Editorial
Encourage love of reading in children
Reading preferences are changing, particularly among youth as there is a rising trend to consume information fast through digital means, which can lessen the time spent on traditional kinds of reading.
As a result of the growth of digital platforms, reading habits among children have become shallower with a focus on keyword scanning rather than in-depth comprehension.
Children are mostly using phones and tablets to watch videos instead of reading books, and if we do not adapt to the trends, we will lose our young readers.
In the past, schoolchildren would frequently visit the library to borrow books to read, and they would compete to read story books. Today, however, very few people read story books.
Since videos offer a quicker, easier, and more visually engaging way to ingest information and entertainment, the majority of children choose to watch them.
Although videos are a fast and effective way to convey information, particularly when time is of the essence, reading fosters creativity and the brain’s capacity for active information processing.
Of course, there are many mental, emotional, and intellectual benefits to developing a reading habit, such as expanded vocabulary and knowledge, better concentration and critical thinking therefore fostering a strong reading culture from an early age is important.
In reality, the low reading culture is being negatively impacted by the publishing sector, yet a successful book industry can be established.
In order to effectively encourage pupils to develop reading as a regular habit, The Spectator advises them to set reasonable daily reading objectives for themselves. They should be encouraged by both parents and teachers to read since it is an important way to acquire both general and specialised knowledge.
Reading aloud every day and encouraging a love of books are two ways to teach reading to children at a young age and make it engaging and enjoyable.
Giving children story books as birthday presents and asking them questions after they have finished reading them is one approach for parents to encourage a love of reading in their children.
It will help them to focus longer, engage more deeply intellectually, and develop critical thinking skills as a result.
Additionally, parents should take their children to book exhibitions and buy them books that will help them grasp and envision scenes because books provide a better comprehension of characters’ ideas and feelings.
Even though the reading culture and library visits have declined in modern times children should be encouraged to join libraries and subscribe to one or two books making sure that they select books that correspond with their interests and increase involvement and enjoyment.
We encourage stakeholders to collaborate in order to cultivate children’s passion for reading.
Dear Editor,
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and I wish to use your respected platform to appeal to the Cocobod to make enough cocoa products available and at reduced prices.
It might interest you to know that there are a lot of people like me who hardly take time to refresh ourselves with cocoa products like chocolate and so forth.
It is occasions like this that make us refresh ourselves with chocolate and other cocoa-related products.
Gladly, inflation has dropped significantly and for ordinary citizens like us, purchasing some of these products at reduced prices is the only way we can experience this reduction.
As usual, the market women would rush to buy and sell them at exorbitant prices, forcing a lot of people to stay away from showing love to friends and families.
I, therefore, appeal to the Cocobod to make the chocolates and other products available in large quantities at vantage points to make them accessible to all.
Maxwell Alabi,
Mamprobi
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Homelessness in Ghana, particularly in major cities like Accra, Kumasi, and Takoradi, is a growing crisis driven by severe housing shortages, economic hardship, and rapid urbanisation.
Thousands of people, including children, sleep on the streets, in front of stores, on pavements, or beneath footbridges at the mercy of the weather due to the lack of accessible, safe, and secure housing. Their situation is even worse when it rains since they have nowhere to hide.
In actual fact, housing infrastructure development is far behind the influx of migrants from rural areas to cities like Accra in search of better prospects, which leads to overcrowding and low-grade housing.
Although the homeless feel safe in their temporary shelters on streets and pavements, it is dangerous to their health. When they are sacked, they soon return to the streets again as they have no place of abode, so the situation becomes a cycle of ‘sacking and returning.’
This menace of homelessness comes as a result of poverty, migration, parental neglect, divorce, among others, which is affecting many women and children. In effect, children who should be in school find themselves on the streets, begging for alms.
Some of them pick whatever they can find, such as half-spoiled products from trash dumps, leftovers from the road, or food scraps. This puts their lives in jeopardy every day by exposing them to illnesses, abuse, drug usage, and human trafficking.
The homeless must be empowered with skills development and job creation opportunities such as vocational training to allow them to become economically self-sufficient and move off the streets.
Ghana cannot progress if she fails to address this menace; therefore, the government must find lasting solutions to the problem by investing in the construction of low-cost, affordable housing units, creating rent-to-own schemes to ensure low-income earners can secure shelter.
Additionally, the government should find ways to reduce the influx of people into cities by creating more jobs and investing in infrastructure in rural areas.
There is the urgent need to enhance support for victims of domestic violence and families in distress, which will go a long way to prevent them from becoming homeless, especially women who face barriers to property ownership.
It is necessary to have more shelters, feeding programmess, rehabilitation facilities, and mandatory school reintegration to address this challenge.
Addressing homelessness in Ghana requires a collaborative approach involving government action, private sector investment in low-cost housing, and support from Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) to ensure sustainable, long-term solutions.
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