Children need two things: roots and wings
Every week, I look forward to seeing several families that regularly visit the library. They arrive on their bikes with trailers full of books, they arrive in their cars bringing in a crate to fill with delicious items to read. Each week they come to choose new books, seasonal books, biographies, and non-fiction. They check out games, play with the toys, and build Lego creations. It is something that these children look forward to every week. It is predictable, it is solid, it is a secure place where good social habits can be practiced with a diverse range of ages.
At a children’s book conference a few months ago, I heard a well-known author refer to a study done over the past 30 years. This study showed key elements families had incorporated into a child’s life that helped them develop confidence in reading, writing, and speaking. These children enjoyed reading and using books to regulate and rejuvenate.
- Regular weekly visits to your local library and to libraries discovered while traveling or visiting relatives. Like most things in raising children, consistency matters.
- A repertoire of 15-20 regular books read and re-read throughout the span of childhood. What you choose to read really matters. Children can try out many authors and titles, but to have 15-20 favorite books to read and re-read makes all the difference influencing a child’s development.
- Because our brains are not fully developed until age 26, what we might remember at age 9 of course looks and means something different as we grow. That is the value of re-reading the same books.
- Memorization of song and poetry helps to develop vocabulary at a young age and to recognize proper language use. Do you still remember a poem you learned as a child? One of my favorites is “What’s become of John boy” by A. A. Milne in Once We Were Six.
- Making space for a regular time of reading as a family every day. READ a novel together, read a biography together, learn about a great artist or musician or scientist.
Childhood only lasts a short time. Count the summers you will have with your child. They are few until your children will want to be with their peers rather than you. Take a vacation without cell phones. Take a summer off from screens.
The change will be UNBELIEVABLE! No kidding…!
Miss Jane