My boy, Robbie, is now 22 months old and the first thing he looks for when he wakes is his books. His toys are ignored. He takes the books and starts flicking through the pages.
Read me a book, please
Soon, after breakfast, he will then pass the books to me so I can read to him. This leaves me with the following questions;
- Do we need to get better toys?
- Should I just be glad, as a parent, that he loves books?
It is particularly interesting as he is still so young. His vocabulary is still very limited. He can just say the odd word, but he is understanding instructions. When we read to him, we can say “turn page, please,” and he turn the page for us.
He also understands if you ask him to pass a particular book, e.g. “Can you pass me the Lion book?”
His cousins from England, Amy and Beth, passed down some books. The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. Since then we have bought The Gruffalo's Child, Tiddler and The Snail And The Whale. We have bought the hard book versions in the hope that they can be kept for our new baby, due in November.
Other books that we read are The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle and Mr Big by Ed Vere. We also read nursery rhymes like The Elves And The Shoemaker.
As a teacher, I am now on a long summer holiday. I love reading to my son and I believe it brings many benefits;
- Improve bond between parent and child
- It will help with his understanding of words
- Enhance imagination
- Early communication and English language skills
At the end of the day, just before bedtime, we will read to him some books to him.
Watching The Stories
I did start looking on YouTube and other sources to see if any of these stories had been adapted for television.
I did find The Very Hungry Caterpillar on YouTube.
There is also a brilliant TV adaptation of The Gruffalo. I will order the DVDs but in the meantime I found it on Vimeo.
Being active
As well as reading books, I feel as a parent, that it is important to get children outside. I live in the United Arab Emirates and it is very hot during the summer. It is still important that he goes outside and does some walking or running.
I've noticed this week that he has improved his sense of balance. He is able to run and he is finding it easier to go up or down steps.
When it gets to September, the weather should cool down. I will go back to taking him to the parks a few times a week.
I hope you have enjoyed this insight into the reading habits of our small boy. Soon, he will be able to read to us and his little brother.
Thank you for stopping by and have a nice rest of the day.
All pictures are my own.
