What are the benefits of comics reading for children?

Comics are not something new. We all grew up reading at least one series of comics. Some parents even thought that their children are wasting time in comics, isn’t it? After all, it is proved that comics are not time wasters but they have lot to offer for children. In this article let us understand what are the benefits of reading comics for children.

Comics medium of expression narrates the stories or provide information about given topic using series of pictures and texts. In stories, dialogue texts are provided inside speech balls with the tail of the ball pointing towards the speaker. Pictures are given in a sequential manner to narrate the story which makes it easy to interpret and understand.

Comics help in developing reading interest:

Reading skills are very essential for children. It influences their ability to gain knowledge and hence improves their academic performances.

Some children find it difficult to read, or struggle to concentrate when they see pages full of prose. Comics are great for such kids because it has more pictures and less text. It can help children to make peace with reading.

More images and less text format does not intimidate the young readers. Instead it attracts them with its panel of images and expressions. So, you can make the best use of comics to foster reading habits in children.

Improves child’s inferencing abilities:

Inference is nothing but forming an opinion or drawing conclusion using the available information. Inferencing skills are necessary to become good at reading comprehension.

Related Read – 4 Reasons to introduce your children to Amara Chitra Katha comics

Builds confidence in children with disabilities:

Studies have shown that autistic and dyslexic children can engage easily with the comics. There are comics like Dekko comics which are proven to be beneficial for students with dyslexia. More details here.

Facial expressions in comic pictures are exaggerated, which helps students with disabilities to comprehend the emotion easily. More pictures and less prose makes it ideal for them to read, understand and connect with the story.

Comics generally contain short stories. So, children can easily finish reading at least one story at a time. This gives immense confidence in children with disabilities, which is good for their overall well being.

Makes children more creative:

They say that “You can’t use up creativity, the more you use the more you have”. Naturally children have better imagination skills and bounty of creativity.

Wordless comics book help children to come up with their own stories. This process requires inferencing skills, imagination and sequencing of information in the right order. It trains their brain muscles in a different way and helps them unleash their innate creativity.

Enhances child’s vocabulary:

Any kind of reading activity helps building vocabulary may it be for adults or children. Comics reading has different kind of advantage.

Word complexity is slightly advanced in comics, compared to other kind of story books. Using the images and expressions, children can try to decipher the correct meaning and usage of these words. This exercise helps them remember the new words easily.

So, we can say that one can build their vocabulary through comics reading.

Now that you know what are the benefits of comics reading, happily engage in comics along with your child!