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Can book characters have a bad influence? Is reading to children important?

reading to children

I love reading with my son. It started when he was only weeks old, days even. I can remember not having enough hands to support him and hold a book at the same time. There’s a picture somewhere of me reading him his first Mr Men book. Time has changed things a little, or a great deal more accurately, but I still enjoy reading to him. I’ve always considered that reading to children is important and there are many benefits of reading to your child, but can book characters have a bad influence? What is the impact of a book on kids?

I’ve always believed in the benefits of reading to children

The things we’ve read over time have transformed, and I guess will always constantly change.  We occasionally still read Mr Men books, at nearly eight-years-old my boy is still a fan, as I suppose am I, at 35.
My son, Max, has always chosen our bedtime reading, and his tastes have changed over time, as they do sometimes on a whim, or because of outside influences.

One such period was the discovery of Harry Potter.  Some of his friends introduced him to the fictional wizard, and he also found a key Potter ally in the form of his grandma.

She loves the spectacle donning junior spell castor just as much as Max, and I am grateful for that, as it has meant I have managed to avoid reading much of the books to him.

I don’t particularly enjoy the Harry Potter series, they aren’t stories for me, so it’s good that there is someone close to him that he can share his enthusiasm  for them with.

It was great that he was interested in reading them, and far from put him off I encouraged him to read them, and read them to him myself, when grandma was not around and nothing else would do.

I think it is good for a child, especially to help reluctant reading boys, that they will read anything at all.

This is how I started trying to get my boy hooked on books.

 

reading to children, importance of reading to children, benefits of reading, influence of book characters

Ian Newbold and son Max enjoying a book together

Influence of Book Characters on Children

But I think there is a limit to what you are prepared to read with your child, and I may just about have found it.

Max has more recently got interested in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series.  One much heralded for its success with encouraging boys to read, but it is what else they may encourage that I am taking umbrage with.

Basically, and I think we are part way through our fourth book now, I don’t like any of the cast from the principle character’s family.

It could just be me, it could be the intention of the book, but Greg Heffley – the character writing his fictional diary – is not very likeable at all.  Neither is his dad, nor his older brother.

Greg is constantly doing the wrong thing, rarely offers a sincere apology or learns anything at all from his mistakes.

Like when a case of mistaken identity leads to his friend, Rowley, getting punished for something Greg has done.  Greg explains the dilemma of whether to own up to his misdemeanour and face the consequences versus letting it pass and that no one really got hurt.  He explains his conundrum to his mother who leaves it with him, saying he should simply just do the right thing.

He decides that doing ‘the right thing’ is letting his pal take the flak, that there is no benefit in owning up, and he is rather pleased with himself for making the right call.  He is even rewarded when he tells his mother he did the right thing.

I’m often looking for the sarcasm in the book to actually be meaningful, and for Greg to learn from his ways, but he never seems to, and it is really getting on my nerves (can you tell?).

I worry that far from learn that he shouldn’t follow suit, that my boy could actually start copying this sort of behaviour and in a way feel justified to do so.

But I guess you could argue that kids are sick of books jam packed full of obvious morals that feel like lectures they should be learning from. Perhaps this way, of using double negatives, children will decide for themselves, that while some of it is funny, perhaps it isn’t the way to behave themselves.

I’m undecided, all I know is that I am in need of trying to convince my son that there are other things we could be choosing from the bookshelf to read at bedtime.

And perhaps I should try to not be so grumpy.

Do you think book characters can have a bad influence? Let us know in the comments below

 

 

The importance of reading to children

  • It’s a great way to spend time with your kids, even when they are tiny babies; they love to  hear the sound of your voice
  • They can get involved with choosing a book they want to read – they are more likely to enjoy the book
  • Reading with children helps them develop their vocabulary – kids whose parents read 5 books a day to them will start school having heard 1.4 million more words than a child who never hears a story.  Source Science Daily 4 April 2019
  • When parents read regularly with their children, then children do better with their school work in literacy, language, numeracy and ability to understand.  Studies show that it doesn’t matter what background the child comes from, the key factor in whether children are successful later in life,  is whether parents read with their children.  Source Reading to Young Children, Department of Early Education, Victoria, AU
  • Reading to children means that they are more likely read for pleasure.  Not only does this encourage them to reduce screen time, reading for pleasure improves children’s chances of success in school.  Source Department for Education, UK, May 2012

 

 

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