My son told me something great!

It's always nice to hear that in this digital day and age a kid can still find the magic in books.

Congrats.

I envy you SW. I can't get my kid to read anything. He wants to be a director and make movies.

When he was seven, he made a short freeze frame film. It was impressive for his age. Now he makes fart films (films with excessive farting) and I cannot get him to acknowledge the correlation between stories and directing.

He is 14. Maybe it will turn around in the next few years.

Delarege said:

INow he makes fart films (films with excessive farting)

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Sorry, didn't mean to giggle.

Fart films. Heh.

We're struggling to get our kids to read. My oldest has an on again, off again, thing with books, unfortunately the off again always seems to coincide with book report time. The class list needs to add more Star Wars novels to it's list.

My youngest is just learning to read and whereas the oldest seemed to just take to it like a duck to water, he struggles with even the simplest of words that he's read a hundred times before.

That is so cool, SW. Congrats!

"going inside" the book - wow - that is terrific news, SW. Once you go inside the book and become a part of it, then the reading magic is there for you always. This is something to celebrate!

My son had the "reading is amazing" epiphany last year. I caught him with a flashlight reading under the covers. It's wonderful when they learn how to "go inside a book." What a great way to describe it.

There is still hope for the future. I hope my kids will be just as interested in books as computer games. I'm definitely going to introduce the former a lot earlier than the latter.

That book is cursed by the DEVIL! It should be BURNED for stealing your son's SOUL!

For all of the parents who worry that their kid won't enjoy reading:

I was one of those kids. My mom read to me all of the time when I was little, and I adored it. She was an avid reader herself, but was a little disappointed that I didn't want to read a whole lot on my own once I learned how. In my defense, I was always outside playing in my own little imaginary worlds, so it wasn't like I was planted in front of the tv all of the time.

Anyhow, I 'rediscovered' reading when I was probably in 9th grade or so. (Around 15 years old) and haven't stopped since. So, there is hope that even though your kids might get distracted every once in a while, that they will come back to it.

Kids are funny. I've got one nutcase bookworm, a couple who will read somewhat for entertainment and a couple more who consider bookreading a chore. They were all raised the same, or as much as is possible. They all got bedtime stories, family trips to the library...

I think some of it is genetic, personally. The preferences showed very young.

Strangely enough, even the non-readers are quite capable of writing clearly and lucidly, so it's not like their language skills are deficient.

Serenity said:

Anyhow, I 'rediscovered' reading when I was probably in 9th grade or so. (Around 15 years old) and haven't stopped since. So, there is hope that even though your kids might get distracted every once in a while, that they will come back to it.

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I was 30. I just hope my kid doesn't wait that long. But, my parents didn't read anything but the paper. I was never encouraged.

Your son seems to have a common disease known as readsaloteritis.I had it as a child, and let me tell you, it's a terrible thing to have if you plan on getting stuff done. The symptoms of the disease are few: child always has nose glued to a book, the child has trained him/herself to multitask while reading said book, grades go up (unless the child is reading a book while taking a test, then they go down), and once perfect eyesight has a tendency to fade. Go to the doctors immediately and have him give your son an injection of idiotarpsi. It's the only way he'll function in the real world....

I forget who said it, but some luminary made the remark that reading was the only vice encouraged by parents.

For all the problems people give kids these days, I continually notice that mostly, kids don't change that much. They watch TV, they read, they listen to music, they play outside, they have friends.

And, er...SW, maybe you should check on the book, if he went inside it? I mean, you don't want the world to go all Pagemaster on him, although that would be pretty cool if it happened to me...

Hey SW, your son's comment about going inside is a bit like the "inside of a dog it's too dark to read" from whoever it was.

My son was not much of a reader until at about 12 years old we were holidaying with friends and their 12 year old daughter was reading a book for two days until it was finished. It was the first time he saw somebody his own age reading like that (only boring adults did that sort of thing), and so he borrowed the book. He started reading as we started the 7or 8 hour drive home. When we got there he stayed in the car until the book was finished, by which time my wife and I had unpacked all the camping stuff.

Suddenly it was on, and he was getting through Robert Jordan books the size of a house-brick.

And the book that started it? "Island of the Blue Dolphin"

Doctor Shifty said:

Hey SW, your son's comment about going inside is a bit like the "inside of a dog it's too dark to read" from whoever it was.

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Groucho Marx. "Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read."

PeeDee said:

Groucho Marx. "Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read."

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Yeah? That Communist Manifesto sure has got some weird stuff.

Doctor Shifty said:

Yeah? That Communist Manifesto sure has got some weird stuff.

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Tell me about it. You should read the chapter on the death of the elephant in pajamas.

Thats good SW! I hope my little one starts to like reading as much as I do. Everyday we sit down and read a book together she loves it. I won't force her into it, but I hope to find her someday lost in a book.

I'm glad that your son is enjoying reading.

I hope our girls love to read like that

I love it when a book consumes me. I used to (HS and college years) use up a whole Saturday or Sunday reading cover to cover thick novels.

I dream of the day when at least one of our girls wants to write her own story, or shares my passion for horses--at least one of those, if not both

Keep feeding your son books. It's a great addiction (and makes treadmill workouts go fast)!

Melanie

Wow, that's great! I don't have kids, so you'll have to forgive my naivety, but I have a theory that parents who love books and take time to read to their kids when they're very young will have kids who grow up to love books and have great imagination. I know that this won't always be true, but I can only hope, and I think the best way to at least try to set your kid up to love books is to read to them.

So anyhoo... again, this is great to hear

SouthernWriter1978 said:

To note: the books he enjoys most are dragon and fantasy novels.

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Obviously, he's a very intelligent child...