“Culture and Creativity” has become a catchphrase. In fact no matter in the field of theatre, film, television, or design, painting and music, it all begins with reading. Reading has a significant number of benefits: stronger comprehension and analytical thinking skills, mental stimulation, and cultivate empathy and compassion. Reading allows us to connect the past to the present, and helps us understand what other people think. If reading is the starting point of cultivating culture and creativity, then when should one start to read?

Let’s use digits to explain things in this Digital Era. The National Reading Survey in China in 2013 (At the time of writing, the findings of the survey in 2014 were not yet released) shows that the average Chinese national finishes five books per year. I found something interesting when I read between the lines of the survey: firstly, young folks have always read the most among bookworms in China (The 0-to-17 year old finishes seven per year); and secondly, the number of teen readers is increasing yearly. The average 0-to-8 year old finishes six books per year, while the average 9-to-17 year old finishes nine per year (the average 9-to-13 year old finishes 8.26 per year; and the average 14-to-17 year old finishes 8.97 per year).

I believe that even in a country with a completely different cultural background, the result would be more or less the same. When a student goes from elementary school to secondary school and then to university, he or she starts to understand the world more and raise the curiosity level accordingly. How one sees the world and values of life as well as reading preference are formed during these formative years. 

Comparatively speaking, the situation in Macao is worrying. There’s no such survey in Macao so we can’t really make a comparison. But a survey of the reading habits of high school students in Macao conducted by a group earlier says that “over 60% of students barely read books themselves”, “almost 70% of students have no regular reading habits”, and 10% of them never read books over the year. The figures really gave me a shock.

It’s worrisome that there are people who do not read or rarely read. And it’s even more alarming if these people are principally younger people. My next question is: how to give them an incentive to open a book? The survey conducted in China in 2013 found that 90% of the 0-to-8 year-olds with reading habits has supportive parents, and these parents had spent an average of 30 minutes to read to their children and had visited bookstores four times a year on average. If you are a parent, ask yourself a question: how much time did you spend over the year to read to your kids? Did you visit a bookstore with your kids? Did you buy them any books?

If a child doesn’t see parents reading at home, it may be harder to instil the idea of reading. Of course, it’s a collective effort to promote reading: the government provides reading facilities like libraries and sponsors writing and publishing initiatives; schools develop projects to help children develop a love for reading; and publishers select good books to publish. But still, home is a massive influence and reading should begin at home. I, therefore, urge Macao parents to read to your kids, no matter how busy you are or whether you are willing to or not.