Invest in your child’s mind
It is never too early to introduce your baby into the world of books
I loved exams when I was in school. The challenge of sitting for an exam drew huge amounts of adrenalin in me, but only when I was ready to tackle a particular paper. If otherwise, I would look at the most confident looking candidate and wish that we could trade minds. Today I value my mind and I am occasionally impressed by what it has to offer – by what it can conjure. In it is a lifetime of knowledge and experience. It is with this in mind that I think of my eight month old baby. I wonder what kind of mind he will possess. I wish for him to be brilliant and wise. And so in my quest for this, I have decided to invest in books, just so as to support this. I know that by doing so, I will be influencing his consciousness and thought process at an early age.
I know that if he learns to associate reading with pleasure, he is likely to enjoy doing it on his own when he gets older. I know that our reading times will also provide an opportunity for us to bond. This is an important element in our relationship. Of course, it will go a long way in ensuring that he and I are close. I am advised to buy him books that interest him, be it in cars, cookery, plants or animals, as he gets older. Though there is really no research to back the benefits of academic learning before school age, parents often want to teach their children skills including math, reading and foreign languages.
Benefits of reading books to your child:
o When the child starts talking, communication between you and him is on a similar platform and you can converse and exchange ideas.
o His world opens up; he gets to learn and acknowledge that there is a bigger world out there; that home is not the only existence. Pictures and images add to colouring his world.
o The child’s creativity is aroused, allowing him to ‘think outside the box’ to discover solutions and ideas.
The best way to do this is to set aside a time for storytelling. Knowledge and memories that will last a lifetime are set, not forgetting the growth of thinking skills, including;
1. Ability to pay attention
2. Good memory
3. Capability in problem solving
4. Proficiency in language
Read out loudly to him. Note that you cannot start out too early, and you cannot continue too long. Advice from specialists is that you begin at birth and continue in teenage hood. You can read for about half an hour; with the time divided into shorter periods for a small child. Reading can be done at whatever time that you and your little one are comfortable with. Some parents do it at the breakfast table, while others have it as a bedtime ritual, as the way to make a child relax and ready for sleep. Regular reading cultivates a love for books on your child’s part, and also develops reading skills.
By the age of two, your child begins to appreciate books. Then he will have memorised some stories and nursery rhymes, with easy recitation of long sections. He might insist on reading the same book over and over and over, and will be quick to point out if you skip a word or change a name. According to experts, this kind of repetition is a stimulator and important in the process of brain cells making connections. And with children between the ages of two and three, they will enjoy stories that involve some kind of action and confrontation, such as ‘Jack and the bean stalk.’ At this age, children also like stories about holidays and seasons because this helps them understand family and societal traditions.
END: BL25/14