I read regularly. I read books I can hold in my hands and fairly recently, I've started reading ebooks. My kids see me reading and they also see me writing. My love of books and the written word is there in plain sight.
Now it's too late to have much influence on the teenager. I can't encourage her into much at the moment, but it would appear, by the simple act of doing these things in front of him, little man is picking it up.
He's fetching books home from the school library and not just fetching them home, but reading them. I found the teenagers old set of Mr Men books a couple of weeks ago and moved them into little mans room. He's now reading a minimum of two a night. He loves them.
The phrase, lead by example seems to alive and well in our house and I'm so pleased.
Then again, when I asked the teenager if my book was published would she read it, she replied "maybe one day."
My son is a toddler, so he's at that stage where he imitates everything he sees (and around here, he sees a lot of reading). When he's not trying to sneak off with my kindle, he loves to read his picture books. The other day I was pushing him in his stroller through a book store and he snatched a novel off the shelf and held it open in his lap just like a little adult, pretending to read it. Of course, I had to confiscate it and get him a board book instead to make sure he didn't rip any pages. LOL
ReplyDeleteYou know she'll read it in secret - if only to tell you how you could have done it differently :)
ReplyDeleteMy two are going to be my first beta readers if I ever get the damn thing revised.
I used to teach at a school where very few of the kids had books at home or ever saw their parents reading. They thought that reading wasn't relevant to them. So glad that your little man is enjoying and learning by example... and I'm quite sure your teenager would consider you a really cool Mum when your book's published and would read it from cover to cover!
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean. I started reading becuase I saw other people read. I plan to one day read by example too. Once I have kids, hehe.
ReplyDeleteI read to both of mine from the womb... and I read and write A LOT... My daughter (also a teen) is a resistant reader--she does it some, but it isn't generally her first choice. My son though (age 12) was an avid reader until middle school and STILL will sometimes resort to it I think he will be a reader in the long run. (she might--I went through spurts as a teen)
ReplyDeleteHow cute that your little guy is into reading. I started reading because my parents read to me from the time I was a baby, and I loved going to the library with them. I can't imagine growing up in a home where no books were ever read.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't help but laugh at your teenager's response, so typical! But, you know she will read it with pride, even if she didn't want to admit it. :D
I definitely got my love of the written word from my mother, a voracious reader and my grandmother, who's an author.
ReplyDeleteMy brother, on the other hand, hates reading because of the way his teachers handled his dyslexia.
:-(
Ranae - That's so cute. The great thing about kindles is that you can get childrens books on them as well and little man loves them when I put some on for him. I think he kind of feels grown up reading a book on mummys electrical equipment :)
ReplyDeleteSarah - I'm really not sure she will. She's lovely, but she really doesn't see much in life if it isn't attached to her friends. Hopefully one day though :)
Rosalind - That's such a sad scenario isn't it, with kids homes having no reading in them. I did read quite a lot as a young teenager then I think I lost my mind as teenagers do get and I read less, but I've picked it up again and love it. I think she'll like how cool it is if her mum is published, I'm still not sure that will convince her enough to read it though!
Theresa - It really does seem to work that way. Our kids see us doing things and they pick them up - good or bad - so lets show them the good!
Hart - Teenagers are a different breed altogether aren't they. They have a multitude of hormones jangling about within them, it's no wonder we can't get any sense into them
Julie - He is adorable and so sweet to watch as he makes his way through his books without me having to tell him. I serious am not sure the teenager will read it until she hits her twenties (If I'm lucky!)
Misha - I'm not sure where I got my love of reading from. I know my mum reads a lot now but it's not something I remember a lot of when I was younger, I just seemed to like going to the library and picking up bunches of books.
It's a difficult one with dyslexia. If it's not dealt with correctly it can cause some real issues. I hope he's feeling a bit more settled with himself now.
I think children do copy their parents example, though I'm sure the'd deny it during their teenage years!
ReplyDeleteEllie Garratt