DOES your child read books? What we mean is, do your kids read books outside of the reading materials given to them at school?
Another question, how much time do your kids spend reading books or e-books?
Reading is an effective means to expand one's knowledge, perceptions, and understanding of what is going on around them.
Other than increasing one's knowledge of certain things, it also helps one improve their literacy, concentration, and critical thinking, among others.
Sadly, reading is not actively promoted among children and the youth. It is promoted in school, but it could be more active. Likewise, there is not much effort from the government, personalities, and advocacy groups to actively promote reading.
Hence, as they grow up, children who are not fully exposed to the different things around them through reading, have a tendency to be misinformed on some issues or could easily believe any information given to them.
In a bid to promote reading to children, the Davao City Library and Information Center (CLIC) is urging barangays to put up reading centers or nooks in their areas.
“Isa man gud ni sa atoang kakulangan, especially nga naga-apply ta nga mahimong child-friendly city. Out of 182 barangay, 100 plus lang ang atong reading centers, kung mahimo natong perfect, why not? (We lack this aspect in our bid to become a child-friendly city. Out of 182 barangays, only around a hundred have reading centers. If we can have all barangays have their own reading centers, then why not?),” Salome Enoc, Head of CLIC, said in an interview with SunStar Davao on January 20, 2023.
She said CLIC is willing to help the barangays and provide them with materials for the nooks or centers.
Enoc said the generous donations that the city library receives will provide sufficient reading materials for each reading center.
“Kaning mga donations na gipanghatag diri sa atoang mga generous Dabawenyos, we are sharing this to the reading centers. Hinay-hinay nato ning gihatag sa ilaha kay usahay naa na may mga duplicate, triplicate diri so atoa ning i-share didto sa ilaha (We are sharing these donations given by our generous Dabawenyos to the reading centers. We are slowly distributing these to them because sometimes we have duplicate, triplicates here so we are sharing these with them),” she said.
What is great about the barangay-level reading centers is it serves as a cost-free avenue for children and adults to read books. It also gives access to books to some who cannot buy books for themselves.
It is important that we create centers in communities that will help children expand their knowledge of things. We inspire them to read, they get inspired to do better things for the community.