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Open worlds to your child through a book
By Esther Williams
A gift every parent can give a child is a 'passion for reading' says Anna Quindlen in the Reader's Digest of July 1998. "Reading is a way of understanding the world and oneself - through both the unknown and the everyday" she writes.

Unfortunately, reading is not the universal pastime it was in the years gone by, when in the days before TV, children and adults alike spent their evenings engrossed in books. Reading was encouraged for it was widely acknowledged as an integral part of learning and communicating. It helps to expand one's vocabulary, develops proper language usage and exposes one to a wide range of information and emotions. And as any avid reader will tell you, a good book can be a treasured friend.

A dying trend
Unfortunately, many adults today do not have time to read and hence fail to instil in their children the reading habit. As a result most children lack the interest and the encouragement they need to develop the habit. Moreover, TV, video games and the Internet are ever-present distractions.

By encouraging children to read parents give them a precious gift that can be treasured forever. Research shows that children who read have higher IQs, are more creative, do better in schools and get higher paying jobs. After all, books (fiction, non-fiction and poetry) can further your knowledge on any subject.

Parents who read to their children before they enter school give their children a boost in reading success and thereby help them reap reading's many rewards.

"Books connect children with the worlds outside - their own and new worlds. The illustrations and stories transport them into situations which expand their knowledge, experience and imagination," explains Varuni Jayasekera, Director of the Academy of Speech, Drama and Communication.

How early should a child start the reading habit? Children can start reading in English at age 4, says Ms. Jayasekera, a teacher for the past 24 years. Parents can encourage this by reading aloud to their children. "Reading aloud to children isn't just an activity - it's a performance and you're the performer."

By creating the right mood, children can be drawn into the story. The parent or the person reading out aloud can keep a close watch on the child's reaction and adapt accordingly. It calls for the parent to be dramatic, animated and to show excitement. "Give it all you've got," she advises parents.

This can be done by adding different voices for different characters and making the appropriate sounds for the noises described in the story. This, she insists, is a sure way of getting young children interested and keeping them involved.

As children hear the stories again and again, they understand more about the book and its language becomes familiar. It becomes so predictable that eventually the child takes over and 'reads' the book himself. In Ms. Jayasekera's experience, this is one of the best ways to encourage children to read independently; when they know the book well, they feel as if they can read it.

An early start
She goes on to explain that children's fascination with books will bring them back to their favourite books again and again. But how do you create an interest in books in the first place? Parents should make available books that appeal to a child's interests and level of understanding. Books with clear, colourful and appealing illustrations, and with only a small amount of print on each page are recommended.

Varuni Jayasekera however warns that not all books fall into this catergory. "Some are excellent, some are mediocre and some are unsuitable." If the child becomes restless during a reading session, we need to consider whether the fault lies with the book, which may be too simple or too boring!

"Children need a lot of variety, and therefore parents and teachers need to provide that in order to hold their attention," says Ms. Indira Kenny who has 19 years of teaching experience.

"Besides developing a child's literacy and providing access to more information and wider knowledge, reading makes a child independent and confident," she says, adding that the different interests of a child have to be taken into account. If a child likes cars, the parent needs to get him books with cars in them. "The indirect motive is to encourage reading."

Reading, she says can start when a child is still a toddler. Bedtime reading is ideal because the closeness of sitting together with his parent and enjoying a story would make a child feel secure. Through continuous reading and repetition, there will come a stage when the child becomes eager to read independently.

Much to gain
Reading also helps a child’s writing, spelling, vocabulary, speech, language/grammar and comprehension skills, all of which can be summarised as critical skills for effective communication.

"It is never too late to encourage a child to read,” Ms. Kenny continues. The approach and the reading material should be different for each age group.

The best way to do this would be to vary the techniques. Ms. Jayasekera's experiences in motivating older kids to read are: to act out a passage from a text using material the children can relate to and to focus on books currently talked about - such as those of popular writers like J.K. Rowling or Roald Dahl.

While Ms. Kenny considers cartoons and other TV programmes a total distraction, the Internet she says, is filled with relevant educational information to develop reading skills. "Children should be taught to use the Internet for reference purposes." Parents should however, supervise them and make available only those sites that would enhance learning.

Parents who understand the importance of reading try various means to induce their children to read. Roshani Herath's mother would buy her books all the time. Every time she completed a book, her mother would discuss the book, leading her on to related topics and other reading material. Her father would buy an armful of books every few months. This built up her interest in books so much that a holiday to her now means anywhere comfortable with a good set of books.

Another voracious reader, Isuru, recalls how her mother would always keep her well supplied with books. "She would never say no to a book." Her shelves are full of books she has collected through her school years. Marisa Dias's mother hid all her Enid Blyton books and filled her shelves with other books meant for a higher age group to get her to advance in her reading habit.

Books today are expensive but either through libraries and perhaps by forming groups with friends, parents need to make the effort to get enough reading material for their children and then encourage them to read if they want their youngsters to discover the world of books and all its wonders.

How to get your child to read
Some tips from Indira Kenny
* Try holding D.E.A.R times in your home. DEAR time stands for Drop Everything And Read. During this time the family spends some uninterrupted reading time together.

* Encourage your child to read as often as possible. The school reader is a good start, but helping him/her choose other age-appropriate, interesting books will strengthen understanding and develop better spelling.

* Read to your child as often as possible and enjoy this early stage of reading with your child. Read the story straight through. Occasionally you can make a comment such as 'I wonder what will happen next' or 'Oh no! Look what has happened.' If you have time re-read the story stopping often to discuss both story and pictures with your child.

* Encourage conversation. Let your child talk about the story and make connections to their own experiences. You can help with questions such as 'Have you ever felt this way?' or 'What would you do with a magic car like that?'

* Encourage understanding. Ask your children some questions about the story. These should not be as a test but to encourage your child to understand what is going on. Let your child ask you questions too.

* Encourage careful observation. Ask questions that will require your child to look carefully at the illustrations for the answer.

* Encourage imagination. Before turning the page, ask your child what they think will happen next.

* Point out print all around your child - street signs, shop names, advertisements, etc.

* Whenever possible, buy a book for your child. Owning a book can be a particular pleasure for young children. Let your child see you reading books, magazines and newspapers.

* Make full use of the local library. Choose some of the books for your child and let your child choose others. This will help your child develop as an enthusiastic and independent reader.

* Encourage children to write short book reviews from as early as Year 1 & 2.

Remember, you do not have to do all the things on this list every time you share a book with your child. But if you can sometimes spare the time to do some of the above, you will be giving your child a good start. Happy and confident children are much more likely to go on to become enthusiastic readers.

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