Doing an enjoyable activity with a child can be better for their overall skills development and creativity than reading.

To what extent do you agree?

It is argued that in order to hone a child’s skills and imagination, they should indulge in engaging activities rather than spending time reading. In my opinion, although reading is advantageous to igniting imagination to a great extent, it is better to take part in a more active pastime.

Those who are in favor of reading claim that it stimulates creativity. For a very long time, parents have read stories to children not only to make them understand moral lessons but also to inspire. The famous children’s authors, Dr. David Chiristopher, who is famous for his imaginative drawings, has positively influenced many children.  The ones who read his stories have emulated his qualities and tried to reflect them in their writing and artwork. As they grow older, they can discover other creative authors and make use of reading to imagine diverse worlds and characters. As a result, their studies and future work will become much easier and interesting as they will have more creative writers to rely on. 

However, a fun activity requires greater levels of engagement. This is broadly true for a number of pastimes ranging from playing sports and making art to socializing and going on holiday. For instance, if a parent decides to teach painting, then their children will have to learn how to employ different kinds of paints and papers, choose subjects to portray, and learn the techniques to achieve any given effect. They will also have to develop resilience and dedication as their first paintings are unlikely to be successes. If this activity is done in a group, then they can develop social skills at the same time. Depending on the activity, a child will have to push themselves outside their comfort zone far beyond what is required when passively reading a book alone.

In conclusion, despite the legitimate benefits of reading for imagination, I would argue that a more active undertaking has more concrete and memorable advantages. Parents should encourage a balance but prioritize active engagement over passivity.