Raising book lovers in a media-rich world

If you've been here awhile, you know that I heart Dr. Steven Parker over at WebMD. Here he writes about why it's more important than ever to raise kids who love books.

I know Parent Hacks readers don't need to be reminded about the importance of reading. But Dr. P has more to say on the topic: specifically, how the slow, involved "work" of reading provides the perfect counterpoint to fast-paced, mostly passive media entertainment. Good stuff.

Tags: Baby, Toddler

Comments

[Janie]

Presently I work at a group family daycare and we stress the importance of reading a book everyday. This article really hits home for me. I have a three year old son and he loves to read stories and reread them. Parents as well as educators consistantly should enforce reading on a daily basis.

[decompiler]

reading is extra important to stay up on during the summer! my 7-year-old has recently discovered several series of ~50 page chapter books that she will sit and read in one sitting -- magic treehouse, bailey school kids, rainbow fairies -- granted, they're not all award winning content, but she's reading!

we almost never deny her one of these books (~$4) when we hit the book store, but recently i made a deal with her that appears to be going well: i told that for every book she buys with her own allowance, i'll buy her another book of approx. the same value. she's learning to save her money and she's reading more than ever!

also, i just wanted to pass on that barnes & noble is doing their 10th annual summer reading program where your kid can get free books (we just found out about it last night, and my daughter said she was going to stay up all night reading so she could get a free book today.) anyway, go to your local b&n or check here for details:

http://www.barnesandnobleinc.com/our_company/community/Summer_Reading/Summer_Reading_Program.html

p34c3, l0v3, & b00k5!

[Jill]

My just barely reading five year old earns a penny each time he reads a picture/board book to his two year old brother. They're both getting into it!

[Larry Wright]

Both of our kids love reading, even the 14 -month old. He's constantly bringing us books to read to him. We just did a post about this a little while ago: http://www.welcometoparenthood.com/articles/2006/06/08/raising-children-who-love-to-read

[momma2mingbu]

Here's a post I did on my blog about helping our children become fluent readers -

http://the5dollars.blogspot.com/2006/05/helping-our-children-become-fluent.html