Question: My daughter is 9 years old and has read a lot of books here, but her thinking is too simple. She avoids problems and doesn’t like to think. How can I make her more mature?
Answer: First of all, thank you for your continued support and trust in Hongniba!
However, your question is indeed not easy to answer. I hope to provide one or two examples to make some judgment.
In general terms, the reading we advocate is “reading books, reading people, and reading the world.” Reading is a part of life, omnipresent. Calm and elegant reading can purify the soul, broaden one’s horizons, and enlighten one’s wisdom…
Reading for children is an interesting process of growth, encompassing both the child’s own growth and that of the adults around them. For example, different people have completely different views on the rate of growth. Specifically, how far should a nine-year-old girl grow to be considered a satisfactory (or desirable) state? This judgment is often based on adult expectations. The same state may be considered premature when we expect it to be more childlike, or childish when we expect it to be more mature. As children grow, we adults gradually learn to view their development more naturally and calmly. This, in itself, is a lesson in our own growth. And this is precisely part of reading.
My daughter, who’s almost 12, has recently become obsessed with Anne of Green Gables (which I actually recommended to her before). She’s been urging me to reread it carefully (I’d only skimmed through it before) and even invited her mother to read it too. I asked her why she wanted us to read it together, and she said, “Because Anne is so imaginative!” So I reread it carefully and slowly, and I was struck by how captivating it is! After finishing it, I felt like life is truly wonderful!
I’d also like to recommend this to you and your daughter, as it might beautifully demonstrate the captivating power of a child’s spiritual world. While such works may not directly contribute to more mature thinking, they certainly offer a sublime aesthetic, allowing us to re-evaluate the world we live in. We can see how magical the trivialities and ordinary moments can be if we can apply our imagination to them, allowing us to feel a sense of happiness and joy every day.
I’ve always wondered how children’s “thinking” about the world might differ radically from that of adults. The former, when measured by the latter, is clearly immature, while the latter, when measured by the former, lacks much of its vitality. Just as the fruits and vegetables that grow in each season are different, perhaps the “thinking” that emerges in each growing season is also different.
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