Something to share, from a workshop organiser
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Reading - The Most Important Key To Success
At School And In Life
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Pardon me if I ask "Is your child a good reader of books?"
The reason that I ask this is because having a goodreading habit is such an important thing if we want ourchildren to do well in schools and in also in life.
Unfortunately I notice that there are still many children who are not interested in reading and they prefer to spend long hours playing computer games and watching TV.
And through many of our parenting and educational
talks in schools and companies, I realized that there are still many parents who are not aware of how importance reading is to their kids and how it affects their children's learning in schools.
Children who don't read a lot nor read widely will find learning and studying in schools a challenge, especially as they move higher and higher into the education system. Why is that so?
The reasons are:
- they have limited vocabularies and hence they will have too many words which they do not understand in the materials that they study - this will affect their understanding of the materials and comprehension skill.
- they will not do well in exercises, tests and exams, especially in sessions as such cloze passages, comprehension, composition and essay writing.
- they have little or very limited knowledge about things in life which in they can actually learn through reading of non-fiction books. With limited knowledge, they will find studying in school becoming more and more difficult and
ultimately many of them will lose interest in learning.
Laura Bush, the First Lady of the White House in USA said this: "Reading is the path to success in school and in life. When children learn to love books, they learn to love learning." And I agree totally with that.
Whenever I meet parents who share with me that their children are not doing well in their studies and ask me for my advice, my first question to them is "Does your child like to read?" And most of the time if not all the
time, the answer is NO.
If we want our children to do well in school and develop their potential in life, as parents, we must help them become good readers. It is a 'must', not a 'should'.
Personally for me, I feel that having a good reading habit is the most important key to achieve success at school and in life.
I have seen many parents who have invested lots of money into tuition classes and enrichment programs for their kids, but their kids are still not doing well in their studies. And the key cause for this is that their children
don't read widely and in large quantity.
I am not saying that tuition and enrichment program are not good. In fact, they serve their own purpose well.
Tuition and enrichment programs can help our children to improve their studies and learning greatly only if our children also have a good reading habit. Otherwise no matter how much money the parents invest or how many hours that they children attend such classes, the
positive effect will be limited.
To assist you in helping your child to become
an avid reader, I'd will like to share the following tips with you. Hope you find them helpful.
1. Have lots of good books in the home at all times. You can either buy them or borrow them from the library.
The National Library has tons of excellent books suitable for children of all ages - story books and information books (you can find books on all kinds of topic, e.g. books on animals, seasons, famous artists and people, human body, interesting places, occupations).
In my family, we make it a routine to visit the library every week if not every fortnight. It is a great family outing for all of us.
2. At your home, have the reading materials and books easily accessible to your child so that he can get hold of them at his convenience.
The best way is to have an open book shelf that is of the right height for your child. Providing him a proper place to keep his books and stuffs is also a good way to teach your child about responsibility - teach him to care for his things by getting him to put them back in the right place after use.
3. Adults at home (especially parents) must set good examples by reading books regularly. Children learn by observing what their parents do.
Be a good reader yourself. I'd recommend non-fiction books - e.g. books on parenting, self-enrichment and improvement etc. (By the way, newspapers are not considered because there is simply too much negative news and sensational but non-useful information in each publication - they are not good to our brain and personal
growth.)
4. If you have young children at home, read to them daily. Make it a routine, like before bed time. The best persons to read to the child is her parents and that is you. Reading together with your child is also one of the best ways for bonding with your child.
5. Carry books with you when you bring your child out so that you can read to her when an opportunity arises, e.g. while waiting for someone, at the petrol station, on
the MRT/ subway.
6. Give lots of encouragement and praise when the child make the effort to read by herself. Encouragement helps to boost your child's self-esteem and help her want to do even better.
7. Make learning fun and enjoyable. Discuss with your child about the things she has read and has fun with her by acting out some of the scenes in the books. This will help to fill your home with lots of laughter and love.
