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Mandatory reading time at home?

Because it does take a little more self-discipline to read. It's way easier to be distracted. There's plenty of voluntary TV, music, and computer use in my house. The purpose of the reading time is to hopefully foster a desire to read more. I'd love for my youngest to pick up a book and read it on her own, but with TV, computer, video games....she's much less likely to read without a little push from her parents.
 
There are no limits to how much I do not agree with you :D

But you're free to raise your kids in any way you see fit.

Cheers
 
All the best Motokid. Hope your youngest see the effort her dad has put in and shares the love for books that her father very obviously shows.

:)

ds
 
Oh come on now....there has to be some limit.... :p

How about a top ten list of why this approach is wrong?

Convince me that I'm a bad parent for wanting my family to be together in our family room for about an hour a week with no TV, no radio, no music, no vacuum, no laundry, no phone, no electronic distractions what-so-ever, and a pile of books, magazines, and writing tablets.

Convince me that I might somehow be damaging my kids be seeking a creative, thinking hour that all four of us participate in.

Why is this worse than a family game night, or a family outing to a hockey game?
 
Not damaging, of course not. What it boil down to is this (and this is purely my own opinion, with which you'll heartily disagree):

I can't stand people who deem reading more important than, say, music, or using a computer. I'm not saying you are such a person, but there are people who will dismiss radio, TV and computers and all they attach any value to is whether or not you've read the laters Potter.

Can't stand that.

Cheers
 
I never said anything was wrong with TV, music, radio, computers, or computer games. I think they all have some merit and they all have their place. I love to veg and watch TV too.

I'm just looking to introduce another form of entertainment that is missing from the overall puzzle.

Can one hour a week really be a bad thing? This is a trial deal. Nothings carved in stone. I can decide the results are not worth the effort and move on with life.

Look, if my kid was doing nothing but reading all day, everyday, I would be pushing for way more than one hour a week of some kind of social interaction. Actually the reason my kids take karate is because I insist they do something physical on a regular basis.
 
Just finished with our first, family "read-in". Otherwise known as mandatory reading time.

45 minutes of peaceful, quiet, everybody in the same room time for reading.

It was a nice change of pace. My youngest did not read however. She decided to color instead. No problem with that. She was quiet and creative.

I tried to start reading Darwin's Descent Of Man. Wow that's a hard one to get into.

Next week will be part two. I think we all had a nice little down time from other electronic distractions.
 
we're all gonna read as a family, because it's normal!

You're going to beat the shit out of each other while you read?
Or was that just my family.
 
I don't agree with enforced reading. I understand what you're trying to do but in the end, it has to be your daughter's choice to read.

I've tried to get my daughter to read in every imaginable way. NOTHING worked! She's almost 15 and the best I can get out of her is the fact that she watches Animal Planet and National Geographic daily and often!

She may be learning it on television, but this kid can tell you things about animals that I had no idea about.

Oh, she WILL read her Identifying Audtralian Birds book though.

On the topic of making your children stick with something.. I agree. My daughter has played the piano for 7 years now. She's also Taken Japanese for 7 years. She wanted to switch to French but I told her that knowing one language REALLY well is better than knowing a few bits of many languages (like I do).
 
No - because I don't have kids. :p

I think people are either readers, or they are not. When I was a kid, my parents never had to set a time where I had to read; they usually had to tell me to stop reading and to go to bed. :rolleyes: I know quite a few people who have never picked up a novel (outside of school requirements), and really don't want to either. :eek:
 
I so much enjoy those that don't have kids, giving advice they think is rational and on the surface very simple about how to deal with raising somebody elses kids. (I know I asked for advice, and I appreciate it all)

The reality is kids are very difficult little beings to figure out. They change constantly and you must change how you deal with them just as quickly or you face quite a bit of frustration.

I'm trying something new in my house to see how it works. If it works, great, if it does not nobody's really harmed or damaged. I just move on to another square on the chessboard and try a different strategy.

It was 45 minutes of mind exercise. 3 of us read, and one of us created her own drawings from scratch with colored pencils.

I'd say it was a complete success. And we'll try again next week.
 
Moto, on the one hand you say you're asking for other people's opinions, then on the other hand, totally disregard them. If you plan to do what you're going to do anyway, why ask others to put their opinions out there -- so you can put them down because they don't have children?
 
I grew up in the country where there was ONE television station, and few neighborhood kids to play with. My mom DID require reading and we actually had to WRITE reports on the books! :eek: Horrors! (Not really, but people are horrified when I tell them that.) It was terrific for schoolwork, though, because the ones written for mom were perfect for extra credit in school. ;) Reading critically in the early stages is good, in my opinion, because you tend to think about the book. I just tried to pick books that I also LIKED to read -- I was a big Nancy Drew mystery fan! (Hey, the teacher didn't mind what book the extra credit report was on!) :D
 
Ell,

The only thing I'm in complete disagreement about is the idea that this experiment could somehow be damaging and/or harmful. I'm not doing the drill sergeant routine. There are no tears and shouting. This was basically just shy of a truely voluntary thing. The youngest protested a bit, but once she sat down and started drawing she lost complete track of time and enjoyed herself. Maybe next time she'll pick up a book and do the same thing. What ended the session was my dog deciding it was too quiet, and she wasn't getting enough attention. I had no problem with that. The whole event was a nice break from the regular flow of things.

I was asking if anybody had done this. When people started attacking the idea I simply defended my position. There was also some here who thought the idea a good one. I never stated anybodies opinion was stupid or wrong, as I've seen others do.

I did not disregard their comments. On the contrary, to argue against them is to regard them completely isn't it?

I wasn't putting anyone down either. I noticed that those who've stated they have children seemed to accept the idea, and those with no kids hated the idea.
 
Motokid said:
I so much enjoy those that don't have kids, giving advice they think is rational and on the surface very simple about how to deal with raising somebody elses kids.
Click to expand...
Moto, I took this statement as a pretty sarcastic dig at those who don't have children.

Back to your project: What you've actually done and what it seemed you were going to do in your original post are different. Originally, it seemed you were going to make it a mandatory 'reading time'. What you ended up doing was an hour of 'quiet time' without electronic interference where your daughter was allowed to choose what to do. I think that's a major difference. If she comes to try and like reading during one of these times, then fine. Just beware that if she comes to realize she's the reason behind these enforced times and that there's an ulterior motive, she will not be happy!

Trust once lost is difficult to regain.

I've no doubt that you're a conscientious and loving father who is trying to do what's best and that there will be no whipping and yelling. However, I'm also of the belief that people come to reading in their own way and in their own time. As a parent, all you can do is provide a supportive atmosphere.
 
"I took this statement as a pretty sarcastic dig at those who don't have children."

There was no sarcasm there at all. I am very much amused when a person who has no kids tries to provide some kind of philosophical insight into the way children should, and could be raised.

It's always great to listen to. I smile and laugh on occasion. I'm sure any parent will tell you the same. Advice on raising kids from a person who has none of their own is entertaining. What's wrong with stating that thought?

I've never played crickett, or even seen the game played except for but a few minutes on some Olyimpic coverage maybe. Wouldn't a crickett player find my comments on how I think it's best to play the game entertaining?
 
"Cricket is like baseball on valium"

To Motokid's credit, as a parent, I do find it funny when people who don't have kids give advice on how to raise a child. In this case, I think people are drawing from their own reading experiences.
 
Motokid, don't you think it is possible to learn something by watching how others raise their children? I believe that sometimes it can be an advantage to be an outside observer.
I have no children and rarely if ever try to tell others how they should raise their kids, but I would think that I know if not much then at least a little bit just by watching my brothers raise their kids.. Or am I completly wrong here?
 
Hay, I reckon it depends on the situation. Particularly if you're having certain issues or problems with your child. The one thing you lack as far as an insight is the knowledge of the parental love. It is amazingly strong and changes your views on things.

General things are easy, but it's the deeper issues that stand out.

When my bosses had children they totally changed the way they saw me as a parent. When I would have to leave work because of an emergency, I no longer got sighs and rolling eyes. It was all concern and "Take as much time as you need".
 
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