Can you imagine living in a society where reading wasn’t allowed?
Throughout history, dictators and religious extremists have used any means possible to prevent children, especially girls, from going to school and learning to read.
To those extremists etc, preventing citizens from being able to read is no accident.
That’s because being able to read is very powerful.
It allows you to know, to acquire information and understanding, to figure things out for yourself, and to have some control over your world.
Reading gives you access to ideas that can make you question and challenge authority (and dictators and extremists don’t like that.)
Many people around the world are in awe of the fact that in our North American society, we are not only free to learn to read, but encouraged.
For us, reading is essential for basic day to day living. And essential for a democracy to flourish.
As parents, we rarely think about the “big picture” when we think about how important it is for our children to learn to read.
We just earnestly want our children to learn to read well, as it truly impacts their options in life.
I’ve often heard from parents who are not sure what their role is in helping their children to become good, confident readers.
“Should we be drilling them on their letters and numbers when they are two?”
“Should we be pushing them to read as early as possible?”
“Should we wait until their second teeth come in? Or is it all up to the schools?”
So, what can you do to make sure your children learn how to read?
Believe it or not, learning to read starts as soon as a baby is born.
Now, I’m not talking about flashcards for babies, or pushing buttons on an iPad.
I am talking about… talking.
When you talk to your baby, you are teaching her the sounds, the rhythms, the context, the actual words, and the meaning of their language.
There is a universal language that linguists have identified in EVERY culture called “Motherese”.
Or “Parentese” or “Child Directed Language”
You might know it as “Baby Talk”.
When adults (all over the world) talk to their babies and toddlers, their speech becomes high pitched and slow, with exaggerated expression, with long pauses in between phrases. This kind of speech lays the groundwork for language development and social interaction. The more you talk to to your baby and toddler, the more you sing to them, the more you recite nursery rhymes to them, the more language they learn. The more you read to your kids (yes, including your littlest baby) the more language they learn. The more exposure you give them to the words and concepts of their language(s), the easier it will be for them to learn to read. Because reading is all about words and meaning.
The research is very clear: The more babies and young children are talked to and read to, the better readers they become. How great is that?!
Giving the gift of reading to your children is actually easy. And it’s fun.
You just need to talk lots to your kids, starting from the day they are born. And you need to read lots to your kids. Just as day to day loving, cuddling and holding your kids develops their emotional well
being; day to day talking, singing and reading to your children develops their reading well
being. Easy peasy.
As you put words to what they are doing, their brains build the connections between actions,
objects, feelings and words.
Sometimes finding the time to read to your children seems like a major challenge but if you think about how much reading together with them contributes to their development, you might put it up there on your priority list, rather than something you squeeze in before bed. It’s fine to teach your child the alphabet, or numbers if your child is interested. Some children love it and it helps build familiarity with the written word. Some children really aren’t ready for that though, and it can just build frustration and resistance to reading. Some children really want to learn to read at an early age, so feel free to follow their lead. They can repeat every word of the stories you read to them and they almost teach themselves.
With my own children, reading together was one of my very greatest parenting pleasures. Both of my children, Aaron and Elena, were introduced to books when they were really tiny, and they both loved being read to from early infancy. We always read with lots of expression and involvement.
We woofed and quacked with each animal on the page.
We vroomed with every picture of a giant dump truck.
Reading was genuinely exciting – even if it was the 200th time we read the book.
Their father and I read to them every night until they were teenagers, (really!) even though they had become excellent readers who could read very well on their own. Reading together with them was special. It was always a time of closeness, sharing, connectedness and intimacy.
As they got older and the books we read became more and more complex, reading together offered an opportunity to talk about “bigger” issues… relationships, feelings, history, politics, science, women’s issues, morality, business ethics – everything was in books. Aside from turning my kids into excellent readers and writers, all of those hours spent reading together and sharing a wonderful enriching experience built a closeness and solidness that has sustained itself over time. I treasure that time we spent together.
And you can treasure time spent reading with your kids too! If you are reading this, you have been given the gift of reading. So be sure to take the steps to pass the wonderful gift of literacy on to your children!
Resources :
There are so many wonderful children’s books out there.
If you don’t have many of your own, take advantage of the library.
If you don’t feel confident with your own reading, go to public storytimes at the library and watch how the librarian reads to the kids.
In BC you can enroll in Strong Start or other early childhood programs.
The fun and delightful Mother Goose program offered in many communities will teach you and your baby and toddler songs and poems that support their language development.
If you, or a Mom you know has problems with reading, check out local literacy programs and encourage them to take advantage of them.
