“Richer than I you can never be; I had a mother who…
“Richer than I you can never be; I had a mother who read to me.” So goes an old maxim. Have these words of wisdom become merely trivial verse in an age that has so many other ways to entertain children? Modern parents, after all, have computers, VCRs, and television to keep children occupied. Is there any reason for adults to read to children? The answer is a resounding yes. Reading to children remains one of the most important things we can do for them and an activity that will reap lifelong benefits. The most important lesson our children learn from being read to is that reading can be enjoyable and rewarding. As we enjoy reading books with our children, they learn to love books and regard an unknown book as a potential source of a great story or a god laugh. Our children’s classrooms may be equipped with computers, but they also hold a great many books. How wonderful for our children to approach these books with eagerness! Reading to our children also brings us physically and emotionally close. The children are seated close beside us as we read, and they hear our voices, their parents’ voices. As parents we are giving our children our undivided attention. Their self-esteem grows as they realize their parents consider them worthy of their full attention. Although the old maxim asserts that “. . . I had a mother who read to me,” it is especially important that fathers also read to their children. A boy who regards reading as a feminine activity because only his mother read to him can be seriously handicapped in his academic life and may not go on to achieve his full potential. There is much support for the saying “Leaders are readers.” The question comes to mind: how do we fit reading aloud into our hectic modern schedules? The best way is to make it part of the bedtime routine, perhaps between bath time and lights out. This special time with a parent is a good way of calming children and making them more receptive to going to bed. It becomes a special time for both children and parents and a treasured memory. Think how gratifying it will be if one day your children can say, “Richer than I you can never be; I had a parent who read to me.” 28. The implied main idea of paragraph 5 is that