Reading from young

An article was published on 8 October in the "Today" newspaper concerning the current generation of young adults, teenagers and those younger who view that reading (physical) books are out-of-trend. No thanks to the I-phone and I-pad revolution.

First, we lost the trend of writing personalized hand-written cards to our loved ones and friends since emails and e-cards "invaded" our lives. Now, it seems the reading habit will soon become a thing of the past and becoming "uncool" in another 10 years or so.

I have no regrets starting the reading habit with Deborah every night since she was 8 months old. Since then, David has also caught on this beautiful habit of reading. I took every opportunity to read to them, especially when I spot a moment of restlessness when they are indoors.

Now, it is so natural for them to pick a book and keep themselves occupied throughout the day when they get tired of the toys in the house or when mommy is busy with household chores.

 

Since David turned two years, our regular visits to the libraries are one of those outings the kids and I really enjoy. Daddy would also join us occasionally when time permits.  Deborah and David love running around (quietly, of course) in the library looking for the books they want to read.

 

One of David's all-time favourite book is "Brown bear, Brown bear, what do you see?" and also its other series "Polar Bear, Polar Bear, what do you hear?" written by Bill Martin Jr. 

 

These days, his favourite kind of books ranges from animals to firemen to aeroplanes & motorcycles.  Whilst Deborah's range of reading is very wide. She loves reading almost all kinds of children books.

 

 

 

The National Library Board also organises weekly / alternate weeks story-telling sessions for children in different languages, mainly English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil. To introduce reading Chinese books to Deborah last year, I brought Deborah and David to some of those mandarin story-telling sessions to get them started on Chinese story books. Now, Deborah loves reading Chinese books too. She is also attempting to read Chinese books by herself these days. Well done, sweet love!

 

Even I have found reading Chinese children story books more  interesting these days. Interestingly, I realized Chinese story books are written such that there is a moral lesson we can learn. And somehow, Chinese story books are able to bring out the moral values much clearer compared to most English language books.

 

To find out more about the story-telling sessions, you can go to NLB's website: http://golibrary.nlb.gov.sg/

 

Reading is certainly one good habit parents should set as a priority to instil in their young children. It is one of the best ways to prepare young children for primary school, since every thing they will learn in school is about reading, writing and comprehending.

 

Even for adults, reading can be a form of de-stress. I came across an article in the Reader's Digest which mentioned that reading helps our mind relax and makes us a happier person. Especially when we read of real-life stories, it encourages our souls and lifts up our emotions. Reading also help us widen our perspectives to realise that we are not the only people who face problems.

 

With all these benefits about reading, why should we allow such a good habit to become history?

 

It's my prayer that Deborah and David will continue to find reading books a great pleasure as they grow older, and even pass this on to their next generations.