I came across this article entitled “Children’s test results ‘helped by bedtime stories’“. It talks about how parents tend to call it quits on bedtime stories once the children reach school going age. Isn’t this true? When the children are babies/toddlers, we concern ourselves with teaching them to talk and then to read. We put them on our laps and browse through children books, pointing out pictures and words. We get excited when they start to recognize words and take their first steps to becoming a reader. However, as the children grow older and begin ‘real’ school, we start to concern ourselves more with getting them to finish their homework. Plus, since now there are school teachers with better qualifications to teach reading, we parents start to reduce our responsibilities in that area and focus on other things. Well, guess what?? The National Literacy Trust will say that you are “jeopardising their chances of success” if you stop reading to your children.

The article cited is a call for parents to continue reading to their children and not leave the task of reading and comprehension to school teachers. Staying involved in your child’s world of reading helps boost them towards excellence. So don’t bother that your 12 year old can already read. Read to them anyway. It is easy to spend money on extra classes to help your children excel in their studies (or tuition classes as it is known here in Malaysia/Singapore) but it is far more meaningful, influential and beneficial that you make time to sit down to read to your children.

It is said that “parental involvement in reading has more of an influence on children’s achievement than any other factor.” I just want to add that “parental involvement” doesn’t include nagging your children to read, dumping a ton of books on them or signing up your children for reading classes. “Parental involvement” here means reading with your child and making it a pleasurable.

So, what’s for bedtime tonight Mom/Dad?

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