Getting the girls to read nowadays is not as easy as before. There are so much distractions like the tv, ipad and even the phone. It has becoming quite difficult to get Bella and Tasha to lie down in bed and listen to bedtime stories anymore (or is it because mommy fell asleep before them?? Haha..) They always wanna play with each other, poking and laughing and singing..
It’s really entertaining to see them having fun but you know, the first 7 years of their life is so important because this is the time which their brain develop the most and absorbs everything we teach them easily. Being a (almost) kiasu parents.. we always wants the best for them. Hence the effort to make reading fun!!
Yes, reading is fun!
But how do you make it fun for a toddler?
(two of them actually!)
This is actually an advice we got from a professional..
Besides the usual advice like colourful books, big fonts, interesting pictures, 3D is even better to stimulate their senses.. it’s also better to leave the books on the floor instead of keeping it neat and tidy on the book rack!
Say what??
Yes, leave it on the floor!!
*clean-freak mommy alert!!*
And let them choose themselves…
It gives them the option to choose..
They might change books every few minutes but it’s ok..
The most important thing is actually to develop the interest to read.
Yes, the keyword is interest!!
Once the interest is there, it is much more easier to get them to sit down and appreaciate the book!
But of course, having said all that, parents or guardian guidance is very important, try to sit down with them while they choose their book and read together.. That is equal to quality time!!
So, forgive me if you see my children’s playroom is in a mess.
That is the part of learning!!
And me, slowly learning to be less clean-freak!!
*breath mommy breath*
XO
BARELY SUPERMOMMY 
Yes..I did that too those days..now when they are now 19,16 & 12 they will love books naturally..trust me..
Dr, T tak gigit2 ke bucu buku tu? macamana ya nak halang sebab kadang2 budak yang suka masukkan benda dalam mulut, sekali dengan buku dia gigit
Kids use biting as one of their senses. Its part of learning. Let them be as long as they are not chewing the book away..
Tasha and Bella are interested in books already, good 🙂 I also do several ways, even put books in the car and on a coffee table, at dining table, my lil one more interested in exercise book 🙂 thanks for sharing 🙂
haha halina.. i have four kids and now i am less clean-freak.. sometime kena let go jugak.. kalau tak penat sgt..
I feel you!! Hahah… Must learn to let go!
to see you use the word ‘kiasu’ parents hehe welcome to SG singlilsh! tks for sharing dr halina 🙂
Haha.. Yes.. Kiasu 😉
Comel dua-duanya!
Dr, apa perkembangan tasha sekarang?
i wish all malaysia library like this…
I dont think thats a good idea thou..
memang rumah..sepak dgn buku..anak sebaya bella..dlm kotak main pun buku…hari ini letak buku harimau..dah berlakun nak jd harimau pulak…hihihihihi…..thanks for sharing…
Good tip for my toddler class student…
Leave it on the floor..erk..its hard for me!!! coz im clean - freak mummy alert..hoho..but i will try..tq 4 the sharing doc..btw both kids are adorable 🙂
Those two munchkins look adorable while holding their books especially little Tasha 🙂
I remember my mum used to pile me up with Peter and Jane storybooks in my room back then when I was a kid. And the collection getting bigger to Enid Blyton’s, Emilia Jane’s and lots more.. and as I grow older (yet still not wiser..) I have my own little library filled with Dan Brown, Sidney Sheldon, etc, etc, things I collected when I was in India. But here in Malaysia, books and novels are hell expansive!! In India, Dan Brown’s Inferno was rm35 (and that was its debut price..), but here in Malaysia, it costs almost rm80++!! Sigh
Yeah, I did that to my daughter as well. They’ll have their favourite book, just like us. Hehe. Doc, you can start introducing Bella with flash cards now. I’ve recommended one ig for you. I bought one for my daughter “My first Arabic Flash Cards”.
We use flash cards too. But I really dont have the heart to see flash cards bersepah2.. So.. Flash cards still need to be in the box but easily accessible for them!
When my eldest daughter was younger, I always made sure we had books in her toy box as she seemed to be fascinated by them as with any other one of her ‘toys’. We of course read to her each night too. Though now, at the age of 9, it’s so incredibly hard to get her to want to read. Her bookshelves (and floor!) is filled with books however, she much rather use her books as ‘walls’ when building additional Barbie houses! I wonder if I overdid it with all of the books in the early days.. Did she simply get sick of them or is it just a phase? Time will tell!
Great blog Barely Super Mommy! xx
Haha.. It’s the distractions!! The Barbie house!! I haven’t reach to that stage yet 😉 but I guess girls at that age maybe need different ‘trick’ to get them to read…
Oic..seriously baru faham before this asyik duk kemas buku anak yg bersepah, flash card..sepah susun sepah susun…erkk! rumah besepah suami bising..kdg2 suami yg tukang kemas balik.Now can use this article to make him (and me too) to calm down and relax. its ok buku besepah (since rumah kecil kalau ade yg bersepah dah rase serba x kena). My daughter 2 y.o now ^_^
messy house=creative+happy kids LOL 😀 😀
We learned this the hard way. We couldn’t figure out what had changed when Haraz stopped reading his books, rupa-rupanya we rearranged his books on the shelve so he was not used to that and had no idea where they all went. We’ve managed to keep the reading corner relatively neat (sometimes!), what we did was we kept showing him that his books belonged in the shelf after each read.
We did the No-TV No-Gadget up until he was two and Alhamdulillah he loves his books and would choose reading over pretty much every other activity except for baking 😉
I have accepted the messy house outcome too. Painful painful painful, but must endure hu hu hu
No tV No gadget is amazing but pretty hard for me. Great job, mamaharaz!! I cant do it. I give gadgets but with limitations. Yes, guilty as charged!
saya x kisah anak saya sepahkan buku2 tu…but…kenapalah dia sepah betul2 time bapak dia balik kerja..maka terjadilah dialog “ibu, apa sepah sgt ni?” huh…ibu jugak
my aunty biarkan rumah sepah dgn buku,so tiap kali anak dia bgun pagi,ank dia(5 tahun)teros ambik buku y selerak2 tuh bace smpai jd rutin n habit..buku cerita lar byk kan..bwg putih bwg merah,kawan2 n mcm2 lar..smpi lar anak dia dah besar 12 tahun..biler my aunty panggil..dia buat derk..n bla check dia tgh baca buku(cerpen) n u know what my aunty ambl buku tuh and campak dlm tong sampah !! Haha..dah habit kan..
Did this before.. and tukang kemas is my husband.. hihihi.. (coz he’s the neat freak).. anyway… byaaaakkk sgt kebaikan budaya membaca ni… now.. my 10 yo old daughter loves to write. Smpaikan cikgunya di sekolah menjadikan karangan anak sy sbg cth utk ditunjukkan kpd budak year six. Really proud of her.. teringat balik ms dia 1-2 yo… ke hulu ke hilir dgn this one nursery rhymes book. Smpai hancur buku (it was a hard cover book) tu sbb tertumpah susu la… sepupunya koyakkan la… anyway…. it was worth it.
Skrg, tgh amalkan kpd adik2nya pulak. Sy mmg kurang beli mainan. To them, books are their toys.
Books are toys? I hope my children will follow yours!!
Good luck! 😉
i love this post!
Dr, nnti share lagi tips on how to introduce them to books ya..my daughter is same age as tasha. until today i tak manage to introduce her to books yet sbb asek nak lari2 and panjat2 je, or makan the book.. huhu