Five Reasons to Take Your Children to the Library

As the weather gets warmer and summer vacation draws closer, a fair many parents are likely wondering what they will do to keep their children busy over the break from school.

And while the inclination may be to head outside or travel (both great ideas!), a trip inside– to a local library- may be the best option to help children find a love of reading this summer break.

Boston is full of great libraries, from the city’s main branch in Copley Square, to its smaller branches in the surrounding neighborhoods. Brookline, Newton and Dedham all have great public libraries, too, and all host a variety of family activities throughout the year, especially during the summer months. At the city’s main branch, visitors can even take a guided tour of the building, learning about its art, architecture and history.

But simply exploring the children’s section of the libraries, and encouraging your children to pick out books to read over the vacation may do the most good when it comes to cultivating a love of reading.

According to the author of a recent Huffington Post Education article, it was frequent childhood trips to the local library that she believes turned her into a lifelong reader, and helped inspire her career in children’s literature editing. Below, read her “Five Reasons to Take Your Child to the Library:”

• Regular library visits inevitably lead to more reading.And reading is incredibly important fora growing brain!Research shows that reading actually aids in brain development, especially in a child’s first five years of life. When kids are read to, their brain cells turn on. Existing links among brain cells are strengthened and new cell links are formed.Reading is also important to help strengthen a child’s literacy and language skills- especially important for our international families!

• When you visit the library, you can expose your children to more books and magazines than you can afford to buy.A book store is a great place to explore reading, but there is always some limit to the number of books you can bring home. At a library, that limit ceases to exist! You can haul out as much as you can carry, turn your books back in as soon as they’re read, and take home a whole new pile.

• Your local children’s librarian can recommend books that you may not know of or think to suggest, broadening their tastes and expanding their minds and vocabularies.Your children may already have very set interests- whether construction vehicles, dinosaurs, princesses and ballerinas. And as such, many of the books in your home may focus on those favorites subjects. But a trip to the library could open your child’s eyes to a whole new world of reading! A librarian can help introduce your young readers to a new genre or topic that they will grow to love just as much as their current interest.

• Library time is active, not passive.Maybe in your mind the library is an eerily quiet place with lots of shushing. But today’s youngest library patrons engage — with books and magazines, with librarians, and with other kids. Most libraries offer regular children’s programs like puppet shows, costume days and storytellers that help their favorite books come to life.  Check out your local library’s website to find out what programs are offered near you!

• Owning a library card teaches kids responsibility.As card-carrying library patrons, kids learn about treating with care things that belong to others. When children check out books in their own name, they feels trustworthy. They feels responsible, and like an important member of their community. A child’s first library card is an early rite of passage. Turn your child’s first library card into a celebration! Take a photo, go get some ice cream, and bring home a big stack of books to read as a family.

Parents: do your kids have library cards? How have you seen trips to the library positively impact your children?

Share your thoughts!