Guide for Dads: Reading Aloud to Babies, Part 1
Amazingly, research led by Anthony DeCasper shows that babies respond to being read to even before they are born! For example, the researchers found that after birth, babiesâ sucking patterns and heart beat changed when they heard passages that their mothers had read to them in the final trimester of the pregnancies.
Mem Fox is a well-known childrenâs author as well as being a university lecturer and the author of a book on reading aloud with the great name of Reading Magic. She recounts how a teacher education student of hers gave birth while doing her university studies.
The new mother was torn between spending time with her son, on one hand, and working on her studies, on the other hand. So, she decided to do both at the same time by reading aloud to her baby from the books and articles she needed to prepare her assignments. As Fox tells it, âThe baby never knew the difference. He was lulled by the sound of his motherâs calming voice and by the comforting knowledge that she was there with himâ (p. 29).
Jim Trelease, author of the landmark Read Aloud Handbook recounts a remarkable story of the power of reading aloud to very young children. When Steven Kunishima was 18 months old, he was diagnosed with a severe brain disorder â hypoplasia of the vermis. Doctors told his parents that Steven would never walk, talk or be able to do other things that require control of muscles. His mother, Geri, was a teacher and a firm believer in reading aloud. She mobilized her husband and her two older daughters, and they read to Steven every night, even though their reading produced no reaction, just a blank stare.
Then, after three months, what must have seemed to the family like a miracle happened. When Trudi, Stevenâs eldest sister, told him that it was story time, Steven struggled to drag himself across the floor until he reached the bookcase. Then, he clumsily reached for the book that was apparently his favorite, a story about animals. Somehow, he managed to open it. This journey the doctors said would never happen was repeated by Steven the next night.
Their spirits boosted by this demonstration of the power of reading aloud, the family redoubled their reading, and Steven continued to improve. Trelease reports that by age thirteen, Steven was able to walk and talk, and was reading at the same level as his peers. He wasnât a great athlete or a great scholar, at least not yet, but for someone who was expected to be little more than a vegetable, Stevenâs progress was truly incredible.
Dad reminder: You can start to read to your kids at ANY age. It's fun for the kids and dad. It really is a dad duty!
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Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_482494_40.html
Keywords: attention span, birth babies, blank stare, brain disorder, firm believer, hypoplasia, jim trelease, landmark
, little creatures, mem fox, muscles, new mother, passages, pregnancies, remarkable story, something fun, spending time, teacher education student, trudi, university lecturer.
