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2nd April is International Children's Book Day, and I'd like to share the happiness I get from bringing up a reader in my son.
2nd April is International Children’s Book Day, and I’d like to share the happiness I get from bringing up a reader in my son.
Something wonderful has just happened and I can’t wait to share my happiness. As a mother of boys I would always think inspite of doing everything that is required to be a friend to my boys, there would be something which they may not want to discuss with me.
But today, my son who is 17 came to me and started discussing the character and the story of the book he was reading, which I thought he would never talk to me about. We were just talking and since I had already read that book I was giving my opinion. We argued, we agreed and most importantly we enjoyed it. Both of us forgot, for some time, that we were mom and son. We were just two friends discussing the book that we both loved.
It took me back to the time when I would not talk about some books with my dad even though I shared everything with my dad. I think deep down in my heart I had some apprehensions that my son would also do the same thing with me.
I think, what changed from the time of my dad and I, to my son and I, is that we always read together.
From the time he was one year old I used to show him pictures and read, and every night I read books to him. Fairytales, Jataka Tales, bedtime stories, mythological stories.
When he started reading, we both used to read the same book. The day he finished reading the page before I did, he got rewarded with a new book.
We moved to Hardy Boys, Secret Seven, Famous Five and Sherlock Holmes. We enjoyed every book.
Then came the phase of Percy Jackson and Harry Potter. I read those books too so I could talk to him about them.
We still read together, different books though, and talk to each other if we are intrigued, fascinated, or disgusted with something in the book.
We love shopping, yes, shopping for books. He never complains when I spend hours in a bookstore.
I am glad I read and read to him, and when he uses rich, descriptive engaging vocabulary while speaking or writing, my heart swells, because I know that it is because of his reading habits.
So, I think, children are made readers on the laps of their parents. If you want your kids to read, then read amazing books for them or with them every single night.
P. S. We are going to go shopping some new books today, I think I deserve it.
A version of this was first published here.
Image source: shutterstock
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Neena was the sole caregiver of Amma and though one would think that Amma was dependent on her, Neena felt otherwise.
Neena inhaled the aroma that emanated from the pan and took a deep breath. The aroma of cumin interspersed with butter transported her back to the modest kitchen in her native village. She could picture her father standing in the kitchen wearing his white crisp kurta as he made delectable concoctions for his only daughter.
Neena grew up in a home where both her parents worked together in tandem to keep the house up and running. She had a blissful childhood in her modest two-room house. The house was small but every nook and cranny gave her memories of a lifetime. Neena’s young heart imagined that her life would follow the same cheerful course. But how wrong she was!
When she was sixteen, the catastrophic clutches of destiny snatched away her parents. They passed away in a road accident and Neena was devastated. Relatives thronged her now gloomy house and soon it was decided that she should be married off.
Women today don’t want to be in a partnership that complicates their lives further. They need an equal partner with whom they can figure out life as a team, playing by each other’s strengths.
We all are familiar with that one annoying aunty who is more interested in our marital status than in the dessert counter at a wedding. But these aunties have somehow become obsolete now. Now they are replaced by men we have in our lives. Friends, family, and even work colleagues. It’s the men who are worried about why we are not saying yes to one among their clans. What is wrong with us? Aren’t we scared of dying alone? Like them?
A recent interaction with a guy friend of mine turned sour when he lectured me about how I would regret not getting married at the right time. He lectured that every event in our lives needs to be completed within a certain timeframe set by society else we are doomed. I wasn’t angry. I was just disappointed to realize that annoying aunties are rapidly doubling in our society. And they don’t just appear at weddings or family functions anymore. They are everywhere. They are the real pandemic.
Let’s examine this a little closer.
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