When I was carrying yet my baby I already came across Internet articles about the value of reading to your child. Some studies have pointed out even to start while it is in the womb.
It didn't pose a challenge to me because 1) I love to read 2) I want my baby to be a voracious reader like me so we can share in the joys and wonders of the literary world. Up until I actually had my baby when the daily grind took over and I had procrastinated and procastinated. Here we are, four months later... my baby has not heard my storytelling voice yet.
When the pedia asked if we had started with reading yet, guilt was so raw I feel like I've shortchanged my baby's future. Our pedia cited a study which concluded that 100 days of continuous reading dramatically increases the baby's IQ level. It doesn't even matter what kind of reading material, as long as you are reading aloud.
Almost panicky, we went home with the intent of introducing Baby Kate to the written word.I literally have hundreds maybe even a thousand titles both in tactile paper back and hard bound, and of course e-books.
Out of desperation, and for the love of this classic, I read my Baby's first book -- The Little Prince.
What have I realized? Reading aloud is not easy. It takes practice and patience to achieve an animated storytelling voice when reading the narrative, dialogue and different voices of the characters. And of course, pronouncing the words correctly add to the drama of book-reading to a child who may not know any better yet but whose future get impacted with what you feed her mind today. Tough job.
It's so different when you read it for your personal consumption. Surprisingly, there are a lot of new things I discovered reading aloud this book. It's one of my favorites. And I've read it a few times. But this experience is going to be different. Now, I get to share the highs and lows of human emotions, the hopes and dreams and the lessons that can be gleamed from a story, the story of the little prince, with my baby.
As we slowly build her Baby Book Library, my good friend Zarah bought Kate these exciting books.
If only my child gets influenced by her Tita Zarah in the reading department, I think we're set for life-- am going to have a book loving child.
The past nights, I've been reading to a four month old whose attention span is so erratic I sometimes wonder if it's worth the effort. So, I take comfort in the advice of moms before me who says that as long as they hear the spoken words, they retain something. And it helps in the brain's development. Ok. We read a chapter or two every night. Given the pace, we'll finish our first book in a month's time. Well, well, well. It's for the wee one.
Given the jolt we had last pedia visit, I am now on a mission to get a hold of the 25 Best Books of all time. See here.
At a glance, I should have in my bookshelf at least the following:
Pat the Bunny.
Goodnight Moon.
Peek-a-who?
The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
Guess How Much I love You.
I posted on social media, my baby and mine's first book session. Lo and behold, I received so many comments and suggestions. The beauty of social networking-- like-minded people get to share experiences and best choices. Yay!
To mommies out there, care to share some tips and book titles?
Xx
Sheng
When the pedia asked if we had started with reading yet, guilt was so raw I feel like I've shortchanged my baby's future. Our pedia cited a study which concluded that 100 days of continuous reading dramatically increases the baby's IQ level. It doesn't even matter what kind of reading material, as long as you are reading aloud.
Almost panicky, we went home with the intent of introducing Baby Kate to the written word.I literally have hundreds maybe even a thousand titles both in tactile paper back and hard bound, and of course e-books.
Out of desperation, and for the love of this classic, I read my Baby's first book -- The Little Prince.
 |
| Kate and her first book -- The Little Prince. |
It's so different when you read it for your personal consumption. Surprisingly, there are a lot of new things I discovered reading aloud this book. It's one of my favorites. And I've read it a few times. But this experience is going to be different. Now, I get to share the highs and lows of human emotions, the hopes and dreams and the lessons that can be gleamed from a story, the story of the little prince, with my baby.
As we slowly build her Baby Book Library, my good friend Zarah bought Kate these exciting books.
If only my child gets influenced by her Tita Zarah in the reading department, I think we're set for life-- am going to have a book loving child.
The past nights, I've been reading to a four month old whose attention span is so erratic I sometimes wonder if it's worth the effort. So, I take comfort in the advice of moms before me who says that as long as they hear the spoken words, they retain something. And it helps in the brain's development. Ok. We read a chapter or two every night. Given the pace, we'll finish our first book in a month's time. Well, well, well. It's for the wee one.
Given the jolt we had last pedia visit, I am now on a mission to get a hold of the 25 Best Books of all time. See here.
At a glance, I should have in my bookshelf at least the following:
Pat the Bunny.
Goodnight Moon.
Peek-a-who?
The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
Guess How Much I love You.
I posted on social media, my baby and mine's first book session. Lo and behold, I received so many comments and suggestions. The beauty of social networking-- like-minded people get to share experiences and best choices. Yay!
To mommies out there, care to share some tips and book titles?
Xx
Sheng
No comments:
Post a Comment