I found an old news article on the Internet.Children’s reading promoter Ajia: Parents of new students, please read aloud to your childrenLooking at the photos, I recall a discussion with parents of new students at Hefei Weigang Central Primary School during the start of the school year last year. The content seems well-organized by the reporter from the Hefei Evening News. Many thanks! I’ve reprinted it below (date is approximately September 1, 2010):
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Recently, Mr. Ajia, a well-known children’s reading promoter in my country, gave a vivid reading promotion class to parents of first-grade students who came to learn from him in some primary schools in Hefei. He suggested that parents should insist on reading aloud to their children.
Read aloud to your child
Ajia said that reading aloud to children is recognized as the simplest and most effective way to cultivate children’s reading habits. The “loud” here does not mean making a very high decibel sound, but “reading aloud.”
Reading aloud to children is a long-standing tradition in the West, and we can see this heartwarming scene in many film and television works. In 1979, Cui Li, an American painter and columnist who had become a father, wrote a book called “The Story of a Chinese Odyssey”.
Inspired by the general decline in reading levels among American children, he wrote a book advocating for “reading aloud to children.” More and more people joined the ranks of advocacy and research, turning the promotion of this form of reading into a social movement.
move.
“To be fair, there are many effective ways to cultivate children’s reading habits. The traditional Chinese method of reciting classics is also very effective. Moreover, in families with a deep love of books, generations of bookworms are often born naturally.”
A said that in the modern lifestyle, reading has been given more burdens. We do not want our children to become bookworms who only read books. The pace of life of modern people is fast, and working parents often cannot spend time with their children.
It takes too much time and energy to invest in children’s reading, so from the perspective of economic effectiveness, insisting on reading aloud to children every day may be the best method.
Reading aloud to children isn’t inherently difficult; the challenge lies in persistence. Ajia recommends choosing a suitable timeframe, reading for at least 20 minutes daily, and enjoying the process with your child. It’s best to start as soon as the child is born, and if possible, continue until the child graduates from elementary school, or until they clearly express a desire to stop.
Dad’s involvement is important
Contrary to many people’s expectations, Ajia said that children’s early reading should not be just “women’s business” and fathers should participate in parent-child reading activities as much as possible.
Numerous surveys have shown that in nearly 90% of families in China, mothers are responsible for reading to their children. In nearly 90% of families that engage in parent-child reading activities, mothers also primarily read to their children. Furthermore, nearly all kindergarten teachers are currently women, and in lower-grade elementary schools, over 95% of Chinese language teachers are also women.
What consequences might this situation bring? There is a similar situation in the United States. One notable consequence is that in the fifth and sixth grades of elementary school, the vast majority of students with obvious dyslexia are boys! In modern society, dyslexia is almost synonymous with learning disabilities.
Therefore, the Argentinean League advises families with boys to pay special attention and that fathers should take more responsibility for their children’s reading. They can take their children to the library while playing ball with them, read to them, and set an example by reading in front of them. They can also buy their children a few books along with roller skates as a gift.
Reading is a shared experience
During the lecture, Ajia said that reading is not just for children. In today’s rich material life, people’s pace of life is accelerating, and the gap between people’s hearts is becoming increasingly obvious. In order to break this gap, we need to share
Sharing experiences, including reading together, is also a way. To this end, Ajia quoted this sentence: “Give your child a big hug for 30 seconds every day, listen to your child for 3 minutes, and do activities with your child for 30 minutes (including reading).
If you read the book, you will find that the child is your own, not someone else’s.” Ajia thought that replacing “child” in the sentence with “husband” or “wife” would be equally appropriate, which drew laughter.
Finally, Ajia said that there is a poem in the United States that everyone is very enthusiastic about, which goes like this: “You may have unlimited wealth, boxes of jewels and cabinets of gold, but you will never be richer than me, because I
There is a mother who reads to me. From this heartwarming poem, we can understand how important and meaningful it is to be a parent who reads to children. And children are grateful for having parents who read to them.
A Jia believes that no matter how much you talk about the benefits of reading, it is not as touching as the pride that children feel in their parents. Reading together is the most important part of cultivating a parent-child relationship.
I listen to my mother, but what’s even richer is that I also have a father, grandfather, and grandmother who read to me.” Ajia finally said humorously.
Reprinted from Hefei Evening News
