I’m sorry that it has taken so long to write, but summer reading has been wonderfully chaotic. This week all our programs culminate in one wild, fun-filled finale. Now all we need is for the weather to cooperate and we are golden.
Keeping with the reading theme, I really want to comment on an article I read recently. The article urged parents to limit TV time, monitor their children’s computer use and read to their children. While no one can really disagree with those goals, the author then goes on to list his ten commandments of how to turn your children into lifelong readers. Unfortunately, the items come with the attitude that reading is something you must get over and done with in order to move on to the fun stuff. Reading is almost a punishment – No TV until you’ve done your reading!
Every summer, we see older children in the library who are clearly not interested in reading anything. They are usually accompanied by a parent who is coming very close to pulling the child by the ear down the aisles looking for a book that there is some small chance they might read. It is a triumph when we can find that child the right book to make the assignment palatable.
It is also a shame. Not every child excels at reading. Some, for a variety of reasons, have difficulty. However, the parents’ attitude towards reading really shapes their child’s perception of what kind of activity reading is. Are you telling your child, in subtle ways that reading is only for academics? Is reading something fun? Does your child see you read (newspapers, magazines, everything counts) and enjoy it?
Start when your child is young. Books are a terrific reward for good behavior, chores completed or even as part of a birthday or holiday gift. Make sure your children associate books with positive experiences. Read together often, but make sure it is when you are both in the mood. No one likes being forced to do anything. This seems to go double for children. Make sure your child sees everyone else in the house reading on a regular basis too. Point out the reading that Mommy and/or Daddy do at work.
The best thing I did when my children were growing up was make a reward for reading time. My children went to bed at 7:30PM, however, if they wanted to have reading time before bed they were allowed to stay up and read until 8:00PM. When they were small, I stayed upstairs with them and read to them. When they could read on their own, they did. As they got older and bedtime changed, I stuck with the rule. If you read, you were rewarded and allowed to stay up for an extra half an hour. To this day, my children (who are now in college), read before bed. Yes, they still watch TV and DVDs, surf the net, visit Facebook and MySpace and IM the world, but they have never forgotten their love of reading for pleasure. It’s a wonderful gift.
