Booking for 4

Why blog about reading to children?

When I was a new-ish mum one of my sisters related a story that has stuck with me. She was studying to be a secondary school teacher and was doing placements at a school in Melbourne. She was talking to her supervising teacher about some of the challenges they faced in the classroom, particularly some of the teenage boys who were struggling with academic and discipline issues. My sister asked this teacher what she thought the solution was and the answer was something along the lines of: I would go back in time and read to them as children.

While I had already seen the benefit of reading to my child, even as a small baby, from this story I began to understand how long-lasting the effects of reading could be. It gave me greater motivation. It helped me realise that more than just telling nice stories and creating a bond, I was starting his education and hopefully giving him a love of books and learning.

So as time has gone by and more children have come along I have continued to make reading to my children an important part of our daily lives. In 2014 I set a goal to read to each of my children every day. I had noticed that my younger child was not as engaged in our reading time – mainly because the older child would dominate the selection of the books. I realised I needed to be really conscious about what we were reading and making time for each child individually.

Now that we have had a fourth little person join our family we have quite a wide range of interests and developmental stages to cater for when we are selecting books. We have one who is reading independently, one who is graduating out of picture books, one who is just starting to follow story lines and one who just learned to see.

Reading to each child individually is not a daily event – as much as I try – I do take every opportunity to read my kids, especially when they ask me to. It is a beautiful thing to have your child bring you a book and say: “Mummy, read ‘dis one?” 

To achieve these reading goals we have made visits to the local library part of our regular schedule. We love the library and in a later post I’ll wax lyrical about all the benefits of using local libraries, plus some suggestions to make the most of your local library. I strongly recommend that anyone with a child of any age should visit the library as often as your schedule allows. We have found new (and old) friends while on our library visits and have felt part of a community that values reading and education.

My hope in writing this blog is to encourage other parents to enhance their child’s reading experiences. I will be posting book reviews, tips and strategies, and some of our successful reading experiences (and probably some unsuccessful ones). I also hope to hear back from others about their successes in the hopes that I can learn. I am keenly aware that soon my kids will venture into young adult literature, which I have no idea yet how to introduce to them.

Intentionally doing what we can to help children become independent, educated and understanding people through reading is something everyone can do – and I’m trying!