I have lost count of the number of times I have been asked
this question by my friends, colleagues and even complete strangers,” how do
you get your kids to read? Every time someone sees my kids with their noses
buried in a book, this is the first thing they ask, “How did you instil reading
habit in them?” Seriously, I didn’t know how it happened either. May be it was
something I did!
So I thought of jotting down a few things I did, mostly
without the knowledge of the wonderful effect it would have on them years later
metamorphosing them into bookworms.
Though I would love to say it’s never too late to start, it
definitely would have a bigger impact if kids have been introduced to books
from a very young age. How early you ask…..how about as early as 4-6 months. I
can hear you snickering under your breath; but I do have the responsibility to
present a true account, don’t I?
I started reading books to my first born when she was around
5-6 months old. It was mostly rhymes and by the time she was 7 months old, she
was flipping through to the page which had the rhyme I was singing. I started
reading story books and poems by the time she was 9 months and gradually
started teaching alphabets, numbers, fruits, vegetables, birds, common objects
and so on. To my amazement, she started reciting them as soon as she started
talking….just like that. Children start internalising everything they see and
hear, even before they start speaking and then it’s just a matter of time.
I still remember quite
vividly, reading a book of poems called “Poems for Annie Rose” to my 8 month
old daughter and what a lovely book it was!
It soon became her favourite and I had to read that book at least 15-20
times a day for quite a few months. I still have that book with me; just
couldn’t part with it, brings back such fond memories. And I remember buying
Dr.Seuss books for early readers just before she turned 3. I know, I know, it’s
a little too ambitious you would say…But it was exactly what she needed at that
time. With a little phonics sound practice she was all set to read.
Once she started reading on her own, there was no turning
back. Even now that she is 14 years old, books are her best friends and she is
completely oblivious of the world around her if she has a book for
company. Same story, three and a half
years later with my son too….I am sure there is no need for me to go on.
To all the New mommies out there, Start early; and to all my
bookworm friends……Happy reading!!!
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