In this present world where everything is easily accessible with the click of a button, raising kids without depending on gadgets and smart devices is becoming next to impossible. From shopping to working from home to reading on Kindle, everything has gone online it seems. But for an ardent book-lover mother like me, inculcating the habit of reading real books in my kids was very important to me. So, I planned it in such a way, very early in life, so that the kids enjoy the process and also don’t feel pressurized at all. Did my plans work? Yes, they did! Now I am a proud mother of two reading superstars. My 9-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter have a small library enriched by Enid Blyton, Ruskin Bond, Sudha Murthy, Amar Chitra Katha, Liz Pichon, Mark Twain, Jules Vernes, and many more!
If you want to know how I did it, read along. Here I am sharing the six practices I followed to inculcate the ‘Kitabi Keeda’ in my young children.
- Start Early
Kids turned a year old and I brought colourful picture books. A grey elephant, a yellow sunflower, a white dog with a red ball- I explained everything and told stories around them. They grew a bit older and then there were storybooks with very short sentences. ‘My first 1000 words’ is an awesome book for schoolers.
2. Gadgets Are The Biggest Distraction From The Books
I made a conscious attempt to not latch on to any gadget for maintaining a tantrum-free kid around. Drawing books and colour pencils, floor puzzles, animal figurines, building blocks, peas, separating different coloured lentils, Atta dough- I have used anything and everything a child can find interesting. I know it’s hard for a working mom, but you can train the caregiver to adhere to these tactics. Gadgets are the biggest distraction from the books, you see.
3. Reading Should Be Fun
Don’t start with ABCD and 1234. Reading should be fun. Storybooks invoke imagination and creativity in young minds. Their school will take care of the studies; you just keep a tab on how it is going. Phonetics books are fun too. They help in deducting the correct spellings and pronunciations. Age-appropriate books are easily available on Amazon.
4. Create A Reading Environment In Home
After my husband was back from office and we had evening Chai-nashta, we all sat in the living room reading our own stuff. I gorged on my favourite books; Mr.Husband will relish the newspaper and journals, 4 yr old with picture-word storybook and 2 year old with her drawing book and crayons. That one hour was and still is our favourite. Books may have changed, but the habit is intact.
5. Practice What You Preach
If my kids are studying or enjoying their reading time, I should not be doing something that can distract them. Netflix, sports channels, movies- we should not avail them in front of the kids if sharing the same room. I do my chores or pursue my hobby times then! Any instrumental music in low volume creates a magical environment for reading, I tell you.
6. Arrange Story-Telling Sessions
Spell be contests, creative word games, these can be arranged amongst the family members or you can include same age group kids from your neighbourhood. Once I hosted a word-housie for my son’s friends in his birthday party and trust me, it was a super hit idea!
The above-mentioned tips can be moulded as per your time and convenience. We include a map-game too where we find places on the map and we visit book fairs whenever there is one in our town. My husband was very instrumental in introducing books to our kids at a very young age and together we work as a team to make our kids reading superstars.
Let me know if you find any of my tips helpful and do reach out if you want a book list for your young ones.
By Anuja Lopamudra
Hailing from a small town, Nagaon in Assam, Anuja’s love for writing bloomed mostly during her college days. With two super energetic kids and a busy household by her side, she follows her passion for writing and singing without fail and it keeps her going with full zeal. Blogging, cooking, and lots of reading are her besties and she promises herself not to part ways with them ever, no matter what. She can be contacted at anuja.lopa@gmail.com
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