'Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body ...

Joseph Addison suggests, “Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.” Consider: If you can read this, you are more fortunate than ... 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Howvaluableisyourmind? JosephAddisonsuggests,“Readingistothemindwhatexerciseistothebody.” Consider:Ifyoucanreadthis,youaremorefortunatethan3billionpeopleintheworldtoday,whocan’t. Whenwetalkabouttheneedtoread,theneedforchildrentolovereading,wemightconsiderwithholdingbreakfast,orlunch. Whileourstomachssuffer,soourmindsatrophywhenwedon’tread. Well,wewouldn’twithholdmeals,buthowcanwegetourchildrenreadingwiththesameregularityofeating? Makeitfun! Makeitinviting. Makeitaspecialtimewhenyourfullattentionisonyourchildandthebook.Actoutapart.Changeyourvoice,useanaccent. Kidslovethisandtheywillrememberit,always. Witholderchildren,dotheyseeyoureading? Doesyourfamilysetasidetimeforfamilyreading? Youeatdinnerasafamily,whynotreadabookasafamily? Justasyoufeedthefamily’sbody,feeditsmindandsoulaswell. Ah! Thesoul! Notonlydoesreadingfeedthemind,butwefreethesoulwhenweread. Thefree-floatingself,asSvenBirkertscallsit,mullsoverwordsonthepage,attachesemotionstothementalimageswemakeofthesewords.Readingtochildrenatanearlyagebuildswithinthemawaytomakesenseofthiscomplexmatrixcalledlife. Parentsgivechildrenthisgiftinwords,pictures,andwiththeirownsoothingvoices. Often,childrensoothetheirownlevelsofanxietybysittinginaquietroomandturningthepagesofagoodbook—lefttotheirownimaginations. Whyread? Inanelectronicage,whenalmosteverythingseemstobeforsale,readingisfree. Ithasavaluethatcannotbemadeintoacommodity,anditsvalueexceedsapricetag. Giftscanbepurchased,butthereadingmindneedstobenourished,cultivatedwithgoodreadingmaterials,encouragedtothink,grow,imagine,anddream. Itisagiftthatkeepsgiving. Finally,wemightconsiderthesoundadviceoftheancientsage,DesideriusErasmus:“WhenIhavealittlemoney,Ibuybooks;andifIhaveanyleft,Ibuyfoodandclothes.” Education  AboutUs | TermsofUse | RSS | PrivacyPolicy | ContactUs | ShanghaiCallCenter:962288 | Tip-offhotline:52920043 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1 | 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004 | 网络视听许可证：0909346 | 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号 | 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012   Copyright©1999-ShanghaiDaily.Allrightsreserved.Preferably viewedwithInternetExplorer8ornewerbrowsers. 沪公网安备31010602000204号 Emailthistoyourfriend Hey,IfoundthisonShanghaiDailyandthoughtyoumightbeinterestedinit. Sendit! Congratulations!Youremailhasbeensent! Thanksforsharing.Wouldyouliketosignupforourdailynewsletter? 7xperweek Signup!Nothanks.