reading bed time stories to kids
By kayedanda
@kayedanda (1850)
Philippines
August 29, 2008 2:30am CST
do you read stories to your child/children before they go to sleep? or at anytime of the day? i have recently unearthed (hee hee. they were books from a cousin who is now ten years old, so i have to literally unearth them from our bookshelves.) big storybooks with colorful pictures on every page, and i have started reading to my four-month old baby, starting with a book called "telling the time with pooh".
i do not think it is too early to read to my child, i could've started earlier had i enough time to find these storybooks amongst the many piles of books in our house. when i was pregnant, i heard from someone (not sure now who it was) that reading to your child inside the womb will have a soothing effect on the baby, and will probably have an effect on the studying/reading habits of the child when he/she grows old enough to go to school.
but i did not have the chance to do it as i was still fully employed at the time and all my free time is spent sleeping (i had months when i was incredibly sleepy all day). but i listened to a lot of classical music, so i guess that compensated for not having read to her. hee hee. which, come to think of it, might be the reason why i was always sleepy. haha! classical is just not my kind of music.
so as i was saying, i am starting to read to her now every chance that i get. she seems pretty attentive for a child her age, but of course the span of attention is still limited (after two, three minutes, she becomes fidgety. hee hee) but that does not stop me from trying to read to her.
so, do you read to your child/children? how was the experience? do you think we can gain something from this activity? share me your thoughts:)
1 person likes this
5 responses
@Anne18 (11029)
•
29 Aug 08
My children aged 8 and 8 and 10 stil like to be read to, I don't always have time to read to them at night time but i do read to them a story every day.
I can not ever remeber being read a story when I was a child.... I must have done but it must have stopped when I could read myself
@wayz12 (2059)
• United States
29 Aug 08
I don't have kids, so I don't have anyone to read to. However, when I was little, my mother would read to me. That is probably one of the reasons I enjoy reading.
Yes, I don't think its too early to read to your baby. Babies' brains act like a sponge; it has a major ability to absorb information. So go ahead, and read that bedtime story.
@jahrock (111)
•
29 Aug 08
You're definitely on the right track reading bedtime stories to your baby, because it's a great habit to get into, and you will see the results later. There are actually two parts to the exercise, because you are devoting that time completely to the baby, and getting into that habit early will prove beneficial as the child gets older, because she will appreciate that mother and daughter time more and more, especially if you provide a baby brother or sister in due course.
Secondly, she will get so used to seeing you with a book in your hands, that she will want to hold a book and look at the words and pictures, and before long you will be sharing the reading as soon as she starts talking. Don't worry, she will surprise you with her version of language long before she is actually talking English or whatever language you talk at home, and the transition to reading will follow quite naturally.
My first experience of reading to a young child came when I helped my mother to look after a baby sister born nineteen years after me. That experience was helpful when my late wife and I had sons in 1964 and 1966, and they became and remained prolific readers because of the extended experience of having bedtime stories, then sharing baby books, then progressing from there. It's all part of the communications game between parents and children, so enjoy!
1 person likes this
@pkraj111 (2458)
• India
29 Aug 08
I dont have kids to read them stories at bed time, I am not yet married. I still remember the days my mother or father used to tell me stories before putting me to sleep. That is what I think had got me interered in reading and writing stories. They are very helpful in making the child inclined towards reading.
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