Last week I was fortunate enough to come across three different articles, all aimed at parents and focused on the benefits of reading with kids (or at least encouraging kids in their own reading). In the first piece, Sharon Brody shares a nostalgic view of reading aloud to her sons, long after they could read on their own. In the second, Dr. Peter Fonagy suggests reading together as a concrete way that parents can bond with their children. And in the third, Kari Ness Riedel encourages parents to stay engaged with their kids' reading, even as said kids move into elementary school. She does mention continuing to read aloud to kids at this time, but also offers tips for talking with kids about their own reading. All three of these articles are well worth your time.
This piece I LOVE! "Keep reading (aloud) to the kids until you cry yourself silly, people" @cogwbur @thebrodybeat https://t.co/9zRMWylwCq
Sharon Brody: "I ask only this: consider, at least, that you have options. The magic of being read to does not disappear just because it’s no longer a practical necessity. We took the read-aloud game into quadruple overtime...
The overarching perks? Beyond the pure fun, family reads helped make my sons the readers and thinkers and listeners and dreamers they are, and helped forge unbreakable bonds. The older the kids became, and the further they traveled from the land of pretend, the more they seemed to appreciate the oasis of the read-aloud."
Me: An old friend who knows of my interest in this matter sent me the link to Sharon Brody's piece for WBUR. Brody waxes nostalgic for the years she spent reading aloud to her her two sons, long after they could read on their own, and of their particular enjoyment of the Series of Unfortunate Events books. The benefits that she talks about, like having a shared family experience and vocabulary, are things that I hope for with my family. And her tears over the final book that she read aloud to her boys (because they were getting older and busy) made me determined to appreciate every moment that my daughter still wants to snuggle up against me to listen.
How to bond w/ your child through #reading + why reading together is worth making time for @PeterFonagy @Telegraph https://t.co/IAFx6Llc2X
Peter Fonagy: "There are many ways in which parents can interact in this way, but there are certain activities that can support it. There is good evidence that ‘book sharing’ is one effective way of building this kind of behaviour in parents who struggle with it – perhaps for reasons of temperament or the way they were themselves brought up.
For anyone in the vastly busy day-to-day, having some time to read together perhaps at the end of the day can create a space for the kind of meeting of minds between parent and child which is developmentally so helpful to children...
Reading with your child can feel like a hard ask at the end of a day – particularly when it’s a book that you’ve read to them a hundred times, and which you never particularly liked in the first place – but it is an activity really worth making time for, especially if you can steer them towards a book that you can both love (The Tiger who Came to Tea was my favourite).
Remember, with each minute you can help them maintain their interest in your story telling, you have improved their ability to focus on the things in their lives which are important."
Me: Professor Fonagy is a British psychoanalyst and clinical psychologist who has published a variety of scholarly work. This Telegraph piece, however, is designed to give parents a concrete way to interact with their children. Dr. Fonagy cites academic research, as one would expect, but also speaks powerfully of the benefits of finding joy in reading. There is no question in my mind that reading together has helped me to bond with my daughter, both when she was an infant and now that she is in grade school.
How to Stay Engaged w/ Your Reader as They Grow even if you can't read everything w/ them @Bookopolis @ReadBrightly http://ow.ly/bR7R3088wWj
Kari Ness Riedel (who runs a reading community for kids): "What can we actually do as parents of school-age children to engage them as readers beyond signing off on their nightly reading log? It’s wonderful if you have the time and passion to participate in a parent/child book club. Or if you can read all the same books as your kid and compare ideas. But this isn’t realistic for many parents.
A simple and effective thing you can do is ask your kid about what they are reading... From my experience, what you ask, when you ask, and how you ask matters." (Details follow)
Me: I am still reading with my six year old, of course, and I intend to keep reading with her for as long as I can. But I've also been happy to see her starting to read books on her own. I so want for her that experience of being lost in her own book. Kari offers what I think is good advice in how I can share a bit more in the books that she is reading by herself. For parents who aren't already reading lots of children's books themselves, these tips will be particularly valuable.
© 2017 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved. You can also follow me @JensBookPage or at my Growing Bookworms page on Facebook. This post may contain affiliate links.
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