Grade 7 student at an international school in bangkok
In a 2007 issue of the now defunct Learning Post (Bangkok Post), Cherry Pua-Africa (what a strange name, but, hey, even the great Shakespeare said, “What’s in a name?”), an educator from Singapore, gives parents a few tips on how to teach their child to enjoy reading, even if they are not avid readers.
1) While watching DVDs with your children mute the sound, activate the English subtitles option and read the dialogues together.
My comments: But movies without sound are almost nothing. Can you imagine watching an Alfred Hitchcock movie with the volume turned all the way down? Ups, maybe Hitchcock’s movies are not the best choice for parents to watch with their children, but the same holds true with any other animation movie.
2) Dads can read out loud from their favourite sport section (or mums can read from the fashion section) when their children are around!
My comments: But I wonder if an 8-year-old child is interested in Tiger Wood’s latest games or what Beckham’s wife wears while skiing?
3) Involve the child in a cooking project, and thus you can read the recipe together.
My comments: But the focus will be on the cooking part rather than the few minutes the parent can spend with the child reading from the cook book. Yes, of course, you can drag it on and on, but you might take the pleasure out of the whole activity!
4) Read the menu at the restaurant before ordering, and read the resort’s travel brochure before going on a holiday.
My comments: Good idea, but in this case it applies only to parents with good jobs (or lots of money) who can afford restaurants that have menus in English, and expensive resorts with fancy brochures.
5) Children write a shopping list at home and read it while shopping.
My comments: How long can a shopping list be? But I guess every second children spent reading matters.
6) Read the letters and greeting / gift cards the family receives on special occasions.
My comments: Nice idea, but if handwritten, it might be difficult for young learners to decipher the words.
7) Make scrapbooks of family outings which children can read before going to bed at night.
My comments: Nice arts and craft / writing project.
Building the Tower of Knowledge
There is no doubt that the ideas presented by the author are viable, but the reading time spent doing the 7 points above is just not enough. I understand that they are just tips of how to get your child to enjoy reading, but what about:
– spending time in book stores and buying books?
– going to a public library and borrowing books?
– reading your child a fairy tale before going to bed?
– building a nice personal library at home?
I’d like to end with a few quotes by Cherry Pua-Africa’s article:
– “This is such a wonderful site to behold – a family reading together!”
– “The printed word is not just found in books. They are everywhere.”
… and…
– “Don’t worry that children never listen to you. Worry that they are always watching you.” (Robert Fulghum, American author)
We found a cool way to get our kids into reading. Audiobooks. It’s not as good as the real think, but far more engaging than tv. It’s a good half step.