Quote for The WeekElizabeth Hardwick said: "The greatest gift is a passion for reading. It is cheap, it consoles, it distracts, it excites, it gives you knowledge of the world and experience of a wide kind."
If you know how to read, and you have children, you possess a gift that can only be given when a child is young. Read to your child. Do it every day - at least every night. There's no mystery as to why the bedtime story ritual is so popular. One on one time between a parent and a child combined with a great story results in loving bonds and memories and creates a reading child who'll grow to be an adult reader.
Read to your kids and then have them read stories to you when they learn to read. Take them to libraries and book stores. Give them books at least as much as DVDs and video games. Create excitement for stories. It's an investment that pays dividends for all concerned.
Joan, you are so right about the importance of reading to kids. Not only that, it's fun. I have been delighted with books that were written for kids, but adults can enjoy. And most recently I have discovered the Junie B books for young readers - probably first through third grade. Funny character with snappy dialogue and I have had a ball reading those to my youngest grandchildren. They love it, too, because I make it a very dramatic reading with different voices, etc. Lots of fun.
ReplyDeleteI think if a poll was taken the results would show that adult readers were read to as children, and adults who say they don't like to read were not read to.
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