Ugh, Read a Book…

| Patti Webb

The way kids get their literary fix these days looks different from when we were growing up. PBS was life then, exposing youth to books from Reading Rainbow to Wishbone. Reading was incentivized and celebrated with the Pizza Hut Book It! Program and D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything and Read). Scholastic Book Fair day was the BEST!!! It was a great time to read.

Then it kinda changed. This may be purely anecdotal, but reading for fun stopped being a thing. Outside of Harry Potter and Twilight, academic and athletic achievement took precedence. Then loud TV shows from Disney Channel and Nickelodeon, then smartphones and social media entered the chat. I have five younger Gen Z cousins and all of them pretty much bemoan reading.

As Millennial Moms, the thought of our kids not loving to read actually hurts. So how do we cultivate the love of reading outside the classroom?

Continue reading →

The Audio-Visual Club: Kids and Audiobooks

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

“I want people to stop saying, ‘I didn’t really read it, I just listened.’ Stop that. If you listened, you read it. There’s no right way to absorb a book.” – Reese Witherspoon

I enjoy reading a physical book. My husband, however, does not. He prefers putting on his headphones and listening on Audible. He told me that he’s “read” three books over the summer. He’s not the only one in my social circle to count listening to an audiobook as reading. Friends will tell me they’ve read a 560-page novel over the weekend (you what?!) and then clarify that they listened to it during their road trip. Even Patti will simultaneously juggle multiple books for her book club and Child(ish) Reads posts, a feat made easier with paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats.

As audiobooks become more mainstream, it got me thinking about the trickle-down to kids. Is listening to a book the same as reading one? Can children benefit from this type of auditory medium or would it hinder their ability to read? Inquiring minds would like to know.

Continue reading →

Child(ish) Reads: The Learning Game

| Patti Webb

Obviously for #backtoschool, we’re going to review a learning title. I requested The Learning Game from NetGalley earlier this year.

Personally, I may have gotten to a point where parenting books are starting to be redundant. I don’t usually post bad reviews, preferring to just skip over them and share something better. However, I think I’m due for a little rant…

The Learning Game: Teaching Kids to Think for Themselves, Embrace Challenge, and Love Learning by Ana Lorena Fábrega.

Continue reading →

Tone of Voice and Parenting

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

You know when you tell your kids to do something repeatedly and it falls on deaf ears. And then you end up yelling at them because you’re at your wits end? Then how about when your spouse says the exact same thing and they do it right away? Okay, great. I’m not the only one.

While my children appreciate my animated vocals during play or a soothing one when they need a cuddle, they definitely don’t hear my tone as one of authority unless I’m screaming to the top of my lungs. This got me thinking about how kids interpret tone of voice.

Continue reading →

Child(ish) Reads: Underestimated: The Power and Wisdom of Teenage Girls

| Patti Webb

I jumped on this book so fast.

Luckily, it has a nice little fit for Tuesday’s Throwback post on kids developing Autonomy.  So let’s connect the two, while I share my review and takeaways.

Underestimated: The Wisdom and Power of Teenage Girls by Chelsey Goodan.

Chelsey Goodan has been an academic tutor and mentor for sixteen years, with a particular emphasis on the empowerment of teenage girls. She speaks regularly to audiences about gender justice, conducts workshops, and coaches parents on how to better understand and connect with their daughters. For this book, she compiles years of working with girls one-on-one and the common threads she has seen in their experience.

Continue reading →