Thank you for the constant attention to the fact that children are people. It seems like such a simple fact, but the predominant narrative often falls short. Your experience, insight, and wise counsel is much appreciated
Absolutely. It feels completely wrong to force an activity on a child, but there is this perceived ideology around reading to them...if you don't or can't do it then something is wrong. I also love reading and was an avid reader as a child, but my children have always bounced around the room when I read to them! They now ask me to do it while they're in the bath (they're both obviously a bit more regulated then!), and I'm glad I've ignored the little ableist voice within telling me that something is terribly wrong if I don't read to them every single day...
I too couldn’t get the “snuggled up with a book” thing with my now 14yo, but for different a reason. My lad loved books. We read to him everyday-long “big kid” books. But snuggling up? No! Reading was a body contact sport. He twirled and whirled and did handstands. On several occasions I was kicked in the mouth by a wayward foot. At first I tried to create the sweet “snuggled up with a book” scene by force....sit still ....concentrate...... but then I realised he heard every single word. He listened better upside down. So we took steps to avoid the inadvertent foot in mums mouth and continued bravely to read through many many books series.
I was quietly smug that my kid enjoyed books. I was a good mum! I had set up a life long live of books for my son. Fast forward a decade....and now..... he doesn’t pick up a book. Just not interested!!!! From my experiment of sample size of one, there is no correlation between a love of books and reading in the early years and the teenage years. We will wait and see whether the interest rises in adult years!
Thank you for the constant attention to the fact that children are people. It seems like such a simple fact, but the predominant narrative often falls short. Your experience, insight, and wise counsel is much appreciated
Absolutely. It feels completely wrong to force an activity on a child, but there is this perceived ideology around reading to them...if you don't or can't do it then something is wrong. I also love reading and was an avid reader as a child, but my children have always bounced around the room when I read to them! They now ask me to do it while they're in the bath (they're both obviously a bit more regulated then!), and I'm glad I've ignored the little ableist voice within telling me that something is terribly wrong if I don't read to them every single day...
I too couldn’t get the “snuggled up with a book” thing with my now 14yo, but for different a reason. My lad loved books. We read to him everyday-long “big kid” books. But snuggling up? No! Reading was a body contact sport. He twirled and whirled and did handstands. On several occasions I was kicked in the mouth by a wayward foot. At first I tried to create the sweet “snuggled up with a book” scene by force....sit still ....concentrate...... but then I realised he heard every single word. He listened better upside down. So we took steps to avoid the inadvertent foot in mums mouth and continued bravely to read through many many books series.
I was quietly smug that my kid enjoyed books. I was a good mum! I had set up a life long live of books for my son. Fast forward a decade....and now..... he doesn’t pick up a book. Just not interested!!!! From my experiment of sample size of one, there is no correlation between a love of books and reading in the early years and the teenage years. We will wait and see whether the interest rises in adult years!