Welcome back to Literacy Musing Mondays. Emergent literacy skills are so important and encouraging reading at a young age is central to insuring your child is a lifelong reader.  This week we have a special guest post by a new mom who wants to make her baby fall in love with reading.   Nabanita Dhar shares excellent insights on emergent literacy in infants. I hope you enjoy her post:

Emergent Literacy

How Do I Make My 4-Month-Old Fall In Love With Reading?

Author and mother who loves reading to her baby to encourage emergent literacy skills.

By Nabanita Dhar

As I type this, my four-month-old daughter sleeps, blissfully unaware of the world she is in, with my kindle right next to her. Two of my most favorite things in the world, right where I want them. As I look at her, I wonder if she’ll also grow up to be like her mom, always a book, or now kindle, by her side. I wonder if she too will fall in love with reading and live her happily ever after amidst pages of written words. And then a question pops up in my mind.

How do I make my four-month-old fall in love with reading?

Call me crazy but I really, really want to show her this world of books. I want her to experience the need to read just one more page before turning in for the night. I don’t just want to introduce her to this amazing world of books but I want her to feel it, love it and connect with it too.

But, what can I do to make her see reading the way I do?

 You have no idea how much I have pondered on this. All through my pregnancy and every day these past four months since I first held her in my arms. And then it hit me. Maybe the answer lies in my childhood. It was what you call the eureka moment.

If I remember correctly, I was about two and a half to three years old when my dad first started telling me stories while feeding me. It was his way to get around my tantrums while eating. The tales he wove were my reward for behaving at the dinner table. As days passed, I found myself eagerly waiting for meal time with dad. Not for the food but for the next new story that he had in his repertoire. I was hungry to hear more, imagine more. I think that was the whole reason books became my best friends when I was old enough to read. I wanted to hear more stories so I started looking for them in books. And I don’t know when but reading became an inseparable part of me. So, I think I know where I have to start.

Makes stories her reward. The sooner the better.

When my daughter is old enough to understand, I’ll start with telling her stories that I grew up on. A story or two while tucking her in, one while getting her to eat her food and maybe even while driving her to the creche. The point is to make her see stories as a reward, as a gift and make her yearn for it. So, every time she does something that deserves an accolade, encouragement, I’ll offer her a story too. Maybe then she’ll grow an appetite for more which in turn will lead to reading when the time is right.

To pique her interest in reading, I need to read in front of her, with her.

One of the things that children do always is take after their parents. They have a keen sense of observation and nothing escapes their inquisitive eyes. That is something I plan to play on to get the reading bug to bite her. I never ever go to bed without reading a few pages. This is my nightly ritual. Even if I’m dog tired, I do it. So, maybe when she sees me do it every day, she’ll do the same. It could be our mother daughter thing at the end of the day, read books together.

Introduce her to the amazing word of bookstores.

 When you have kids, trips to the amusement park, the movie hall where, say, the Kung Fu Panda is being played or even the Dunkin Donuts, become a norm. These are things that kids enjoy and look forward to doing. So, I think along with these trips to bookstores, if done right, could also make introducing them to reading much easier. And to achieve just that, I plan to take my daughter to a bookstore at least once every month. It could be another of those things that we do as a mother daughter duo, just spend hours and hours lost in aisles of books, with books. So many stories under one room. That ought to entice her, right?

It’s not that I wish to shove reading forcefully down her throat. I want to do it right because I know how wonderful it is. And it’s not just discovering stories or leading many lives by virtue of these stories that I want her to grown fond of. There’s more to it. Reading equips you better for life, I feel. And I want that for her. I want books to be her friends too and we all know that’s a lasting bond.

So, tell me, do you have any suggestions for me? How can I help my daughter discover the beauty of this magical world of books and reading?

Nabanita Dhar blogs at  Random Thoughts—Naba. She is a Blogger, Freelance Writer, Social Influencer, Daughter, Wife & a New Mother all wrapped into one. Oh, a Software Professional too! She has published two short stories in anthologies. You can follow her on Facebook, Google+, Instagram and Twitter.

You may have noticed we delayed our start of Literacy Musing Mondays to early Monday morning to honor the Easter Holiday.  I hope you had a wonderful time with your family.

Now on to our weekly linkup! First let’s

Let’s Celebrate Literacy together now!

Last Week’s Top Clicked Post!

Who Was, What Was, Where Is Books for Kids

By Heather  @ EncouragedatHome.com

 

My Favorite Post of the Week:

This post just reinforces the importance of reading to your children at all stages of their growth and development. She has a great list of books to read throughout their growing up years! Be sure to check it out.

Now, it is time to link up to the Literacy Musing Mondays hop! You will have until Saturdays at 12 p.m. now to link up! So come back often.

Linkup Rules:

1. Include a link back or the blog hop button linked to this hop on your posts.
2. Link up the urls to your posts not to your blog.
3. Please remember this is a family-friendly linkup.  Although we believe in the right for adults to read whatever they want to read, we prefer to read wholesome posts that feature literature that edify and uplift families. We reserve the right to delete any posts that are not family friendly. We love all kinds of literature and genres including family-friendly inspirational romances, fantasy, or science fiction. We do not welcome posts featuring books or written with excessive violence, sexual content, or cursing. These posts will be deleted.
4. We also want to be loving community by supporting one another. Please make a point to do this this week! Visit the two posts before yours and at least one other blogger’s post of your choice! I want to see lots of clicks on everyone’s posts. I know as a blogger, you know how it feels not receive comments, right. 🙂 Plus, you could be honored as our Top Commentor if you submit your report to Mary! Remember it is also nice to follow them on their social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook.
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