Books aren’t just for bedtime
I’ve been following some online discussions about children’s books that deal with some of life’s more serious issues. The discussions led me to a book review posted on Amazon.com which concluded by saying “Children have their entire adolescent and adult lives to learn … and should not be subjected to such material before bedtime. Ridiculous.”
Okay. I have a problem with this. It perpetuates two problems. First, that children don’t have the capacity to deal with certain realities of life. Second, and most important, the review implies that the time to read with your child (or that the only time to read a ‘weighty book’ with your child) is just before you shut off the light for the night.
One of the feelings I get when I read that review is that some parents won’t expose their children to books that can help them understand the world around them and can kick-off real conversations in a controlled environment — anytime, anywhere — and yet they’re likely to plunk their children in front of the television or let them surf the Internet and discover the how inhumane the world can be on their own.
Where and when do you read with your child?
July 17th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
One of our favourite times to read together is while my son is cleaning his room. It makes the entire process so much more pleasant.
My partner and I read to each other as well - we trade off doing chores around the apartment, and reading to each other.
July 17th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
Reading to your son while he cleans his room? That’s brilliant!
July 19th, 2008 at 3:10 am
One of the myths around books is that meaning resides in the text as opposed to in the interaction(s) that take place while reading a text and after reading a text as further connections are made. I often ask my students to talk about their fondest memories of reading a book. Time and time again their responses focus on the context in which a book was read such as with a loved one, with a mom, with a good friend, in connection with a life altering or sad event, and so forth…
In our home there is no particular time for reading although we do read at least four books to our four-year-old before bedtime. We also have book shelves and book baskets in different places around the house. During the day we read books mostly when our son wonders about various things or when he finds connections between something he is doing/playing and a book that is in sync with whatever it is he is doing.