5 ms·

Read to your child for 30-60 minutes a day from Day 1 and by Kindergarden there are books piled on every flat surface, books piled in the car, books in the refr

by zaroth 9y ago

Read to your child for 30-60 minutes a day from Day 1 and by Kindergarden there are books piled on every flat surface, books piled in the car, books in the refrigerator, and you won’t be able to tear the book from their tiny little hands.

asaph 9y ago
Anecdotally, I've seen many parents do this with mixed results. YMMV.
- zaroth 9y ago
  I think the shift to self directed reading will happen at different ages, depending on a million factors. But there are just so many amazing books to read out there and I think we are so hard-wired for story telling, just make reading a cherished daily activity, and the moment will come at some point from 5-7.
  - slededit 9y ago
    I can read all day about things (news, science, etc) but my brain does not easily recall humans by name alone. I need to see the face. And so for me and I assume I'm not alone - story books will never be meaningful. It requires too much mental energy to track.
- nicksergeant 9y ago
  Yes. Every child is different.
- gilbetron 9y ago
  Indeed, ours is 9 and has been read to every single night - rarely reads books. Constantly is on his laptop doing things I think are far better than just reading, so I'm largely ok with it. Too much youtube "crap" sometimes, but he usually balances himself out ok - a skill people heavily need that isn't often taught.
  - zaroth 9y ago
    > Constantly is on his laptop Not a judgement at all, but in the rocks paper scissors game of life, the iPad will always trump the book if the kids are given the option. In our house the iPad and iMac are fairly strictly rationed. YouTube is never self directed, only family AirPlay time, like watching SpaceX launches and stuff like that. The books just have to be put down at mealtimes. Sometimes I catch them reading under the table and pretend to be angry about it, but they’ve got me allll figured out, (and I love it).
p1esk 9y ago
In the age of smartphones and tablets?
- cmiles74 9y ago
  We let our child read from a Kindle Reader (the black and white kind) if we are out of library books.
- zaroth 9y ago
  Do you mean to imply the books are all on the tablet or that the reading is replaced by apps? Of course it’s each parents prerogative, but I would never trade the beaten up pile of Gerald and Piggy for an app in a million years.
  - asaph 9y ago
    The GP means to imply that smartphones and tablets are far more compelling to children than books.
    - zaroth 9y ago
      Luckily as parents we get to control exactly how much they use those devices, at least through about 4th or 5th grade.
- kurthr 9y ago
  The disturbing thing is that you're talking about giving a kindergartner a smartphone/tablet... which is asking for trouble even if I've seen it done. This is exactly because their apps are designed to be so addictive.
  - rootusrootus 9y ago
    Eh, it's not that big a deal. You have to monitor what they do (it helps to have a tablet that supports strong parental controls at this age), and set an expectation early on (and follow through) that tablet time is limited duration, and a privilege.
rosstex 9y ago
I can attests to this. My parents would allow me to read as many books as I wanted before bed each night, and I would often pick out 4-5. I could read much earlier than most other kids, and my reading/writing skills are excellent today.
- rosstex 9y ago
  ...but you can't tell because of my typo :P
wiredfool 9y ago
In the fridge? That one I haven’t seen.

by zaroth 9y ago

asaph 9y ago

Anecdotally, I've seen many parents do this with mixed results. YMMV.

zaroth 9y ago
I think the shift to self directed reading will happen at different ages, depending on a million factors. But there are just so many amazing books to read out there and I think we are so hard-wired for story telling, just make reading a cherished daily activity, and the moment will come at some point from 5-7.
- slededit 9y ago
  I can read all day about things (news, science, etc) but my brain does not easily recall humans by name alone. I need to see the face. And so for me and I assume I'm not alone - story books will never be meaningful. It requires too much mental energy to track.
nicksergeant 9y ago
Yes. Every child is different.
gilbetron 9y ago
Indeed, ours is 9 and has been read to every single night - rarely reads books. Constantly is on his laptop doing things I think are far better than just reading, so I'm largely ok with it. Too much youtube "crap" sometimes, but he usually balances himself out ok - a skill people heavily need that isn't often taught.
- zaroth 9y ago
  > Constantly is on his laptop Not a judgement at all, but in the rocks paper scissors game of life, the iPad will always trump the book if the kids are given the option. In our house the iPad and iMac are fairly strictly rationed. YouTube is never self directed, only family AirPlay time, like watching SpaceX launches and stuff like that. The books just have to be put down at mealtimes. Sometimes I catch them reading under the table and pretend to be angry about it, but they’ve got me allll figured out, (and I love it).

p1esk 9y ago

In the age of smartphones and tablets?

cmiles74 9y ago
We let our child read from a Kindle Reader (the black and white kind) if we are out of library books.
zaroth 9y ago
Do you mean to imply the books are all on the tablet or that the reading is replaced by apps? Of course it’s each parents prerogative, but I would never trade the beaten up pile of Gerald and Piggy for an app in a million years.
- asaph 9y ago
  The GP means to imply that smartphones and tablets are far more compelling to children than books.
  - zaroth 9y ago
    Luckily as parents we get to control exactly how much they use those devices, at least through about 4th or 5th grade.
kurthr 9y ago
The disturbing thing is that you're talking about giving a kindergartner a smartphone/tablet... which is asking for trouble even if I've seen it done. This is exactly because their apps are designed to be so addictive.
- rootusrootus 9y ago
  Eh, it's not that big a deal. You have to monitor what they do (it helps to have a tablet that supports strong parental controls at this age), and set an expectation early on (and follow through) that tablet time is limited duration, and a privilege.

rosstex 9y ago

I can attests to this. My parents would allow me to read as many books as I wanted before bed each night, and I would often pick out 4-5. I could read much earlier than most other kids, and my reading/writing skills are excellent today.

rosstex 9y ago
...but you can't tell because of my typo :P

wiredfool 9y ago

In the fridge? That one I haven’t seen.