Prizes for Reading

by Tristi Pinkston | More from this Blogger

16 Oct 2006 06:33 AM

While standing in line to check out at the library last week, I overheard a little boy say to his mother, "Mom, why don't they give grown-ups prizes for reading?"

Her response was very intelligent. "They give prizes to children to help you learn to like to read," she told him. "By the time you grow up, hopefully you like to read and so you don't need prizes anymore."

I remember enrolling in the summer reading programs at our library when I was a child. The more books you read, the bigger the prize you got. I loved to read and ended up with more useless trinkets than I could count. But for me, the prize wasn't in the candy or the doodads - the prize was in the books themselves.

Books were my friends. Books opened up worlds to me that I never would have seen any other way. Books showed me how life was in other places, and how it could be here. I lived books, breathed books. They were better than oxygen. I might even go so far as to say, they're better than chocolate, and you know that's really saying something from me.

I think it's a great idea to reward children for reading. Let them experience the feeling of accomplishment and achievement. But let's not discount the real prizes of reading:

1. Increased knowledge. Children who read do better in school. 2. Increased self-confidence. Children who read can interact knowledgeably in more situations and feel less hesitant to share opinions. 3. A broadening of the mind. 4. Grounding in good principles and morals. 5. Understanding of other peoples and cultures, and of situations that are outside their own experiences.

The rewards for adults who read are the same as they are for children, but they are expanded to a larger picture.

1. Better opportunities for employment. 2. Better chances at higher education. 3. Respect of peers.

The little toys are fun, but let's read for the real reason - reading is good for us. It makes us well-rounded, educated, and interesting. Plus, it's a whole lot of fun.

Learn more about Tristi Pinkston

I've been a blogger for Families.com since August of 2006.

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Miriam Caldwell (8030) 16 Oct 2006 11:38 AM

I love to read as well, and it is something I am trying to instill in my children. My library offers an adult reading program along with the children's in the summer. It is more of a raffle, but still prizes. I've never been good about turning in my books though.

Tristi Pinkston (10839) 16 Oct 2006 06:33 PM

An adult reading program, huh -- that sounds like a great idea!