impressive manner.  Then suddenly, he hit a ceiling (note the gender).  This person was moving on and on our happenstance flight together shared with me that he was "not a reader."  I asked what he meant and he told me that he just never liked it, preferred pictures to words, and to be out and about.  The only problem is that he landed in a job that paid well, very well, and one that required pretty large volumes of reading just to stay up with what various departments within the company were doing, not to mention the competition.  What does this have to do with children's books?  He didn't read them!  And he claimed that his ADD made him too impatient to sit and listen to someone else reading them.  He got a pass then, but not in business.  We met as he was flying on yet another flight interviewing for yet another position with another company.

So, my #1 reason as to why children's books are critically important is this:  Reading children's books establishes an early pattern for the love and joy of reading and learning and exploring and solving problems and thinking, and imagining.  ALL of these characteristics are vital to one's survival in business and in life, especially in tough, competitive economic times.  Reading children's books will pay the bills later in life!

Children's Books and Patience

Another pro for why I am such a strong advocate to reading children's books and having them read to children is that they teach more than just the story being told.  The skill of sitting still and listening is another critical one for people to learn.  Patience to hear ideas and concepts -- another person's viewpoint -- is what dialog and give and take are all about.  This form of communication did not go away with the computer.  In fact, it's likely to be even more important in our digital age.

Engaged With Children's Books

Following closely on the heels of this last reason is this one.  How many times have you sat in a meeting and watched or been the one that was detached from what was being shared?  Reading children's books forces kids to learn the skill of being involved and engaged.  They have to listen or else they'll miss the story, get left out of what is going on.  Being engaged is a learned skill.  It is not something that is taught or picked up from television or most video games.  There's this detachment that tracks with much of these forms of digital media.  However, reading a story in children's books requires the mind to engage and be involved.  Engagement is highly important for one to be successful in the business world and life in general.

Wikipedia has a wonderful article with links for further exploration that you can check out when you click on children's books.