"Turn off the TV, put away the video games, and read to your child"

[guitar man]

Kudos Mr President, well said!! :applause:

We do it every day at our house, and it is amazing to watch the development of skills in a child who has been read to virtually every day of her life. Say it loud,proud and say it again Mr President, read to your children as often as possible. :thumbsup::thumbsup:

And believe me, the kids aren't the only ones who get something out of it. ;) :hi:

[sinkingfeeling]

1. I read to my son from the day he came home from the hospital. He's now 39 and reads about

3 books a week. He was an 'early' reader and reads about twice as fast as I do.

[Oregone]

2. Some of us have to work...

We can't read all day, you know. A little TV isn't the worst filler in the world (though I know its never the number 1 preference). I never occupy my child by letting her play with my crack pipe though, so TV has its uses.

[guitar man]

4. oh I agree

we have to work too, I didn't mean read all day, I just meant take 20-30 min. a day if you can :hi:

[Oregone]

5. Ah yeah, we do that every single night

Yes, you can do both! :)

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

7. You can make time

Mom had the half hour before bedtime to read me stories from my favorite books. She encouraged me to read to myself as soon as I was able--and it is a habit I keep up to this day, over 50 years later.

[wtmusic]

19. amen. nt

[ejpoeta]

35. i guess it depends on the tv.

my 3 year old LOVES super why! and sid the science kid. she has a leapster handheld video game system. my 10 year old had a leapster also, since she was like 5, while all her cousins had gameboys. I read to my girls everyday. They LOVE books and reading. and it shows in vocabulary, comprehension, and love of learning. you wouldn't believe all the information my 10 year old wants to tell me. all the time. it's awesome, and yet can get annoying. along the lines of the human head weighs eight pounds!

[Parche]

3. ok then

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

6. I was raised by a single mom

One evening a week was "Poetry Night" when she (and later I) would read poems aloud--as they were meant to be enjoyed. Books always had a revered place in our house, and I was encouraged to read from a very young age.

[CTyankee]

10. I read Keats to my son when he was little.

"Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness..." used to calm him...

[Wheezy]

8. To the greatest page with you!

Well said. Books rock.

Great snuggle-book pic, guitar man!

[guitar man]

27. thanks

:hi:

[strategery blunder]

And this is why welfare-to-work was such a horrendous idea.

A single parent who has to work two full-time minimum wage jobs is simply NOT going to have the TIME to read to the child(ren).

If the President wants all parents to "take responsibility" and read to their children (a very noble idea), perhaps he should look into policies that would make it easier for parents to find the time, such as requiring living wages so parents could support children on a single job, getting rid of the requirement that parents in Flint commute all the way to $^#(*&^%)^ Detroit (which I am sure must suck AT LEAST three hours out of their day) to work to receive any social benefits at all, thanks to "welfare-to-work," etc.

Those that have the time to read to their children certainly should do so.

If everyone could support a family on a forty-hour workweek, Obama would certainly be correct. How do you find the time to read to your children on an eighty-hour workweek?

[treestar]

16. He probably doesn't get that because he found time

I doubt he's worked just 40 hours a week his whole life.

[guitar man]

17. I hear you

Well said. I hope that we can get back to being a nation that values its working class enough to make sure we can have the time to spend with our families that we need to.

It's been rough for us, I work out of town and am home on the weekends. We have started a duplicate library of inexpensive children's paperbacks so I can take copies with me on the road and read to her while I'm on the road over the phone. She can't wait for book time every night before she goes to bed.

[strategery blunder]

24. I hope so too.

My single mother worked seventy-hour weeks (with a 90 minute roundtrip commute) to keep me in a good school district. No parent should have to choose reading to the child(ren) and working an extra 30 hours to afford to live in a school district that affords its pupils a decent, quality education. :(

I hope that school in SC that Obama mentioned serves as a wake-up call to the nation.

[guitar man]

25. I hope so too

The story of that school is a graphic example of the rot caused by Reaganite conservatism. Foolishness of the worst sort.

[AyanEva]

34. THIS.

PA is a "work first" state. I just made an entry in my LJ last night about this topic. I'm supposed to be part of a panel discussion for Black History Month this Saturday and my topic is education since I work in that field. There are so many things that play into it and sometimes it's just not as simple as, "turn of the TV and read to your kid." Often times it is that simple, but there are an equal number of times when it's not.

One of our students gets up at 3AM to go work at the meat plant and gets home at 5PM, then goes to GED class from 6:00PM to 8:30PM. When is he going to have time to read, especially if his wife is working full-time too?

[Orsino]

9. Let's teach them to critically examine the written word *and* video.

Either can pimp ignorance, though television gets into our brains more viscerally, and should be handled even more carefully--but for every O'Reilly Factor, there's a wingnut book.

[wtmusic]

18. There is the "mesmerizing" factor of TV

that is even more dangerous than the content - it makes kids generally passive, and it's strictly limited in my house.

[jayfish]

42. Yeah, Look What Happend To Bjork.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4d4rdat3HdA

Jay

[liberal N proud]

11. That pic reminds me of when I read to my little girls

They would bring me books and stand there with them until I put down what ever I was doing and set them on my lap and read to them.

They loved to be read to at that age.

[kestrel91316]

12. My parents read to me until I learned how to read about the time my sister

learned how in 1st grade (when I was 4). Then they couldn't keep me entertained anymore because I moved directly from Dick, Jane, & Sally to the several years' worth of National Geographics on our shelves, lol.

[wtmusic]

13. A great feeling is it not?

My kids are too old to be read to anymore - 12 and 14 - but we have family reading time, where we all just sit in the same room and read for half an hour. They don't only like it, they ASK for it...what's wrong? :silly:

[Aristus]

14. Beats the hell out of: "Jes' go shoppin'! Go buy stuff!"

The quality of our Presidents has increased acutely in the last month or so... B-)

[countingbluecars]

15. This teacher applauds you! n/t

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

20. Violent books rot the mind and lead to school shootings.

Eric Harris... Dylan Klebold... Adolf Hitler...

All of them read books.

[FatDave]

39. If not for Catcher in the Rye, we might still have John Lennon. (nt)

[Uzybone]

21. K&R

[blueraven95]

22. My parents read to me

and did so well after I had learned to read myself. Some of my favorite memories are of reading together right before bed.

To make it even better, they would split up, so one parent read to me and the other read to my sister - and as they finished different books, they would switch. It was quality time for each of us, and we got to be introduced to each of their favorite "young adult" authors.

I remember getting to the point where I would read ahead in the books during the day because I couldn't wait to find out what happened next, and pretend I hadn't, so we could keep reading before bed. :D


Now, when we visit my parents, my sister and I take turns reading to my mother while she sews. It's a good deal all around.

[bdamomma]

23. right on, and isn't that the truth.

[roody]

26. It doesn't even have to be reading. It can be

engaging them in conversation, playing a board game, going for a walk. The interaction develops their brains. Illiterate parents have to be shown that they can open up a book and make up a story about the pictures, and it will help their child learn.

[guitar man]

28. absolutely

You're correct, the engagement and interaction is so important. As far as board games go, she's got that down. She got Candyland for Christmas and we have played probably 20-25 times so far and I have only managed to beat her once! :D

[Geoff R. Casavant]

29. We found a balance between TV and reading.

Our toddler is allowed to watch one channel -- PBS Sprout. It's calming, non-violent and teaches her stuff. She picked up some sign language.

But we make it a point to read her whatever book she brings to us, and she brings us at least one each night. She especially loves the "Captain's Chair" where I sit cross-legged on the floor and she hops in my lap.

[laylah]

30. My girls got books

from day one! While nursing it was 3 day. This is soooooo important!

[Hepburn]

31. I love that picture....

....:loveya:

Thanks for posting this...what a refreshing change from the Jindal racism threads.

[guitar man]

32. thanks!

that's partially why I posted it, it had become Jindal central around here today :hi:

[Bonhomme Richard]

33. We always read to our kids and they both grew up to be.......

responsible, intelligent adults.

[FatDave]

36. Of course everyone should read to their kids.

But I don't buy into automatically demonizing Television and video games. My kids watch the Science Channel every morning before school, and contrary to what someone said above, they're not just mesmerised by the flashing colors. They get it. I know, because not only do I ask them about what they saw, it also usually comes up later at dinner. And don;t even get me started on the Schoolhouse Rock DVD.

As far as video games go, all of my kids have played them and--get this--learned from them! They learned to count into double digits from Crash Bandicoot. Anybody ever seen the Paper Mario games? 90% of each game is reading character conversations. All three of my kids have immensely sharpened their reading skills on those games.

Granted, the key to everything in life is moderation. But television and yes, even the dreaded video game, can be used as a tool to make learning fun.

[guitar man]

40. I agree

Hey, I work in television so I can hardly demonize it myself :)

She's gotten a lot from educational programs and her educational video games too without a doubt. I think a good balance is key.

[w8liftinglady]

37. that picture is PRECIOUS!what a good daddy!

[guitar man]

41. thanks!

:hi:

[seabeyond]

38. my children have shelves and closet overflowing with books. yea to book. they are top

in reading and reading comprehension in school and part of duke program cause of their reading. at almost 14 and 11 their love for reading still thrives

every night, after bath, cuddle and read....

even the youngest that didnt have the same sit factor and cuddle factor, i still pulled out book and read... as he was back and forth. i was concerned he would be the only in the family not into reading... i was wrong

[SheilaT]

43. Here's something else I'd advise:

Do NOT put a TV or computer into your child's room.

My kids were pretty much the only kids they knew who didn't have their own TVs when young (they're 21 and 26 now). The older one didn't seem to care, but the younger one thought he was the most deprived child in North America. What TV watching the kids do should be in a family space. I'm also opposed to TV in any bedroom, including the parents, so we were practically the only family out there with one TV.

Currently I live alone (after divorce) and I don't have a TV and it's the most freeing thing that's happened to me in years.

[seabeyond]

50. kids hardly ever watch tv. so little kid appropriate today... literally

adult tv all the time....

history and discovery is about it. but no tv in rooms ever.

do have computer. also good nannyware and not problems there.

[SheilaT]

52. The various science shows can be very good

and I'd be among the first to recommend them.

When we first got a DVD recorder and started recorded the science shows, I was fascinated to see how much they wanted to watch certain shows over and over again. It's a lot like the way they want stories/books read over and over.

I think in the end the most important thing is to closely monitor what your kids are watching. Different children really are different, as anyone who had at least two kids understands (the only serious drawback to having only one child is that you simply don't get this). We all have different values. Even those of us who are really close on the value continuum will have differences. But if you pay attention to what your kids are seeing, if you read to them regularly, if you care about what they learn and what they're exposed to, if you talk to them about all of these things, then it should all work out.

As a personal story, I did all of the above. My younger son was arrested for possession of marijuana the summer before his senior year of high school. I was outraged and angry about the whole thing. He cheated his way through the diversion program our state offered. He left home in April of his senior year and for six weeks I did not know where he was living, although I correctly guessed which friend he'd moved in with. He then came back home, actually graduated (I thought for sure he wouldn't) and went off to college. He will graduate this spring, cum laude, from the University of Tulsa. I know that in the long run having the standards I've expressed above made a huge difference. I often say we were lucky, but it wasn't just luck, but largely a result of how we raised him, of all the decisions we made along the way.

And even in the midst of the worst of those trials, he never once said "I hate you" and never stopped saying "please" and "thank you". I have enough friends with children who have not gotten away from the drugs to understand how lucky we are, and I hope nothing here comes across as self-righteous or judgmental of others. Parenthood is a strange combination of crap-shoot and consequences of what you do. There's no way of knowing ahead of time how it will all play out.

[semillama]

44. My son is nearly a month old

and I try to read to him from whatever I am reading, just to get in the habit. So far, the results are somewhat mixed.

He doesn't seem to like The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman, but doesn't seem to mind "The Haunted Tank" comic book:

[guitar man]

47. awwww...

what a little cutie. :loveya:

I remember when my daughter was that small...now all of a sudden she's 3 :wow:

[BlooInBloo]

45. Step 2: Have your child read to you.

[spanone]

46. but my child is 30

:rofl:

[guitar man]

48. that's no excuse

get 'em up on your knee and start reading! :silly:

[SheilaT]

49. Then the "kid" should

definitely be reading to you!

[Haole Girl]

51. That's so great!

Love that pic! :loveya:

[Lugnut]

53. My kids are avid readers.

Not a day went by that DH or I didn't read to them. When they could read on their own they read to us. Reading is essential to learning.

[fortyfeetunder]

54. That's right, it's good public speaking practice

I read to kid since day one and we read regularly. It helps with reading speeches at events.... :)

[sakabatou]

55. I will read to my child

once I have one. Or use audio books if I can't.