I was once a librarian. That was one year I can never forget. Some time in 1968, when I was a graduate student in the U.S., I had the opportunity to work as a librarian in a special school, the Rackham School at Eastern Michigan University. It was a small library with about 300 children’s books and a file box. But what struck me most was that it was an empty library. The children did not come to read. Understandably so, because there was no one to care for this library. This was a challenge to my creativity How could I make this a meaningful place for young children? I thought that first, I must go out and meet the children. I brought along some interesting storybooks and went to their classrooms and read to them. Now they knew that someone did care for their books and that started the flow of varied personalities into the little library.
The library flourished and pretty soon the children got so hooked on the books that fights would break out among them over the reading materials. It was a memorable year for me, not only because I had succeeded in drawing the youngsters to the place, but also because they eventually learned to enjoy reading.
As a parent, you may ask yourself, “how can I encourage my children to read?” The answer to this question is to excite their curiosity. When you make a child aware of his surroundings, he becomes an inquirer; he becomes curious, and wants to learn more. I think this is the first step to reading. When you go outdoors, elicit observations from the children and share some of your own. When thus challenged, their minds start to think. I think TV becomes a hindrance because it doesn’t allow a child to ask questions or become sensitive to their environment. Television, in many ways, does the thinking for children. And we must be aware that TV competes with reading time. Once curiosity is aroused, children will want to know more. And a good way to find out more, is to read a book. Many times, we may not find the answer we are seeking, but books always have a way of introducing you to other experiences. It is like the yellow pages — you don’t have to go far when “you walk the yellow pages”. Reading not only teaches you how to gather facts, but also helps you experience other ways of thinking. But before one can cultivate a zest for reading in the child, we must first make a quick check on the child’s health — if there are any physical or psychological obstacles to reading.
To check his eyesight, ask the child to name the pictures on the wall. To check for hearing, call out his name and see if he responds. Does he look straight at you when you talk to him or does he incline his ear towards your voice? Is the child emotionally well? Many times, children with psychological problems cannot concentrate on a story. Listening or reading becomes difficult for them. When all these factors are fine, work on attitude building. This is most important with young children. It is not memorizing a story that matters, rather it is learning to appreciate literature. When we read a good poem or story a day to a child, this will certainly encourage him to want to learn to read on his own. Reading builds writers. To further encourage reading as well as writing, let children draw or illustrate their own life stories. Do not as much as possible, correct errors. Criticism at this early stage may discourage him from expressing his innermost thoughts and feelings as well as from experimenting with his new found skill. We have not reached that stage where we can be truly called a “nation of readers”. As the more responsible members of society — we can start by being ourselves curious about what lies between a book’s covers. We will surely be convinced about the good value of books when we observe our young children enjoying storytelling and wanting to read and read and read. At that point, it would be safe to say they will be ready for the world.
Insurance companies are an aggressive bunch. Pick up any Sunday magazine or daily paper and one finds a variety of insurance plans to select from. A great number of readers are swayed over to buy such insurance plans. But there is another kind of insurance plan that anyone can have, at minimal cost, but with some investment in time from the adult caregiver. However, it needs an adult to provide that initial motivation, or a desire to want it. It is reading — for life!
The person who chooses to read instead of watch television is most likely one who has had pleasant early experiences with reading. A concerned and appreciative adult most probably introduced him to reading. The adult may have been a parent who took time out to read to his child or a teacher or aunt/uncle who believed that reading a book a day to this young child would help him develop a reading habit. In addition, the child must have been encouraged by seeing adults around him who enjoy reading their newspapers, magazines, and novels.
Once a child is hooked on reading, he learns to imagine being in different places, at different times, and even becoming the persons he reads about in books. The child who starts reading early, acquires a kind of insurance that will bring him educational dividends throughout his lifetime. He will never tire of learning, of seeking answers, or of imagining new possibilities in life. When selecting books for toddlers, choose books that carry the story line with visuals. The more colorful the illustrations, the better. Photographs are also attractive and can hold the child’s attention. Some stories may be too lengthy and the storyteller may have to shorten these to keep the child involved. Point out objects in the story that the toddler can recognize.
The young child never tires of hearing a story over and over. The patient parent who gives in to a request for the same book night after night, soon discovers that the child knows the book by heart; almost as if the child could “read” the book. In fact, this is the start of reading by sight. Familiarization with the printed letter, and later the printed word, are sure signs that the child will start reading at an early age.
If there are no books available, or are too costly for your budget, make a book! Draw or cut out pictures from magazines to illustrate a story you can recall or create your own story. Simple stories for toddlers include events or experiences familiar to them, such as — things they do in a day; people they know and love; things they see around them, and stories of favorite animals and pets. These booklets should be small and easy to handle (the size of half a sheet of bond paper).
Current trends in early childhood education show that children should be made aware of cultural diversity and sex role sensitivity Books need to include people of various cultures and backgrounds ind should be sensitive to sex role stereotyping. Stories that revolve around the theme of stepparents being evil (Cinderella, Hansel ‘&‘ Grete) should be avoided. At the very least, the storyteller should explain to the child that this is an unusual story and that not all stepparents are cruel to their children. Typecasting the father as the hard worker and the mother as the docile housewife, is another tendency the adult storyteller must be aware of. Instead, values and perseverance should be emphasized and discussed with the young child.
The home should be an inviting place to read books. An area where there are things to read (magazines, picture books, and newspapers) should be within reach of the younger members of the family. If they are burdened with schoolwork, make it a point to reserve time during the day
for reading material they are interested in. This would be a relaxing activity the child can look forward to when he comes home.
By age 9, if the child has acquired the habit of picking up a book, even before going to bed — then the parent should feel that the time invested in reading to the child was well worth it.