Has the racing digital age drawn off children’s interest in reading books?

Richa Jha is an award-winning author and picture book enthusiast. Her books have been shortlisted for prestigious national literary and industry awards and entered the Limca Book of Records.

We are happy to share Richa Jha’s insights and tips for our young readers of today:

Q1. What do you think of the new digital age and their impact on reading?

I think we need not worry that the digital world will affect in our children’s interest in books. Every generation has its set of readers while trying to fight off its own set of seemingly diabolic distractions!

I feel it’s important for parents to understand that not every child will take to reading, regardless of whether that’s because of digital distractions or otherwise. Reading is merely one of the many forms of interest in a child’s life, just as not every child will like to learn dancing and cooking.

At the same time, there is a notable rise in children who love to read books. The interactive digital platforms attract kids to read more books, which in turn also helps to boost their creative skills.

Q2. Would you like to share your experience in bringing up children?

I think I was pretty much a book-parent because I believed that books play a major role in shaping kids future and a medium for parents to create better bonding with their kids. Even though my twenty-year old son no longer seeks that bookish comfort but my sixteen-year old daughter still loves to read.

Q3. How do you think parents can encourage reading in children?

I think it is more for the parents to ensure that they expose their children to the reading form as early on as they can, because that is what will keep them in touch with books. To make your child a good reader, you have to cultivate the habit of reading. The more your child senses your love for those pages, the more they will start loving them!

I think parents should focus on the following points when it comes to reading:

1. Reading is a way to improve your knowledge. The moment any form of pressure, nagging or comparison creeps in, the child will switch off.
2. By being a good reader yourself, it will help your child in developing the interest to read many books.
3. Gift your child with books often rather than buying fancy toys and games.
4. Often, parents attach a learning outcome to the act of reading, which again may suck the fun aspect out for the child.
5. Let the child decide what he or she would like to read and never stop a child from picking up a book that he or she has set her heart on.

Q4. Can you give some tips for our little authors on writing?

Here is my piece of advice for little authors:

1. Keep on reading. The more you read, the better you will get at writing. There is no shortcut to it; read as much as you can in the genre of your choice. The more you read, the more you know what is working for you as a reader and what is not. An informed, discerning, self-aware reader makes a thorough and contemplative writer.

2. Writing can sometimes be tedious but do not be too harsh on yourself. Any form of writing takes time so keep practicing. So, don’t scribble something only to quickly chuck it away into the bin thinking it’s not good. Everything that you write has come from a thought that is personal and yours. See it as a form of expression that you may later want to revisit after a gap to refine.

3. Do not be scared of taking feedback from people whose judgement you trust. However, do not ask too many people because you will end up getting confused. Seek feedback on specific things; for instance, is the plot interesting, or is my character strong, do you like the way the story begins, or ends and so on. Specific questions will give you specific answers.

4. Always remember that writing is a subjective act; so is reading. It is not necessary that everyone will like what you like. So do not get discouraged if you receive a slightly negative feedback.

5. Don’t give up but instead enjoy the act of expressing yourself through words. It’s one of the most powerful forms of getting yourself heard. 😊

On Book and Writing | Richa Jha | Author and publisher, Pickle Yolk Books