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Articles on Reading
 Here's some
interesting ideas from Bob Keeshan...you might
know him better as "Captain Kangaroo"...on
getting children to read. He has a new book out
called Books to Grow By. |
"I'm
very much in favor of reading to the child from
day one -- from the time the infant comes home
from the hospital. Whenever I talk about reading
to infants, parents say to me: "Reading to a
baby? Will they understand the words, the story?"
Of course they won't! What the parent reads is
not as important as the fact that he or she is
reading. It is the parent's voice and the sight
of the parent's face that the baby enjoys. These
early months are also a wonderful time for songs
and nursery rhymes -- they aren't called "nursery
rhymes" for nothing.
Even in the child's earliest days, parents should
depart from the book for a moment of conversation
about the story. They should elicit the child's
opinion about the story, even if the child can't
speak yet. He or she will respond -- with a look,
or a giggle, or something.
By the time the child is four or so, a respect
for books should be taught. I can still remember
the way my mother handled books with reverence.
That feeling for books was transferred to me.
With books, as with everything else in the
child's life, the parent is the model.
By the time the child is three to six years of
age, books should be everywhere -- in the child's
bedroom, in the living room, in the car, in the
travel bag ready to be pulled out when waiting at
the doctor's office or wherever. Parents must
take seriously the value of bringing the child
and adult together at story time. I have had
countless adults tell me how important my
television story times were to them and how they
fostered a bond between us.
Parents say to me all the time, "How can I
get my child to read? They're watching television
so much." I usually counter with a question:
"Well, what was the last book you read?"
And most of the time they say something like:
"Oh, well, I'm so busy, and when I get home
from work I'm tired, and I turn on the TV and
start watching the news during dinner, and . . .
." Well, if you're watching television, how
do you expect the kids not to watch television?
You're modeling that behavior. On the other hand,
if you are reading regularly -- every day -- to
your children, taking a reading time of fifteen
or twenty minutes, whenever it can occur, before
bed or whatever, that shows a respect for books.
It shows that you respect books, and a reverence
for books is developed, along with a reverence
for story. That is the only way to really get
kids interested in reading: Show how interesting
it is and how much fun it is. If you read, your
child will follow your example, as the night
follows the day.
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