Unless reading is experienced with and from the heart, your child will not reach the joyful stage of reading.
When he only has his reading eyes as companion, he will see the book as a tedious and lifeless exercise in decoding letters and sounds.
He will never reach the stage when he would hate to go to bed at night because he can't finish his book or he can't wait to get up in the morning to unravel the mystery of the next chapter.
His excitement over books will not be explosive - an end goal we must strive for our children to reach.
We already know that in limited doses and when used the right way, TV can help our children reach that explosion of passion for reading.
Couch potatoes must be trained to pluck out their sprouts from the sofa and instead of a remote, slowly place a book in their hands.
But how do we do this? Cherry Pua Africa in the "Couch Potatoes to Book Potatoes Series" shares: "To begin the journey, the NO TV rule must be subjugated.
In place of it, children must be allowed limited doses of the right kinds of television shows.
Before, during or after the television viewing, reading-related activities must be done to transform passive energy into kinetic energy and bring along the joy into the act of reading.
" Before we slowly replace the remote control with a book in their hands, it is important to find out which books have greater chances of ¬staying in their hands.
Here's a sneak peak at the tips listed in Cherry Pua Africa in the "Couch Potatoes to Book Potatoes Series" on this topic: oAsk your child what he enjoys about his favorite television shows.
This will give you an idea what his learning style is (auditory, kinaesthetic, visual or tactile).
oBe interested.
Encourage your child to tell you something about the shows.
Casually pull this into a family dinner conversation, without the weight of an interview.
oTell your child which shows you enjoy watching yourself (cartoons, game shows, news, family dramas, sports or adventure).
oLog your child's emotions while reading books or watching television.
This will give you an idea as to what kind of emotions make an impact on him.
oIf his favourite show has a book counterpart, suggest that you both read it after the show.
There are a number of books that have been made into movies such as Harry Potter, Bridge to Terrabithia, etc.
In most cases, the book counterpart has better narrative content, so chances are, once teased, your TV addict will be hooked into reading.