What was considered a distraction or time taken away from studies or reading “normal books” is now gaining popularity as being an important way for kids to read, engage, and evoke imagination. There was always a pretty clear demarcation when it came to how differently parents considered comic books from regular books. This however ceases to be the case.

As times change and comic books are embraced as a storehouse of art and literature, parents too have come to understand the importance of comic books in their children’s lives.

Let’s look at 5 reasons why kids should be allowed to indulge in comics every once in a while:

Encourages and builds interest in reading

Reading text-based story books can get drab, boring, or even intimidating for some kids, thus discouraging them to inculcate a reading habit. Comics on the other hand are a visual treat and keep kids engaged with their graphics, fonts, and format of story-telling.

Rekindles imagination

The pictures, colors, graphics, and just the general vibrancy of every page in a comic book help kids to let their imaginations soar. It is not different from watching an action movie, albeit in a healthier manner and through healthy habits like reading.

Teaches character building

It shows kids how characters are formed, and gives an idea about main and minor characters as well as negative and positive ones- thus teaching them about character building and strengthening their base for writing skills, character formation, and building plot structures.

Creative and emotional outlet

The fascinating stories backed by an attractive visual component that is designed to make reading sensory and enjoyable can act as stress relievers for kids and allow them to refresh their minds before getting on to school tasks. Reading comics can act as outlet for kids to get lost, if for a few moments, in an imaginative, graphic world.

Think differently

Unlike purely text-based, comic books readers have to process not just the textual, but also the visual and spatial, and then combine all of these into one final understanding of the story or plot. The processing here is more complex and has higher neurological benefits for kids.

So, if you’re a parent, don’t discourage your child when they pick up a comic book. Allow them to better their reading, imagination, creativity, and cognitive thinking as they immerse themselves into a multimodal way of reading with the help of comic books.