Choose the Right book for your child

Most of us know about the importance of reading to our children. We already know that it is important to read to the kids in order to foster their vocabulary and intelligence. We know that children who are regularly read to are more likely to turn out to be well read and successful adults. We know bedtime stories should form an important part of a child’s night time ritual.But surely, not all stories are appropriate for all ages. In this article we explore which kind of stories and story books go well for which age . Please note that these are only an indicative suggestion. Parents can determine what stage their child fits in, and choose stories for her accordingly.
1. Age 0-1 year
While some experts argue , and so does our mythology, that unborn children in womb also listen, understand and gain from stories, I doubt so. The American Academy for Pediatrics recommends reading to children from 6 month of age. However, kids this young, or younger if you prefer to start early, can not understand the concept of reading. So you can choose from Dr. Suess or Cosmopolitan or your Newspaper, it makes no difference. The child still gets your time and proximity, and is still exposed to the language, which is all a child gathers from stories at this age. The up side with using newspaper as a source is that your knowledge of current affairs might increase dramatically.
2. Age 1-2 years
Children this age have started comprehending that the pictures (and not words) in the books actually correspond to things in real life. So an 15 month old baby realizes that a picture of the flower in a book actually symbolizes a real flower. This is a great leap in understanding. Choose books that have single simple pictures that the child can relate to. Books that have one picture a page are ideal . Examples of a bad choice of book would be a book with cartoons instead of real photographs, or a book with complicated photographs. You can use a book to discuss about the object. For example, a book that says C for CAT and has a cat’s picture can be used to explain the meeow sound of cat, or that cat’s baby is called a kitten, etc. Towards a later stage the child would also like a simple, easy story attached with the pictures she is watching. 3. Age 2-3 years
This is the age when kids understand that the world is vast, and full of exciting things, animals, machines and what not!! Use their natural curiosity to teach them about animals , values, cars, utensils, anything!!! If you tell your baby the story of how Tajmahal was made, she’ll remember the details, and would save you the trouble of increasing her General Knowledge by immensely mundane and boring ways later. The point is, at this age and later, stories can be used very effectively to teach child a lot of things. The topics can vary from Traffic rules to general etiquettes, seven wonders to mythology, from dinosaurs to river Nile. 4. Age 3-4 years: Children start recognizing alphabets at this stage. They realize that letters make words, and words make stories!!! When you read a story to your child, move your finger along the sentence you are reading. This is a deceptively simple thing, but it drives home the point that stories come from sentences made by words. Your child might also learn to recognize some frequently repeated words just by this simple procedure. You can also choose to change the story a little bit and let your child be the hero. Just change the name of key characters of the story and watch the face of your baby light up like a 100 watt bulb! 5. Age 4-5 years
This is the age when kids believe they have truly become big. And why not, they can do so much themselves and reading is just a step away! We as parents can make learning to read fun from them. Choose easy to read books about a variety of subjects that your child shows interest in. Dr. Suess’s books are world-renowned for their easy readability. Let the child take his own time reading. Be patient. He might be able to read a word in one page, only to get stuck with the same word in the next page. Reading is a very slow process for kids, and our hurrying up is only going to make it tougher for them. Celebrate small accomplishments, and help when asked. 6. Age 5+ years
Now is the time for you to handover the selection to your child. You might not always agree with her decision, but do not force the issue. If she chooses Nancy Drew by looking at the attractive cover, gently explain her that it’s not a 6 or 7 year olds’ book. If she insists, let her choose. She’ll soon come to trust your suggestions.
Stories are children’s window to the world. They are also a very important tool for the parents. Parents can use bedtime stories to explore hard to lecture areas, like sharing. You can also spread values in a non-threatening way. Avoid stories with scary stuff like monsters that can produce nightmares. Remember, one sure shot way of making a story smash-hit with the kids is to customize it. Little Medha will sure be interested in ‘Medha and the three bears’, and what will charm Pratik more than ‘Pratik and the beanstalk’!

Make Travel Fun, for your little One.

I did six cross continental travels with my first baby before he turned 6 months old. Each single one was an exciting experience, and the preparations for each one was a nightmare. I was always nervous about how would my son react to 16 nonstop hours on a chair, and it always turned out better than expected. Now, with my two hand-baggage (read kids), and a husband with a zest for long drives, we are on road/rail/plane a lot, and I have mastered the art of traveling with kids. The secret is in details, indeed. But taking care of the details need not be a difficult task.I have a soft copy of “things to take” that is updated with every travel. As kids grow, nappies are replaced with story books, and so on. But having ready access to this list makes packing so much more easy and fun, and I have forgotten fretting about ‘have I forgotten something ?’ The list is quite an interesting combo, developed from voyages both short and long. After a camping trip (when my daughter was all of 3 months) , I added mosquito repellent as a must-take in it. My once in three months 36 hour train journey from Bangalore to delhi results in points like polybag dustbins and balloons!! So, in some ways this “things to take” list actually reflects the experiences we’ve had on our trips. You might want to start creating one now!As far as infants are concerned, if you give your little one a lot of attention, she’ll bask in the glory of being the central one in your life, and the journey shall pass quickly. The basic needs of a baby are pretty simple – full stomach, dry diaper and available parents. Catering to the needs of a slightly older child is bit more difficult. He might need his life size leopard in the train, or want to get off the plane right now , barely five minutes after take off. It takes more ingenuity to keep him occupied. Apart from stocking up on his toys and books, also consider playing travel games and giving treats that are strictly rationed at home. For example ,our son is not allowed to play any games on the cell phone at home. Cell phone games are strictly for the car. He is generally so immersed in playing ‘snake’, he hates it when the traffic jam clears up and we reach home!!Travel games have to be simple , and ideally should not need much stuff. Counting games are good for little kids just learning numbers. Count how many green cars pass you by, for example. Pretend play is great for travel too!! You and your son can become policemen trying to shoot down every thief (tree with yellow flowers) in sight. There are other aplenty games to play. You can give him hypothetical situations and ask him how would he feel and react in them. How he feels when grandpa comes home. What would he do if he is lost. What would he do if he is thirsty in a desert. You can also give him puzzles. Start with easy ones to build up his confidence and interest (Which animal is the largest on land and has a huge trunk? ) , And then move on to slightly tougher ones (Which black and white animal is endangered and lives in china.) Another hot favorite in travel games is memory games, where you ask your child to remember some things and then try to recall it after some time. Finally, it’s all about having fun with your child. If you are all worked up, the child can sense the tension, and will react by being tense about the journey herself. You would probably find out, as I did, that although prior preparations are a must, the best part of a trip is often things and games that come up unexpectedly, as so many good things in life do.

Must Knows for Your Child

As Parents, we teach a lot of things to our little ones. We teach them numbers and alphabets – capital and small. We teach them colors and shapes and nursery rhymes. We teach them the names of capitals, currencies and rivers of the world. We teach them about the presidents and prime-ministers and about Bill Gates. And then, we wonder, have we taught them enough ?
The answer our conscience gives us generally is “No”. The world is competitive, and it is full of child prodigies. And we are only trying to ensure our offspring’s secure, successful future. Isn’t it? What we loose sight of, however, is the present.
A child learns. He is programmed to learn. He learns the numbers and letters and everything else by sheer curiosity. As long as you read him enough books on varied subjects, he’ll learn. But there are indeed a few essentials that every child must know, and that every parent must take pains to teach their child. You might want to add to this list of mine according to your own beliefs. I believe, that a child must know :
That He is good, and the world is good too. And that he is safe here, because his parents love him and ensure his safety. He must know his address and telephone numbers, and he must know how to reach his parents in case he needs them. He must know that he can trust the security person in the mall, and the neighborhood families etc. He must live with a sense of security. The ugly truth of life should be safely hidden from him for now.
That all are equal. Girls are as good as boys. If boys are stronger, girls are smarter. That poor people deserve the same respect and dignity as others do. And that animals and plants have equal right to life as humans. I use this to propagate vegetarianism in my kids. But respect for life can be preached equally well in non-vegetarian families too.
That etiquettes and courtesy are important part of ones’ social life, and being a kid is no excuse.
That world is a wonderful place with flowers, butterflies, fairies and Santa Claus. And the children are in this world to make it extra-wonderful. They are blessed with unique talents, gifts and potential , and they’ll be given the environment to harness it.
That no matter what, Mom and Dad will always love him, and will always have time to listen to him. He is the priority no.1 of his parents, and everything else comes a distant second. He can count on them.
That Books are the greatest invention ever. They have the most wonderful stories and facts, and that his parents love reading to him. Once he grows up, he’ll love reading too!
That some things are dangerous and kids should not touch them- Wires, Iron, electric tools, Sockets. And there are other stuff that one needs to be careful with – Heights, hot food, knives and scissors etc.
Every child, specially girls, must know about public and private parts of their body. They must be taught that it is not okay if someone touches the private parts, and they must immediately inform parents in case such a thing happens. The statistics of child abuse are alarming, and the victim’s age is generally much lower than we can ever think of!
Remember, being the smartest kid in preschool is no guarantee of his future success. However, the gifts of a safe, secure and carefree childhood may go a long way in instilling self-confidence in your child, which is so important for successes of all kinds. Ofcourse there is academic stuff that a kid should know, and the net is full of sites for such an information. But then, there are some things that can not be taught in a classroom, and they are often, the must-knows.