To cringe at this guardian article about children and books

[MyopiaUtopia]

Surely I can't be the only person to think this is one of the most humblebraggy self-congratulatory and smug articles ever?!

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/books/2020/mar/01/how-to-raise-a-little-bookworm-in-the-age-of-smartphones-and-tablets

Agree @BarkandCheese - reading is no more superior than a passion for any other hobby.

I was a real bookworm as a child- nothing to do with my parents, neither of whom read much themselves or spent much time reading to me. It was just something I enjoyed for myself. My younger sister was never as heavily into books as I was.

People assume that I must want my children to be really into books too, and while I do read to DS and have books around, and let him see me read, I'm more interested to know what his passion will be. At the moment it's mainly trains.

Interested to see other people have had the same experience. It was basically my own pie in the sky theory

I absolutely agree it doesn't matter. I'm just grateful she went to a school that didn't insist on interminable reading schemes for those who didn't need it

I don't think bookworms are as rare as she is trying to make it sound. All my children are like this. They all have been caught out reading by torchlight under the covers.
My mum laughs and reminds me I was the same.
My children love going to the library especially now that there's no limit on how many books they can borrow and it's always heaving with children trying to find their favourite books.
I'm always a little cynical of studies/ surveys and don't think they reflect the true numbers. Nobody has ever asked me or anyone I know whether their/ our children enjoy reading , how much and how often.

@divebar I had the same thing with DD1. I thought she would never read for pleasure. She was a good reader but found reading exhausting and would never choose it over other things. I carried on encouraging gently, bought magazines/comics for her, audio books on car journeys, read to her every night. I never thought we would get there. She is now 13 and loves reading independently. Going to senior school helped immensely especially as her peers started talking about books they had read and recommended. Don't give up hope.

I like to think that DD1 was developing a lot of other skills along the way. I've known a couple of proper bookworm kids who have really lacked social skills (not saying that goes for all bookworms) and I think it's important to be able to interact in lots of different levels with lots of different people rather than constantly have your head stuck in a book , for example - reading at the table? What about conversation? Personally I think it's rude to read at the table.

The article was incredibly smug.

I'm just grateful she went to a school that didn't insist on interminable reading schemes for those who didn't need it grin

Fervently hoping this will be the case for us, as I can't imagine a quicker way to turn a child off from an enjoyable hobby. (Would be interested to know Flora's teachers' approach to her reading...)

I think I'd feel a bit sorry if I saw a child sat reading everywhere she went. I'd wonder why she wasn't dancing, singing, talking, skipping, climbing, running, twirling, day dreaming, playing I-spy, drawing, or any of the other things children do. My aim is to raise well rounded well adjusted people with a diverse skill set. I could give two hoots about their primary school reading age. I'd much rather they be decent, kind, hard working, interesting, socially skilled, emotionally intelligent, creative, etc. etc. I'm incredibly well read but not very good at life. Being a bookworm did not make me happy, it made me a bit odd tbh.

My DH and I read daily to our two DSs. This was before screens and they had loads of books at home, went to the library every week etc etc. We had trips to Ottakers and Borders Books. They are now in their twenties and have not picked up a book for pleasure in years I am sad to say.

Guaranteed crack addict by the time she's 20!

I'm incredibly well read but not very good at life. Being a bookworm did not make me happy, it made me a bit odd tbh.

@AnotherMurkyDay sorry being a bookworm hasn't brought you joy, but do you think it could possibly be a symptom of your unhappiness rather than the cause?

I think I'd feel a bit sorry if I saw a child sat reading everywhere she went. I'd wonder why she wasn't dancing, singing, talking, skipping, climbing, running, twirling, day dreaming, playing I-spy, drawing, or any of the other things children do

Because I didn’t enjoy most of those things (bar talking and reading doesn’t stop that!). I wouldn’t feel sorry for a child doing what they love best!

Very enjoyable thread.

I have an 8yo DD who loves books. She has several on the go at once. Loves the library. As a sleepwalking toddler, she was often found in the dark, 'reading' a book by her bookcase.

She's dyslexic. Her reading level is low. Fir her to properly enjoy a book, she need someone to read it to her. We read loads together (currently Carries War, and Harry Potter) Alongside that, she has simpler stuff she reads herself. It's stuff like Rainbow Fairies, which is pretty awful. But, that simple, repetitive language means she can relax and read and get lost in the plot, rather than struggling to remember if 'look' has an a long or short 'oo' sound, so it makes sense in a sentence.

Her 7yo sister lives Adventure and Mystery stories. Thinks the Famous Five us great- it's old fashioned, but a group of kids going off having adventures fires her imagination. She reads loads of modern stuff too.

This article is hilarious and is the definition of cringe. However I am a bit old fashioned in that I know tablets teach kids all sorts but a couple of my friends allow their toddler dcs to be glued to them and when we are outside in beautiful places, where there's lots of things to do...think zoo, country parks or soft play their kids constantly ask for the tablet and I don't know why but it annoys me!! (Both NT, completely understand it's a much needed tool for many children)

One friend admitted she's never read to him, he's 3.5 and I can't help but judge that, although I'd never say it

Some kids love books, others not so much and parents have zero control over that, but to not even bother because "he can watch the gruffalo on his tv", I can't help but feel it's a bit shit of the parents to be honest.

I think the imagery of the article is odd as well, the books she is surrounded by seem too young for her

I think I'd feel a bit sorry if I saw a child sat reading everywhere she went.
I think if a child is that obsessed with reading that they are doing it walking down the road etc,its no different to having a screen addiction really. Not sure why one is more acceptable than the other.
My sister was a bookworm from young but it turned out she was actually really short sighted and couldnt really enjoy much else.

I do remember climbing a Ivinghoe Beacon with the DC and their friend when they were teenagers. They were sat at the top looking at their phones. Now some people would (like the mum in the article) would have looked critically at them for being on their phones with such a beautiful view, but they were all actually looking about the geography of the area and trying to work out how steep it was.
Reading is so much more than having a nose stuck in a book all the time

@bruffin

Sure I didn't say I thought screens were more acceptable. I would feel a bit sorry for them too.

Sure I didn't say I thought screens were more acceptable.
Sorry that bit wasnt really aimed at you. What i meant was that it seems to be acceptable to be addicted to books , but addiction to screens are frowned upon, to me there is little difference.

@Dinosforall

Books have most definitely bought me joy but so have lots of other things! I just think if you become so obsessive with reading you disengage from normal life then that is not healthy. Reading is great, reading as an excuse to self isolate or not participate socially, that's a problem.

It looks wear on a CV too. What are your hobbies? Reading. They mostly want to see things where you are a member of a team, showing some kind of leadership or mentoring. So being a reading volunteer at a nursing home, or being part of a community library or fundraising for a prison literacy program. But not "reading while I should be eating"

@bruffin

Sorry yeah I think we are agreeing with each other then I misunderstood. I think reading can be really rude depending on the circumstances. Many emotionally unavailable parents had used their time reading books to deprive their child of attention before the invention of screens!

AnotherMurkyDay
We are , you just put it better than I did

To be honest I don’t think you can make someone love reading, I loved to read as a child ( and still do now) but my siblings never got into books - my parents never read to us or even listened to us reading but that’s more so because they didn’t speak English.
My children on the other hand read every morning at school, they each have a class book to follow in literacy, they read to me at least 5 times a week as is recommended, they also have another reading book in their bags and are expected to visit the library every now and then. Oh and I to read them every bedtime too.
None of them particularly like to read unfortunately.

Its the Guardian

due to my eye condition, I'm getting very tired of the constant "phones are evil, books are better" narrative.

Oh, but we didn’t mean you It’s obvious that for you screens are a wonderful substitute. It’s only other people who will face mental problems their entire adulthood if they use screens for more than ten minutes a week. Not you.

(We get that a lot with DD who’s hands often let her down)

@SconNotScone I think I just cringed myself inside out yes to this, twice 😂

I hated this article so much, and I am an avid Guardian reader. It was a prime example of an upper middle class yummy mummy grandstanding about her unique precious child. TBH, eight is a little young to be judging. It is when a child reaches her teens when the lure and peer pressure are strongest. Let's see what the darling does then,
At any rate, setting herself apart did not earn her any brownie points. from me And I speak as a mum whose 14YO DD has very carefully regulated screen time and enjoys her novels and poetry as much as she does her Netflix and Whatsapp...
In the part of the country we school in, I am surrounded by these exquisite rarefied families who have decided to self-brand as superior. I have no bloody time for it.

Hahhahhaha I could have written an article like this when my son was 8 and marvelled at my own excellent parenting. Now he’s 14 and refuses to read anything except football magazines.

Reminds me of people who tell you smugly how much their 8mo only wants to eat broccoli and carrots. Tell me again when they’re 3