I love World Book Day, truly I do, but I have to confess that by the time my third and youngest child was at the end of primary school I breathed a sigh of relief that no longer would I have to be knocking up a costume the night before. (Perhaps this says more about my approach to organisation than anything else!) One of my kids hated dressing up, another is highly imaginative and I’m afraid my sewing skills could never match up to expectations and another worried about their costume and how it would compare to others. It was SO stressful, and I began to feel, towards the end, that we were sort of missing the point.
Going along to the bookshop the following weekend clutching our tokens for a free mini-book was much more in my comfort zone, though, again, we would inevitably walk out with an additional book or two and I often wondered how parents for whom money was tight, or non-existent, managed this particular challenge and having to say no once again. Possibly avoid the bookshop altogether and quietly forget the token?
I saw a post on Facebook this morning suggesting that if the costume your child wants costs more than a book, don’t buy it and get a book instead. This is good advice! Children can be strong-willed little things, however, and it can be hard to hold the line. Schools could do more, I think, to reward and recognise ‘creative’ costumes, or perhaps set the challenge that a costume has to be assembled from a certain limited range of materials and take no more than an hour to put together. Most kids LOVE a set of parameters and this would reduce the peer pressure to turn to online sellers of fabulous ensembles.
My own take on this, as a parent of teenagers, is that books are for life and not a day, and we would all do well to try and incorporate books and reading into our children’s lives. I feel certain this would counter much of the anxiety around screen-time that so many parents experience. So, here are my alternative suggestions for celebrating World Book Day:
- Read a book yourself – model the behaviours you want in your children.
- Put down the phones, sit down and have a conversation with your child about a book they have read. Value their opinions and don’t judge.
- If they don’t like a book (that’s okay), as them why. This will encourage them to think about what they DO like.
- Make using their World Book Day token an occasion. Buy them an additional book if you can afford it.
- If you can’t, take them along to the charity shop where there will be hundreds of kids’ books.
- Get them a library ticket and visit regularly.
- Do all of the above. Again.
Nothing is better than reading to your child at bedtime. Yes, I know it can sometimes feel like a hassle, especially if you still have work to do, are tired or want to watch your favourite TV show, but, believe me, it stops and often sooner than you think. Even five minutes reading with your child is better than none.
There was some depressing research published this week showing that only around a third of children under thirteen are read to daily for pleasure by an adult, and the trend is downwards. This is not good. When we also hear about teenagers’ mental health issues, I’m afraid I can’t help thinking there is a link.
What are your thoughts on children’s reading habits?
If you have enjoyed this post, I would love for you to follow my blog. Let’s also connect on social media.
Julia's books 
I’m afraid that I am astounded that even a third of children are read to. One of the very worst things about the prescription of the National Curriculum was that it made reading to children in class very difficult. In my classes we all read for twenty minutes after lunch every day and I then read to them for another twenty minutes last thing in the afternoon – to hell with the National Curriculum!
LikeLike
Yes the NC has placed so many demands on schools. Something has to give I suppose. It’s so short-sighted though.
LikeLike