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I read to my kids almost since birth. They were all strong students. But even if that hadn't been the case, I'd be hard pressed to find anything negative about the practice. What could possible be wrong with an activity that brings parents and children together, bonding over a story?
My parents read to me every day starting at about age 1.
I was reading by age 2. In the 2nd grade, I was reading at the level of a HS grad. Everybody, including myself; attributed it to being read to from such an early age.
After that, my reading ability took an almost freakish turn. At age 16, despite never having gone past the 9th grade, my reading comprehension was tested & I scored in the top 2% of the nation. I now read at 1,363 words per minute. Turns out, it is a condition called 'Hyperlexia', meaning 'precocious reading'. It is almost 100% associated with autism; in fact, it is classified as an 'autistic savant' capability.
Honestly; I STILL believe it was my parents who were the catalyst for this. Without them; who would have noticed it? Fostered it & nurtured it?
I loved learning to read before five. Of course I drove the entire household nuts spelling words from the newspaper and wanting to know their meaning. Even words off the tombstones in the graveyard behind our street...."Mommy, what does bow-some mean, b-o-s-o-m?" Mommy was not ready for that one.
As I recall the inscription I had read said: Resting in the bosom of Abraham. "Resting" I knew, and that Abraham guy too, bow-some, no.
My mother read to me from an early age, usually when I went to bed. The Raggedy Ann and Andy books, Little Black Sambo...probably my favorite, I was crazy about him getting that butter and not being eaten by the mean ol' tigers. And then a little book of Bible stories from a devout aunt and Myths and Legends of the Celtic Race from her brother (I still have that same copy on my bookshelf). Unfortunately for my future religious salvation my mother read from those last two books without making the distinction that one was The Truth and the other was pagan demonic distraction.
When Pious Aunt questioned me almost a year later about what I had learned from her book, I gave her an enthusiastic, babbling account of the wild doings of this Jesus guy and his buddies catching deer and roasting them, talking to fairies and the like. Pious Aunt narrowly avoided cardiac arrest on the spot, and her brother fled from the room with his hand clapped tight over his mouth.
In my family you read to kids practically from the day they come home from the hospital. Some are "lap babies" and love the individual attention, being cuddled and talked to with pictures in front of them. My second granddaughter got to the point that she'd crawl off my lap because she wanted to explore and not just sit there- that was OK , too, and now she loves books again, probably because her big sister (now 5) is reading independently. They live 3 hours away and a fun part of planning for my trips there is going to the library and picking out books to take with me.
As for learning to read- it varies. Mom taught me to read when I was 4. DS didn't show quite the same interest and I didn't push it- as an adult he's an avid reader, mostly for information. Oldest granddaughter took awhile but at 5 she's doing well. I can see that she's also motivated to read because it helps her gather information, but she loves it when I read to her and her sister.
Mom had one rule about teaching little kids to read: "If they get bored and walk away, you stop".
Coschristi, wow! Informative post. !
My grandson has that skill . I had wondered if he had a condition that created that talent. He is extremely introvert yet impressively intelligent. His social awkwardness just seemed his 'normal' . And it is his way ...he retains so much of what he reads. It's almost super powers.
But to answer this topic...yes . Read . Speak..use inflections. Animate...exagerate. get them to love the skill of reading!!!
I read to my kids from the time they were babies. I think it was very helpful. We moved when my oldest was in first grade. He was reading well above the level of the other kids in the class. His teacher told me that another parent asked why he was such a good reader. She said she told the other parent it was because I had read to the kids when they were little.
My kids knew if they had questions about certain topics, the information came from books. We checked out books from the library about science, planets, Star Wars, I Spy and everything else my kids asked about. They knew reading was the way to have fun and learn more about things they were interested in.
My mother tells the story that she would get adult books from the library with lots of pictures and leave them open on the living room table in front of the sofa. She started this when I was 4 years old. She says it did not take long for me to look and start asking questions.
Do this day I devour books. Several years ago thru the interlibrary loan program I studied $3000 worth of photography books. Thank you public library..
I read much faster than even that. In fact, I read War and Peace in 25 minutes....It's something about Russia, I think.
It's not what you read to a kid. It's building the association between reading and comfort, security, and a pleasant experience.
That's awesome! Typically, hyperlexia plateaus during late adolescence but mine did not & obviously; it didn't for you either!
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