Regular story time helps children develop

ONLY 49% of parents read to their children most nights and almost 10% never do. 

This is according to a recent survey carried out by St Michael’s House, one of Ireland’s largest providers of community-based services for children and adults with an intellectual disability.

The survey is a precursor to the charity’s annual ‘Bring a Book, Buy a Book’ fundraiser.

This encourages schools, businesses and communities to donate their second-hand books, facilitating peers to buy them for just €2 per book.

Launched by author/actress Pauline McLynn, the campaign runs during World Book Week (March 1-8) – proceeds go directly to St Michael’s House services.

“Statistics show our busy lives are having an impact on not just the time we as adults have to read, but on the time parents have to read with their children, which we all know is important for their development,” says Barbara Wiseman, Head of Fundraising at St Michael’s House.

Niamh Fortune, lecturer at the Froebel Department of Primary and Early Childhood Education at Maynooth University, is a mum of two young children and acknowledges parents are busy.

“Evenings are very busy. Children are tired and so are parents, which might explain why people aren’t reading at bedtime.”

She suggests identifying more congenial times for reading to children. “Perhaps read for 10 minutes on the couch on Saturday afternoons or for five minutes in the car while waiting for school to start.

“If the household’s very busy, why not get an older child to read to a younger sibling”.

The St Michael’s House survey found 84% of adults see reading with their children as a bonding and educational experience.

Fortune recommends re-reading favourite books with younger readers as a very powerful language development tool.

Parents they don’t always have to do battle when it comes to their kids and the computer screen.

“Embrace the computer as a tool for reading. Show your child how he can research and find information about something that interests him – children can learn lots of active reading skills on the computer.”

To encourage reluctant readers, parents can do paired reading with them. Let the child choose a book, perhaps in the library.

Say: ‘I’ll read a bit aloud, then you read a bit aloud, then you read quietly on your own’. Talk together about the bits you loved.

* Visit www.bringabookbuyabook.ie ,or phone [phone].

TOP TIPS

* Establish routine of visiting library once a week/month.

* Encourage children to invite friends over with their books for a ‘book club’ afternoon.

* It doesn’t have to be fiction – introduce reluctant readers to books on topics that interest them.

* Encourage child to write his own story and read it back to parents.