If you can somehow instill a love of learning to your child early in life, you have not only gifted them with the most
valuable instrument they will need throughout their academic life, but you will have also given them something priceless: a
boost in their self esteem, and an insight into their power and what they are capable of accomplishing.
When my third child entered kindergarten with no prior experience at a preschool, I was a worried sick about her
adjusting. She is headstrong and has her own opinion about the way her world should be run, so my worry had more
basis than the usual parental paranoia. There was no preschool near where we lived at that time, so I spent my time
reading with her. We took things easy, progressing step by step and generally had a good time.
Then just before her first day of kindergarten, she read a whole sentence to me, then another, and another until she
could read me the whole book. The book was paper-thin with about 24 words total in the entire book. But that didn't
matter. My baby has read a whole book to me. She has become a reader.
After she started school, I waited with abated breath and genuine apprehension for a letter, phone call, or worse, the
teacher herself to show up with her from school telling me my daughter is too stubborn to attend school, that she needs
major psychiatric treatment to help develop the social skill she needs for kindergarten.
None came. Instead, I heard about her being invited to the principle's office to show off her reading skill to the principle
herself and other staff members. I head about her helping other kids with their reading. At the parent teacher
conference, her teacher hugged me for giving her my precious daughter who she said was an inspiration to others. Being
a reader made my daughter popular. Since she didn't need to concentrate so much on learning, she devoted her energy
into developing important social skills like helping others and making friends.
So how do we go about teaching our kids this most important skill?
Beside following the Easy Reading Steps and Tips on How to Read to Your Child there are several factors you have to
keep in mind:
Patience and perseverance: It won't happen overnight, so keep at it.
You are doing it for the child, not yourself: Your goal should be centered on the child's wellbeing not on making
yourself proud or to get bragging licence. In other words, you have to do this for your child, not yourself. Parents who
use their child's accomplishments to fill a gap in their lives, or just to feel proud, tend to be too pushy and intimidation.
Have faith in yourself and in your child. You can do it!
Good luck and have fun!
