by G. Kirchmyer
One of my most cherished memories from my teen years is lying on my bed at night next to my mom as she read to me. I loved it! I didn’t even particularly like to read then, but I loved when Mom read to me. It gave me alone time with my mom, a chance to escape the world, and an opportunity to talk to my mom about life without it being focused on me and what I should and shouldn’t be doing. It was one of the few times when Mom and I were on the same level; we were just two people taking in a story and conversing about the characters and events and what we thought of them. I had no idea all the wonderful ways it was helping me academically. I was a decent reader, but reading books with my mom did several things for me:
Aside from all of the academic perks, there’s also just the fact that it was a bonding experience. It gave me an excuse to sit close to Mom, to lean my head on her shoulder, when normally I might have felt funny about that. It gave us neutral ground to discuss life issues. I didn’t feel judged, and she didn’t have to bring up awkward subjects - those were provided by the | from freedigitalimages.net characters in the stories! She asked what I thought might happen next. What would I have done in a particular situation of the book? What did I think it was like to live in that time period or setting? How might things have turned out differently if so-and-so had handled things differently? And I had someone to listen to my answers, someone who really cared... Great conversations and excellent learning opportunities! So, how does this translate for a teacher or librarian? It’s our job to get these kinds of experiences into the minds of our parents. We are the advocates of reading! Our elementary teachers and librarians are doing it, but sadly, in secondary schools, we stop promoting this. Too many parents feel like they’re losing the battle as their children become tweens and teens. It’s not just struggling readers who can benefit from this. We need to encourage all parents to check out a book and read it with their child(ren). It’s one of the best ways they can spend time with their kids. My only word of advice to parents: be certain that you choose a book you think your child would like. Just like choosing the right movie, your child has to enjoy the story in order to enjoy the activity. If you end up with a dud, take it back and start again. If you’re asking questions and conversing along the way, you’ll know if they like it. So, the short answer to the question from the title is NEVER. If your 60 year old kid wants you to read to him, what can it hurt? It's one of the best things you can both do for yourselves! Need help choosing a book? Check out my site for lots of great recommendations! Here's some more great reads on how/why to get adolescents reading:
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