IRISH writer, playwright and politician Sir Richard Steele said: "Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body." Truly, one who reads more knows more.
Children who love to read, according to the Thomas Reuters Foundation noted "are more likely to read better, write better, build their vocabulary, and comprehend more in their reading."
Reading also supports a child's "emotional, behavioral, cognitive and social health."
However, in today's generation of gadgets and internet, this is seemingly the hardest challenge that we have to deal with. Children, even before they can learn to speak or write are now exposed to cellphones, tablets, and television.
National Book Development Board Chairman Neni Sta. Romana Cruz said that "Something very basic we have not provided our young are books and other materials to nurture their intellectual growth. In countries that are more aware of what the needs of a livable community are, public libraries are a mainstay."
Based on medical researches, exposure to technology slows down the brain.
Nowadays, children do not get enough exercise. They spend most of their time with their gadgets. This lack of exercise is extremely bad for their physical and mental health because it can slow down their development.
In addition to this, extreme use of technology may cause kids to become dyslexic which can cause their brains to not grasp things quickly enough.
Furthermore, outdoor activities and more exercise are important in kids' development stage as they can encourage positive behavior, enabling them to gain confidence.
The 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) results reveals that the Philippines ranks last among 79 countries in reading comprehension.
At the same time, based on the 2013 Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey (Flemms), there is a significant percentage in our youth who have cited lack of interest in education as a reason for not going to school -- 15 percent overall in the ages of six to 24 years old, and highest at 46.1 percent among those aged 12 to 15 years.
Even our best and brightest 15-year-olds who were tested in Pisa were only at the average level globally -- and that statistically, many of our youth feel that they cannot rise above their current circumstances, or even see the benefits of proper, quality education.
These issues tell us that we need to do something very drastic now, and one of these concrete steps that we have to take is to bring back the love for reading. We have to make our children feel that reading is better than spending time online using their gadgets, playing video games, and watching television.
In this so-called digital world, we need to strike a balance between technology and the traditional habit of reading books. Nothing still beats the feeling of reading books and savoring their crisp pages from cover to cover.