What do you think?

i think reading is always a good thing. and it has been proven that those who use their minds longer and later in life, keep their mind longer and later. so i say, keep em reading as long as you can.

however, i saw somewhere a statistic that says that some high schoolers have actually graduated while being illiterate. that amazes me.

dont they say to read to your children when they are younger? doesn't it help the mind develop?

well, i guess we have both sides in our family. i read books constantly as a child and loved it, and hubby didn't and hates books (literally). but we both have good jobs and make a good living and are responsible adults (well i am almost responsible ). however, my hubby does read magazines that interest him, just not books.

I read to all three of my children beginning at age 7 months or so. Two are avid readers and one could care less. However, the one who could care less does read science material and when he and his brother were younger, they played Dungeons and Dragons and the manuals are written on a rather sophisticated level.

If a child participates in a reading program over the summer and reads 10 books, supposedly, his grades will be higher during the following year.

When I substitute in the sciences, I bring in copies of articles of Scientific American and Discover. SHould I end up with an English teaching assignment, I would use special interest magazines to help teach writing.

Reading is the greatest single skill that contributes to success in school. That mother is doing her children a huge disservice by not encouraging them to read and not reading to them.

I tried to read to my son when he was an infant and toddler, but he was too active. He would waddle over to me, take the book out of my hands, and throw it on the floor. He wanted my undivided attention. It was only once he was about 3 that he began to get interested in some "touch" books with textures and removable objects. He didn't allow me to start reading to him until he was about 4, but then he caught on very quickly. We "read" more books together in the summer before he started kindergarten than anyone else at his school. He still has the trophy. He has read more than 3,000 pages every summer since (if you count the books that I read to him as well as the ones he reads independently.) Now that he has started middle school (he is 11), he is required to read for 30 minutes every night, 7 days a week.

I can't imagine how the Dumb Blonde's kids will ever be able to succeed in school.