The Reading Habit

CEBU, Philippines - “When you open a book for your child and share it in reading, you’re giving shape and dimension to the routine events of everyday life, making it possible for your child to discover the meaning of childhood.” — Regina Higgins, “Magic Kingdoms.”

Research shows that there are many benefits to be gained from the reading habits. It is found that avid readers:

• Read better, write better and concentrate better.

• Are quicker to see subtleties.

• Have an easier time processing new information.

• Have a better chance for a successful, fulfilling adult life.

• Have many interests and do well in a wide variety of subjects.

• Develop an ability to understand how other people think and feel.

• Acquire the ability to sift information and to understand how unrelated facts can fit into a whole.

• Tend to be more flexible in their thinking and more open to new ideas.

• Weather personal problems better without their schoolwork being affected.

• And with the explosion of information in today’s workplace, only avid readers can stay well informed with relative ease.

Parents should start the children early. But, no matter the age of their children, parents can start teaching them to appreciate reading and to want to learn to read for themselves. Jim Trelease, author of “The Read-Aloud Handbook,” offers the following points to help parents know what’s appropriate for different stages of development:

• At four months of age, a child is able to listen and observe.

• When reading, the parent’s arms should encircle the child in such a way as to suggest support and bonding, but not imprisonment.

• By six months, the child is more interested in grabbing a book to chew or suck on rather than listening. The problem may be bypassed by giving the baby a teething toy or other distraction.

• At 8 months, the child may prefer turning pages to steady listening. The little one shall be allowed to explore this activity, but not to take the book away from the parent.

• At 12 months, the child’s involvement grows to turning pages for the parent, pointing to objects the parent names on the page, even making noises for animals on cue.

• By 15 months and the onset of walking, the child is already fully restlessness, and the parent’s reading times must be chosen so as not to frustrate the child’s immediate interests.

• By 2 years old children are interested in everything and need names for those things. So parents shall plan to spend more time on each page, naming items in pictures.

Once a child is calm in the presence of books and more inclined to listen than to rip, it’s time to introduce interactive books, like “Pat the Bunny” or “I’m a Little Mouse. Familiarity is important in developing a lasting relationship with books, so the toddler years are a good time to purchase books to read and reread.

With 3- and 4-year-olds, parents can start encouraging the kids to read for themselves by teaching them the initial sounds of letters. Alphabet books, magnetic letters on the fridge and drawing letters on paper can be fun and instructional. “The trick in this is to never quiz your child. Teach letters casually,” author Mary Leonhardt writes. Another idea is to write words on index cards and tape them to the things they name, such as a chair or piano. (www.focusonthefamily.com)