One of the biggest achievements of me and my husband so far is to have established Morgan’s reading habit. She reads daily, mostly at night time, before bed.

MORGAN’S READING JOURNEY

To be fair, she grew an interest in books at an early age. She often read until 11 or midnight when she was 3-4. She read her first book herself at 4.5. It was an incredible achievement given that we did not teach her to read and the first book she read was not an easy one: There was an Old Dragon Who Swallowed A Knight.

With her initial interest, we continued to nurture it. We limit screen time and borrow books from the library and buy good ones that are her favourites. We set up reading lights by the beds to make it easy for her to read. We read with her and beside her; we share our findings from our own books with her and ask her to share her books as well. We allow her to pick her own books, once in a while, we will make a suggestion but she is free to read whatever books she likes, no need to always read harder books. The expectation is that she reads, not to become an academic. So, she has a collection of her own books now; most she reads once or twice, a few she keeps re-reading.

POWER OF READING FOR A CHILD’S COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

Reading is important for adults, but especially for kids. The evidence is abundant. There are many TedEx videos and research that prove this.

Like what 9-year-old Luke Bakic summarizes beautifully: “A great reader makes a good writer, a good writer makes a good communicator, a good communicator makes a good persuader, and good persuaders make a great society”.

For a kid, reading builds a strong literary foundation: a great vocabulary, spelling, punctuation, and grammar. It is also good for soft skills: verbal communication, comprehension, emotional awareness and empathy, critical thinking, and writing. Further, reading together builds good parent-child bonds.

For adults, being a mature student, I experienced first hand how much reading has helped me build upon my existing knowledge and comprehend new topics through connecting with my existing knowledge. I call it compounding learning through existing knowledge and overarching principles. It is similar to the compounding interest principle: interest leads to more interest. Or it is also similar to the 1% daily improvement leading to 37 times improvement over a one year period. That is why I kept telling myself that attending law school has been transformational for me, three years, by achieving 1% better each day, and 81 times better when I graduated from law school than when I started law school.

I use the same principle with teaching Morgan Vietnamese. 1 word a day, to 1 sentence a day, and eventually she now can read simple Vietnamese books. I acknowledge that Morgan can learn a bit (or much) faster than other kids. However, I accord some of this to nurture rather than nature. Through atomic improvement and habit building, we have been able to assist Morgan with learning a few key habits and resilience to keep improving and practicing daily, in any skills or areas of expertise she puts her mind to.

HOW WE HELPED MORGAN READ MORE

Using the four principles by James Clear in his famous book “Atomic Habits”, this is how we help Morgan read more which might help you assist your child read more, too.

1. Make it obvious (Cue)

– Set up regular reading time (before going to bed)

– Have books next to the bed

– Act as role model (Read next to her)

2. Make it attractive (Craving)

– Share with her our reading journey

– Read next to her

– Bring her to library where other kids are reading

– Ensure that her school focuses on fostering a reading environment

– Record a reading log

3. Make it easy (Response)

– Set up reading lights next to the bed

– Have books next to the bed

– Allow her to read books she likes

4. Make it satisfying (Reward)

– Keep a reading log of the books that she reads

– Encourage her to read a series

– Remind her to read each night

I hope this blog helps and you will find a few new tips to help your kids read more! Remember that your kids copy you and learn from you, if you want them to read, be a good role model and start reading more and sharing more with them about your reading.

Have a wonderful Thursday.