Quote:
Originally Posted by DMcCunney
Mom read voarciously, and read to me, which is how I suspect I picked up the habit.
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My mom
meant to read to me. But by the time she thought it was appropriate, she says I was already reading, faster than she could read out loud. She did read to my younger brother.
I read to my younger daughter quite a bit, and she reads a lot now. I didn't get the chance to read to my older daughter much. She came to us when she was 11-12, and I didn't speak (or read) Chinese well enough to read to her for about another year. (I very much doubt anyone in China read to her.) I did read to her for a while, and she enjoyed that, but grew out of it too quickly for it to really take. She's still working on being able to read for pleasure. She sees us doing it (my husband and I are both avid readers), and wants to join in, but is still struggling with being able to read comfortably. I do my part by trying to find books she'll particularly enjoy-- whether or not they would appeal to me.
Both of my kids did go through a phase of reading to me, which I also encouraged. The research I've reviewed definitely supports the premise that reading with children early on is one of the strongest predictors of later reading enjoyment and academic success (which I interpret here as "comfort with learning," even though I know they aren't quite the same thing.)