The Making of a Reader

Children are made readers on the laps of their parents.

—Emilie Buchwald

Source: www.doctravelusa.com

I grew up in a house full of books – literally – we had bookshelves against almost every wall. Large and intimidating medical books, unbelievably thick books on theology, interesting literary works in every genre and spanning across cultures, and classics we were made to check off our list even before reaching puberty. My parents made no secret of the fact that reading would become our passion, whether my brother and I realized it then or not.

Having seen their efforts pay off handsomely in both my brother’s and my academic success and intellectual development, I purposed in my heart to pass along the precious gift of reading to my child, when I became a mother.  What a wonderful journey it has been already! I began reading to my daughter when she was a few weeks old and as the weeks became months and the months now almost two years, I've watched her interest and love for those treasured leaves increase, and with it, her amazing intelligence, curiosity, and confidence. 

It was a book that taught my daughter by the time she was about 11 months, most of her body parts. She would point to her nose, grin to show her teeth, or blink her eyes on instruction. It was a book that taught her to growl like a lion, trumpet like an elephant, and hiss like a snake. Another book taught her that brushing her teeth was fun and that she could mimic a fish while swishing the water in her mouth during rinsing.  Then there’s the sign language book that taught her to say ‘baby’ by rocking her hands from side to side, and the one on nursery rhymes that has her pitch perfect on ‘row, row, row your boat.’ The word book, pronounced ‘gook,’ at the time, was my daughter’s first word.

At reading time in our home, I've watched her blank stare, at a few weeks old, evolve into active participation. Today, if I lose a minute getting started, she’ll approach her shelf on her own, pick the book of her choice, settle down on the carpet, and flip through the pages babbling coherently to herself. The positive results of reading have been obvious and significant, especially considering that it’s been a pretty easy habit to cultivate. In a nutshell, we followed these steps to make reading a staple in her life:

1. I began by reading to her as an infant in the evenings after her bath and before bed, and have maintained this routine into her toddler-hood. I intend to hold on to this tradition for as long as possible.

   
   

   Source: www.dareesinsight.wordpress.com

2. We have displayed several books, both children’s and more advanced books prominently in her room and around the house in an effort for her to see books as an integral part of her life.
3. I purposely lose my inhibition when reading to her, making silly faces and noises to spice things up a bit. Sometimes I stop to sing or dance with her when the need arises.
4. Now that she is old enough, I tell her after bathing and dressing up, ‘it’s reading time, go pick the book you want us to read.’ She’ll eagerly pick the book of her choice and will quickly ease herself into my lap and relax as we read together. Many times, she’ll insist on owning the page-flipping, which I find quite endearing. I celebrate every effort she makes and congratulate her for her interest.
   
   

   

   Source: www.stylenest.co.uk
   
   

5. I ask her questions, I let her repeat the words or point to things, I allow time for her to savor the moment and I dutifully oblige when she wants to read multiple books a night.
6. After creating a good collection of a few key books she enjoys, I've introduced library visits to our routine. One of the activities we enjoy together during ‘a mummy-daughter’ day is visiting the library where she gets to pick the books we check out.
   
   

   
   

   Source: www.theguardian.com 

Of course there’s no silver bullet to good parenting or making your kid a genius but establishing a love for reading comes pretty darn close – it’s literally a crash-course in helping your child reach developmental milestones early, stimulating their imagination and intellect, while creating a special bonding experience for you and your child.

So, in honor of International Literacy Day tomorrow, September 8th, let's make prolific readers out of our children!