Children's interest in reading:
Some thoughts:
Written by Najam-ul-Huda II
My observation is that there is very little interest in reading in Muslim families. Even well-educated people seem to be deprived of this blessing. People have no shortage of time in lockdown. With a little attention, we can instil in children a tendency to read. In the age of TV and mobile phones, this is not an easy task, but it is a work in progress. His passion for reading will also brighten his personality and, God willing, will be a guarantee of his success.
Here are some suggestions:
ا۔ Get in the habit of reading it yourself. (This is the hardest condition :)
2. Make children aware of the importance of books and reading through your behaviour and conversations.
3. Give children books of stories and poems as gifts. Be sure to write something in your writing for these myths and don't forget to put a date.
4. Spend some time reading with the children each day. Read for yourself and make your reading interesting in terms of children's age and their psychology.
5. Don't rush to read. Take care of the mental level of the children and do not make it difficult for them to read and exhort or rush to 'infuse' information in the children. This will make children tired very quickly and they will start running away from reading books.
6. Try to keep the children's attention tied while reading. For this, it is important to involve them in the reading process: for example, keep asking the children questions about what is being read, do not keep your eyes constantly on the book, but look at them from time to time. Smile, sometimes pausing in the middle to tell a joke, sometimes pausing in the middle to order favourite chocolate or a juice for them, sometimes listening to them, linking the story to Quan's life and interests.
7. In the meantime, turn off your mobile phone or switch it to 'Silent Mode'.
6. Children's age and interests must be taken into consideration when choosing books. Take care of the storybooks that children love the most.
8. Make the most of diversity in choosing materials for children. Children love ghost stories, magic and fairy tales. Try to develop children's imagination through them (Make sure that these stories are socially acceptable).
9. Sometimes ask the children to tell their own story. It is better to tell this story orally. They will, in the beginning, need your help to create the story. Help them but give credit to their effort and hard work in front of everyone. To encourage children, buy them a new book, make and feed them their favourite dish, extend the time allotted for their favourite game, and so on.
10 Times are changing very fast. If we take the responsibility of introducing our children to the changing technology, we can avoid many troubles. There are many 'apps' and sites related to reading and books. Introduce children to them under your supervision. Kindle (Book purchase and reading app) has changed the old concept of study. It is also important to introduce children. Be sure to keep some books for them on your wallet. Encourage reading comics and feeding very young children. Comics play an important role in stimulating children's creativity.
(Source: This is originally received in the Urdu language through Whatsapp forward. This is translated to English using Google translator)