Popular Nerds: How Reading Helps Kids Make Friends at School
Guest Post by Brooke Chaplan
Reading can benefit children in many ways. In addition to improving academics, reading often can help young people expand their circle of friends. If you have a child who wants to make more friends, encouraging him or her to read more often can be an excellent start. Here are some of the main ways that reading helps kids make friends at school.
Following Popular Reading Trends
Many children nowadays follow popular reading trends that allow them to connect better with other young people. Popular book series that are geared toward young readers are known to attract many young fans, and reading the books in one of these series helps give children things to talk about with other fans who might attend their school. Examples of popular book series for young readers include Harry Potter, the Hunger Games, and Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
Improved Communication
Children who read often usually develop better vocabulary, and this can help with communicating with other kids. An improved vocabulary can help children convey ideas better and develop new friendships with classmates. Reading gives young people the tools to express their personal interests and concerns more effectively, which can help them build stronger relationships with other children. Better conversations can be had during recess or around the school lunch table when reading is a regular part of life. Reading has also been shown to improve empathy, which also helps kids interact with each other.
Shared Knowledge
Reading makes kids smarter, and the knowledge that they gain can be shared to improve the lives of other children. If you have a son or daughter who excels academically because of regular reading, he or she can tutor other kids in certain subjects to try to improve their grades, and this can also be a great way to make new friends. The knowledge attained through reading can also be shared in classroom discussions, which can additionally work well in establishing stronger connections with other students.
Your child likely attends school with kids who are in several different grade levels, and reading can help your son or daughter connect better with older kids. This will allow your child to add more diversity to his or her circle of friends by including people of different age groups who share some common interests.
Reading can make your child a well-rounded individual both socially and academically. Offering positive reinforcement when it comes to reading can help your child form stronger relationships with school peers.
Brooke Chaplan is a freelance writer and blogger. She lives and works out of her home in Los Lunas, New Mexico. She loves the outdoors and spends most of her time hiking, biking, and gardening. For more information, contact Brooke via Facebook at facebook.com/brooke.chaplan or Twitter @BrookeChaplan
