I had
often heard parents tell their kids, “Go Read! It’s a great practice!” I was
really impressed by the awareness of parents at this level. When I asked them,
what do you want your child to read? The answer always used to deject me…
“Editorial pages, newspapers like The Hindu, magazines like Reader’s Digest,
Outlook, etc.
What is
the purpose of reading actually? Is it to be able to get my language correct?
Is it to be able to show off my knowledge about the world? Is it about
enhancing my vocabulary? Or is it about me? - about my pleasure and the way I
grow as an individual every time after I read something. Maybe I can get
pleasure in reading sci-fi magazines, maybe in reading champak or even Harry
Potter for that matter! It all ultimately seeps down to; do we value what the
child enjoys? Do we want the child to read for him/her or for showing it off to
the world? If it is for them, then why can’t I let them choose their own reads?
Let’s
see what reading provides to a child? Reading is a kind of activity that can
give anyone extreme pleasure. I had the pleasure of talking to some wonderful
children who absolutely loved reading. I asked them, “why do you love reading
so much?” Some of the answers really brought huge smiles to me. They said: “I
love to imagine myself in other person’s shoes and think how the life would be
from that character’s angle. Had I been in his/her shoes, would I have been so
impromptu in making the decisions as they took? What would have I done in that
situation?” Clearly, a child who
reads grows up into a child who thinks! - I thought to myself!
Not all
reading could be for knowledge. For instance, another child told me, “Reading
gives me a place to go, when I have to stay where I am. As in, it’s a strong
and powerful escape for me from my reality.” It can seem to be a situation
that’s a bit concerning as well because, it somewhere or the other is
highlighting that there is something in the child’s surrounding that is
currently upsetting the child- so much so that he wants to run away and get rid
of it! However, isn’t having all these emotions a part of growing up? And if
this child is able to manage those emotions well, i.e. investing his time in a
fruitful activity like reading; s/he has already acquired the life skills of
‘managing stress’!
I know
a couple of parents who make sure to ask their children to figure out at least
10 new words daily and learn them up. I am not denying the idea of learning new
words here, but it’s about the way we are forcing the child to learn them. We
have to create a fine balance between: do we want a child to read for the
pleasure of reading or do we want the child to read so that she can learn new
words? Sure, we can’t isolate both, as both are equally important. However, we
need to shift our stand as parents here. Let’s not ask the child to read for
enhancing his/her vocabulary! Let’s start asking the child to read in order to
juice out the fun of the story! If a child is interested in reading the
content, s/he would want to understand the meanings of what s/he is reading and
his/her vocabulary will increase automatically as an outcome!
Once we
understand that it is extremely important for us to expose our children to
reading; the next thing parents usually get stuck with is- Genres! “Which
genres should I expose my child with? Humor (comics)? Sci-fi, General
Knowledge, current affairs, History, stories, what exactly?” Different genres
have different stuff to offer. While reading stories that are full of fiction
and fantasy, one gets to enhance his/her imagination and thinking quality; on
the same hand reading about history- biographies and autobiographies help me
develop my own perspectives. History tells me there is nothing right or wrong
and each opinion stands as a perspective of someone and I have the ability to
support/ reject/ create my own perspectives! Reading about sci-fi and/or
encyclopedias help me expand my horizons about knowing and understanding the
world around me, helps me wonder about things around and explore more and more
scientifically about them.
Once a
child really gets involved in reading, there is hardly any need for us to
remind him/her how important an activity it is! However, is there still
something that we can do as parents to get involved? Can we become a part of
the child’s reading world? The answer is YES! Parents in fact can become one of
the best sources to channelize and use this engagement of the child with books.
Discussions over books and whatever is being read, can become one of the best
sources of creating connect within the families! Let the discussions spill over
from the content of the story to discussing what both you and the child think
about the protagonists and the way the story unfolds.
So get
your reading hats on and get set to explore the world of books from the lens of
your kids!
Written By Nupur Mahajan, Parwarish
