I have 8, 6 and 4 years old daughters. Except my 6 years old one because she is special. The other 2 girls pick a book on their own and bring to either my husband or me to read to them before bedtime. Day time, they will pick a book to read on their own. Here is what I think cultivate this reading habit
1. when my daughter is under one years old like 9 months old, I will get a book which is design for children's bath time use or a book with hard pages (thick like hard cover) so baby won't tare them up. I put my baby on my lap, hug her from behind with my 2 hands free to flip the book in front of my baby. I read it over and over many times until their focusing time ended. At first, my first born will flip the page on her won without waiting for me to finish reading the page. I let her glance the whole book freely on her won at the first to fulfill her curiosity and get a overview of the book they are about to read. Then, I take it over to hold the page stay open in front of her util I finish reading it. When she try to flip the page too early, I will say no to her. This way, she get that I am not playing an arm rustling game with her. Off course, it depends on how much words on each page. So, pick some book that has only one statement on each page is good to start with baby that young. Or cut down the words to say on my own by summarize it. Baby's attention or focusing time is very short.
2. Be an example to our children. My husband does a lot of reading on his own when the children are around in home. One of the advantage of not sending our children off to school, or someone else for babysitting is that our children can observe a lot from our good behavior and influence by us as we are their parents and authority figure. We are someone they look up to.
3. My husband would bring them to library in a regular bases.
This is my first thoughts. May these help you start. .
we have some cardboard books now and i am trying to read many many times with her, she seems interested to what i am reading, which is something phonics liked sentance, (like "ball, wall, fall off the wall"...)
i guess i am in the right track to go.
Yeah, keep going on this right track.
Just Tonight, my 8 years old daughter asked me can she read a book when I am laying on my bed.
I said, "Okay, but I am not ready to lay on my bed now." (I think it is not my bed time yet, and I have a programing language to learn Tonight)
My husband is good, he know how busy I am and he offer to our daugher this: "Do you want me to read a book to you on the bed? I can."
And our daughter agreed to let her Dad to do it. Although I still feel bed that I am not the one who read the book to her. Well, my hushand do it is still better then no one to it.
My lesson to learn: don't turn it down our children's good reqeust like reading a book to them.
對!夫婦能同負一軛是好得無比。昨天到一主內家庭家裏做客,因在批准孩子看電影的事上有些小誤會。大家都看我們如何教兒女。老公在教孩子下次遇上類似情況時應如此判斷該如何是好。
他說:若果爸爸說好,媽媽說不好,你就不做。若果媽媽說好,爸爸說不好,你就不做。
另有一當爸爸的笑哈哈答道:If Daddy say no, and Mommy say no, that is No-No.
I said: That is right!
Recently, I keep hearing my daughters (those who speak) saying such statement: You made me sad/mad/....
I keep telling them this: You need to cut out this habit of saying "You made me ...." no one can make you do anything, you always have a free will of choice to do what God see is right regardless how other treat you. You are responsible for your own emotion. Do not blame on other for your sadness or madness or....
I don't want you to cultivate this kind of mentality.
Finally, today, I chose to raised my loud and strong voice to rebuke my children. Hope to get my children take what I said seriously.
And my husband said: Mommy is right.
My oldest daughter hand made Christmas card for every one of us in the family.
Background, I have said many times that I want to be able to quit my job.
This is what she wrote to me on the card:
DEAR MOM I HOPE YOU'LL HAVE THE BEST DAY EVER AND I WISH YOU CAN QUIT YOUR JOB HAPPY HOLIDAY LOVE XXXXX
I said to my husband: how sweet of her. She remember what I want and took it to her heart.
雞蛋說:You should read mine.
I said: Did she wrote to you better than to me?
雞蛋說:wahaha: you go ahead read it.
Background, my husband stay with our children every day and teach them to obey our LORD. When he hears our daughters arguing and screaming at each other, he would said "I WANT PEACE."
This is what she wrote to her Dad on the card:
"I WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND I HOPE YOU'LL HAVE PEACE FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE. MERRY CHRISTMAS"
I said to my husband: She want you to "rest in peace"
雞蛋說: She does show that she has a very caring heart. I am please with her heart to be right with God. It is her brain I am not so please with. But I rather this way than the other way around.
I love my husband, he always set parenting things in the right priority. Live with him always help me to see what is most important thing in our life.
話說,平安入院幾天,我倆夫婦出雙入對天天早出晚歸去醫院料理平安住院的事。我們不需要任何人提都知我們要爭取時間休息啦。毕竟我们都独立生活了几十年。不要用字語氣講到我好蠢,不懂如何爭取時間休息嘛。第一次提出,我給他 a benefit of doubt,當他口舌笨,不懂表意。所以我沒有怒。只回應:我知,我懂如何爭取時間休息的。我有爭取時間休息。 我與老公並肩作戰這麼多年,若不是靠主而來的能力與智慧來分配我們有的資源,我們是不能撐到今時還可以兵來將擋,水來土淹,平安心境面對。