reading is fun!
and it's in the living room as we spent almost all of our waking hours here...
most of the books were bought from the books warehouse sale.The recent buys on the middle shelf were just made 2 weeks ago at yet another 'the books warehouse sale'. It's 1 sale that I usually wouldn't miss for the great prices and for the variety which include flip the flap books, touch and feel books, sound books etc.
kiasu? maybe. but i am one parent who believes in reading to her child. and it's especially imperative since I have a boy.
Why? Scientific findings serve to explain that the corpus callosum in boys' is less developed than girls' (this claim is however still being disputed and remains unclear in the scientific world). but i'm not taking chances.. :P
'The corpus callosum is a structure of the mammalian brain in the longitudinal fissure that connects the left and right cerebral hemispheres. It also facilitates communication between the two hemispheres. It is the largest white matter structure in the brain, consisting of 200-250 million contralateral axonal projections. It is a wide, flat bundle of axons beneath the cortex. Much of the inter-hemispheric communication in the brain is conducted across the corpus callosum.' from wikipedia.
It's this difference in corpus callosum that makes boys less articulate in their language abilities and communication skills. Girls' language abilities have always been found to be more developed than boys'. Girls' are almost always able to express their needs and wants better through language. Since the corpus callosum is more developed in a girl's brain, it is usually used to explain the sexual dimorphism between boy's and girl's in terms of language abilities, amongst other things.
One of the ways to help develop the corpus callosum in a boy's brain is through reading. Reading engages the child with emotions, actions and imagination. Hence, reading constantly to your boy is supposed to help develop his corpus callosum. Gradually, the boy will be able to have a better grasp at languages and will be able to articulate his thoughts and wants better. Hence, I read to Hazim on a daily basis for I hope it'll help him in his language faculty.
My recent visit to LV @ work reinforces the need to read to my child even more. The centre has 1 toddler class that consists of 8 boys and 2 girls. Guess who reigns in the class? The principal remarked that the 2 girls are the leaders of the class as the girls are able to express themselves well while the boys are not able to. It's the girls who give instructions to the boys although the number of boys in the class is 4 X that of the girls.
The crux of the matter still lies in language abilities. An interesting fact that I do not wish to sweep under the carpet.
Other than scientific findings and the centre's observations, there are also anecdotal evidences from within my social circle. A few friends have lamented how their boys are not able to express themselves as well as their girls. And those who remarked the contrary shared that they started reading to their boys at an early age.
I've been pressured by the academics around me too who kept telling me to,"read to your son ok. must read! must read!"
Okie..anything that's good for my son. I'll try... :)
and i enjoy reading the children's books too...
