I have three kids and they each have their unique strengths and traits. There is a trait that my firstborn has that intrigues me. Let’s call him J. J loves reading, and his passion for reading is unbelievable (at least to me).
Reading everywhere and everything
When I say everywhere, J can read a book while eating, in the car, and even while walking! We constantly reminded him to put his books down and lookout for cars. There is no limitation on what J reads, any text he can get his hands on he will read, magazines, books, textbooks, canned food ingredients, instruction labels, sales flyers, and his younger sibling’s baby picture books.
I bring my children to the national library every 2 weeks to borrow books, we are blessed with a wide range of books at the library for their selection. But this is not enough, J will go to the library during recess and spend his break time in the library reading. During class lessons, teachers complained that he hid storybooks under the table to read, he is undeniably a book lover.
Born
I am not sure if he inherited this passion from me because I do enjoy reading and love going to the library. I noticed that when he was one, he could recognize the alphabet at around 1 year old before he could speak (he started talking at around 2 years old). I started flashing alphabets on flashcards to him at around 6 months old, his eyes would sparkle when he saw the cards. When I read out the letters on the flashcard, I could see that he was enjoying the process and absorbing the information. We played with wooden alphabet blocks, where I would call out a letter and let him pick the block with the letter on it. He didn’t always get it right but he certainly enjoyed this game. Maybe because of his interest in the alphabet or reading, he constantly requested to play alphabet games and practice makes perfect. He was soon able to read signboards, menus, and books on his own.
Nurture
I remember watching a UK show on nature vs nurture, my understanding from the show was that it is equally important to have a nurturing environment for the developing child.
I thought I could replicate the same steps on with my second, and third born and make them early readers too. Oh was I so wrong, with flashcard reading and alphabet games, they would either crawl away or get bored quickly with the activity. I was persistent and would repeat the learning activities, resulting in them asking me to stop flashing and at times push the materials away. Ok, they were clear about what they did not want. I accept that my 2 other kids are not book lovers, so I had to adjust my expectations and tweak their learning process according to their other interests.
Despite their lack of interest in reading, it did not deter me from bringing them to the library to borrow picture books or comics. We are blessed that our national library has sensory rooms, toy areas, bean bags, and game card redemptions for a certain number of books borrowed. The kids loved the library!
What I learn
From my observation, I would say that readers are born. Given the similar environment, my 2nd and 3rd children do not enjoy reading as much, only J is naturally passionate about reading.
Reading is one of the portals that gives us access to a vast amount of information. J was able to have access to that information, build his knowledge base, refine his logical thinking, reading subtitles on foreign language movies. Reading does not guarantee a job or a high salary but it is a door to continuous learning for a better self. Despite not being born an enthusiastic reader, I hope my kids will have a curious mind, with a hunger for knowledge and earnestness to learn and progress.
0 comments