Avid Readers and their childhood...

[Susan in TN]

For those of you who consider yourselves to be "readers" - whatever that means to you - did your parents read to you extensively?

[Haiku]

I don't remember my mom reading to me, although she says she did when I was very little. I think she stopped when I learned to read. I remember my dad reading me bedtime stories until I was in my young teens.

 

Tara

[fivetails]

Nope.

 

I love to read - and did as a child as well, always had my nose buried in a book and would easily choose the library over the pool as a Saturday afternoon destination - but I don't have any memories of being read to as a kid. I do remember staying awake and reading with flashlights, bits of streetlight in the window, stuff like that...but no parental reading.

[Parrothead]

Nope

 

I was 10, and I found a friend who was a reader. I don't know if her mom read to her at 10-years old or not. DF's mom was the first person to take me to the public library.

 

These two people started my avid reading career.

[Daisy]

My parents read to me a ton before I could read, but then it tapered off. That said, they are both voracious readers so I think that rubbed off on me. We had tons and tons of books in the house and didn't watch much tv. Actually we didn't even have a television until I was 12yo.

[MorganClassicalPrep]

I also don't remember my parents reading to me, although my mom says she did. Then again, I was 2.5 and reading the Washington Post (newspaper), so she must have stopped when I could read on my own.

 

She did show an interest in my reading, regularly asking me questions about what I was reading. This was actually because she didn't believe I was reading so much so fast and thought I was lying about it, but at the time it felt like interest. :D

 

ETA: We didn't have a lot of books in the house, neither of my parents were/are big readers, it is just a hobby that developed all on its own. Even to this day it is commonplace for me to read a book a day.

[OrganicAnn]

I'll bet it is a little difficult for people to remember, since parents usually taper off reading when kids begin reading themselves. So how much do you remember from before you were 6 years old?

 

I answered moderately. I think my parents believed in reading to kids, but my mom said that they didn't have the variety of children's books in those days like they do today.

[3lilreds in NC]

I am sure my parents read to me, so I chose "moderately read to," but my mom said I taught myself to read when I was 3. I don't remember not loving to read. I need to read more to my kids... Emma loves to read for herself, but Abbie really doesn't. She likes audio books. Isaac loves to be read to and I don't spend as much time doing that as I should.

[Shelly in the Country]

My mother taught me to read before I entered Kindergarten. I have no memories of being read to however. If they did, I would have been preschool aged. I also hated being read to. I remember detesting "story time" in school. I prefered reading it myself.

 

My parents fed my book habit though. My father took me to the library on a regular basis. I was allowed to check out any two books I wanted. He also took me to bookstores on a regular basis and I was always allowed to buy one book per trip. If there was a particular book I wanted, they would always find a way to get it for me.

 

My father was always reading himself also. I grew up seeing him reading. My mother not so much, but I attribute this to the fact English is not her native tongue.

[Joker]

My parents never read to me - buy my grandmother did. I remember wishing I had books but we hardly ever even went to the library. It just wasn't something my parents ever thought about. I don't think bad of them for it - it just wasn't done.

[Sherry in OH]

Not that I can remember. I do remember complaining that I had nothing to read and my father telling me to read the encyclopedia.

[Ellie]

I remember my mother reading one book to me: The 101 Dalmations. That's it.

[Imprimis]

With the exception of The Night Before Christmas every Christmas Eve (which, btw, is a tradition I have continued), my parents didn't really read aloud to me.

 

I did, however, get books as gifts from my family, and I loved both the library and the bookstore as a kid.

[Shelly in the Country]

Not that I can remember. I do remember complaining that I had nothing to read and my father telling me to read the encyclopedia.

 

Ooo, I used to love reading the encyclopedia! I had a set of Funck and Wagnalls my parents bought at the supermarket one volume at a time. We were only missing "V". I was always so disappointed when I thought of looking something up that started with "V"....

[Debbie in OR]

Never read to. I asked my mom about it, thinking maybe I had some serious brain lapses from my childhood but she, indeed, confirmed that she never read to me or my brothers.

 

And I was a voracious reader growing up. Still am. :001_smile:

[myfunnybunch]

My mother read to us nightly until I was in my teens.

 

One of my fondest childhood memories is all of those nights snuggled on that old corduroy rocking chair listening to her read. She read to us before bed every night, and if we got ready for the school bus on time she had half an hour to read to us in the mornings too.

 

She grew up in a home without books, and she says that all of those hours reading to us make up some of her favorite memories too.

 

Cat

Edited June 1, 2010 by myfunnybunch

[PinkInTheBlue]

My mother claims she read to me all the time but it must have been younger than I remember. However I don't remember a time I didn't want to read every moment I had.

[AuntieM]

I was read to little by my parents, but I had one elementary teacher that I *loved* because she read a chapter a day, and had some book or another going all year long.

 

What my folks *did* do is turn me loose in the library. For hours at a time. They let me read anything. I could use some eye bleach for some of what I encountered without supervision, but I did read a lot...

[2_girls_mommy]

I am one of the two that put extensively read to. But, I just wanted to say that that was really only before I went to school. After that I read on my own, except for occasionally. But as a young child, yes, my mom read to us all of the time, over and over. And we all read before first grade because of this.

 

She didn't read classics or chapter books to us. Just run of the mill, good picture books. Also, growing up, we shared books. She told us about all of the books she read as a child, and made me want to read them. We always got books as gifts, and she read our books when we were done with them. So even if we were no longer read aloud to, reading was a big thing in our house.

[TrixieB]

I voted "extensively" but this is somewhat based on memories of my mom reading quite often to my younger siblings. I am sure she read equally if not more to me before I learned to read.

 

I clearly remember her reading to me from the story Bible every night.

[Jen in PA]

My mother stopped reading to me when I learned to read, which was at quite a young age. She really dislikes reading aloud. But our house was overflowing with books, and everyone read every single day and we got books as gifts all the time.

[katemary63]

My DH was never read to even one single time by either parent. His mom was too busy watching TV. His dad was too busy working. They were completely and totally uninterested in his emotional, mental or spiritual well being. The ONLY thing they did was give him food, clothing and shelter and send him to school. It was an atmosphere of total emotional neglect.

DH LOVES to read and reads often!

All our children were read to all their lives starting in infancy and continuing into the late teen years, by both parents. DH and DD18 STILL read together. Our 2 older daughters LOVE to read and read often. Our son hates it and NEVER reads. He has ADD. Reading is torture to him.

[elegantlion]

My mom read to us when we were little, but once we started reading on our own she stopped.

 

My dad used to buy books in volume from auctions and resell them. He never read most of them, but I remember going through the boxes. I loved (and still love) antique texts. I'm quite sure we had a Latin grammar book at one point, wish I'd kept that. I really wish I knew what it was.

 

I distinctly remember learning how to use negative numbers from one of those books well before we touched on it in school. We had a classroom set up in our basement (no, I wasn't homeschooled). My sister and I would play down there for hours.

[KidsHappen]

I don't remember either of my parents ever reading to me but my mother insured that I knew how to read before kindergarden and took me to the library frequently. I have always had a quest for knowledge and a ravenous desire to consume books. Unfortunately, none of my children seemed to have picked up this habit. They do read but no where near as much or as joyously as I do.

[Vida Winter]

I answered moderately. But in reality - when I was very young (toddler-4yo or 5yo) I was read to a *lot*. After I began to read at about 4yo, hardly ever. I can't remember my parents reading to me at all beyond the "Little Bear" level of books.

[Crissy]

I was never read to, and didn't read for my own pleasure until I was in my late twenties or early thirties.

[Kirch]

Nope.

 

I love to read - and did as a child as well, always had my nose buried in a book and would easily choose the library over the pool as a Saturday afternoon destination - but I don't have any memories of being read to as a kid. I do remember staying awake and reading with flashlights, bits of streetlight in the window, stuff like that...but no parental reading.

 

:lol: I thought I was the only one who did that!!

 

I think my parents read to me a lot before I taught myself at 3, but I think they kind of turned me loose on my own after that.

[Hillary in KS]

I was probably read a lot of picture books by my mom when I was small.

 

But I taught myself to read at age 3 (Thank you Electric Company!!) and I pretty much did my own reading from then on.

[AndyJoy]

My mom read to me extensively when I was a preschooler, fairly often when I was in elementary school, and then moderately later on. My mom taught several of my jr. high classes, and I remember that she read To Kill a Mockingbird and The Diary of Anne Frank at school. My auditory-learner sister loved being read to but disliked reading, so I read to her quite extensively even when we were teens. Starting at age 11 or so I read to my family on car trips.

[lionfamily1999]

My big sister would read to me if I begged :D I still have a fondness for Ferdinand the Bull (her favorite book).

 

A friend of my parents taught me to read so I would stop pestering people to read to me. I must have been three, because I wasn't in school yet. She had this wonderful way of making me sound words out and then one day, VIOLA!, I didn't have to ask anyone anymore :)

[ubermomto5]

i came from a big family. there was always someone around to read a story. plus, my dad used to sit in the hall and read a story to us night by night - i remember kon-tiki being especially exciting. also, my parents were great readers themselves - my mom always had a book or two to read in the evening and my dad always had his bible by his chair. we also went to the library every week. our house was overflowing with books too.

[Amira]

I'd be interested to know whether people who were read to a lot as children are avid readers as adults. I hear that a lot, but I've never seen any numbers.

 

Personally, I was read to a lot, by both of my parents and various siblings. Everyone in my family loves to read and always has.

[courtney.byrum]

I don't remember my parents reading to me but I know they did. I assume it was a decent amount as they are big readers and we had a lot of children's books. I started reading at 3 so I'm not sure how long after that they kept reading to me.

 

I do know that at our small library I quickly ran out of books to read in the juvenile section so my dad had to force me to check out the young adult section, lol. I started in on Stephen King at 12 so had finished off the YA section by then.

 

Though both my kids are reading we still read to them both every night as well as sometimes during the day. I also typically read them quite a bit at the library 1-2 times a week. They have a love of reading that I hope stays with them always.

 

I was the kid who always had a book (or two) and would read with a flashlight in the car (right up until I thought I would be sick, then as soon as my stomach felt settled I would start reading again!). I would travel to visit my relatives in AZ (from VT) and would bring an extra suitcase to bring back all the books I would buy with my uncle from some used book stores. Reading is a wonderful thing to do and so far it seems to have carried on to my children.

 

My DH was not a reader, didn't get read to and had no books as a kid. As an adult he is an avid reader BUT has a hard time branching out beyond his specific authors or series whereas I will try ANY book that looks even remotely interesting to me.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

I chose moderately, but maybe compared to some others, I should have chosen frequently. I have very vivid memories of my mom reading to us. She read from Dr. Seuss, a Mother Goose book, a children's Bible, and we belonged to a Disney book club. I remember getting those Disney books in the mail and my sisters and I would want to hear them over and over. I chose moderately, because she didn't read to us every day, nor for as long as I do with my kids. But, we did have twice monthly trips to the library for us all to stock up on reading material.

[Rosie_0801]

My mother said she stopped reading to me when I learned myself, because I was no longer interested. I have no memory of her ever reading to me, but I remember Dad reading two novels as bed-time stories. Mum had depression and spent a lot of time asleep do I doubt she'd have been reading to me much before I learned myself either. She did encourage me to read and love books. When I was a tot, she'd buy me a golden book if I was a good girl while she did the shopping. I have a heck of a lot of them, so I must have thought they were worth being good for. Over time she bought nearly all of Enid Blyton's books. She didn't take us to the library often either, the depression thing again, I suppose. She always promoted books as good things to receive. When we went op shopping as a treat, we were always given a few dollars to buy books with.

 

Rosie

[Deb in NZ]

I don't remember being read to at all. I became an avid reader at age 10. Our school librarian was a great lady who introduced me to great books that transported me through time & around the world. The library became a safe haven for me in the harsh world of PS bullies.

 

By contrast both myself & my dh have read aloud to our children from birth. Even as teenagers our children still love to listen to books. All of our dc "caught the reading bug" for themselves at age 12. None of them are quick readers, but all have at least 3 books on the go at once & love to read daily in the morning or evening or both. ;) They read a wide selection of genre. The only thing they refuse to read is an abridged book. :lol: I guess I spoiled them by bringing them up on a literary diet of classics.

 

Blessings,

[Peela]

I think I was read to a fair bit, especially by my granma- but only until I could read myself.

I am sure my brother was read to also- but he never became an avid reader.

My dad was/is an avid reader and it was something we shared- he would pass on books once I was old enoguh to read adult books (early teens). He was the one who turned me onto historical fiction (Jean Plaidy), Sci Fi (Asimov etc) and Fantasy.

My mum has never been much of a reader. My kids are still read to- but neither is reading in their spare time anymore. However, that might change.

[keptwoman]

I guess my parents read to me, I really don't remember. What I do remember is every Friday afternoon, my parents took me to the library for a good long time. I can still remember the layout and smell of the library, and my excitement when I was eligible for the adult section!

 

eta: and by adult, I mean aimed at an older age, rather than R rated LOL

[TravelingChris]

I do remember my mother reading to me but my earliest memory is from when I was 10.5 months old and I have many more memories from 1.5 onwards. One early memory I have is my older brother reading to me and my not quite understanding. He was reading to me about the Trojan horse. I remembered that and then it was an aha moment when I learned about it later in elementary school.

 

My mom would walk me to the library and I would choose books. SHe would then translate the books to me seemlessly. I didn't think much of it then but I am amazed now. SHe also made up wonderful stories that were serials and she would give me a new part each night at bedtime.

 

My dh's house had very few books. His parents did do right by him and give him a subscription to National Geographic at age 7 and did buy him some astronomy books. But they didn't take him to the library- I was the one who first went with him to get a public library card and that was after we were in college. He is also an avid reader.

[Closeacademy]

I am down to reading 2-4 books a week (200-300 pgs.). I used to read 4-7. My mom read to me when I was in early elementary but by the time I started reading she quit. :001_smile:

[Orthodox6]

I don't remember; however, my parents must have read to me. Otherwise, I would not have vivid memories of myself as a three-year-old feeling overwhelmed with frustration because I did not know how to read. (When I turned 4, I taught myself how to read, insists my mother. Now I know that I'm a probable Asperger's individual, which explains that.)

[unsinkable]

I picked I don't remember.

 

I don't remember my parents reading to me but I do have memories of my journey to becoming a reader.

[Renee in NC]

My father says I was read to all the time, but I have no memory of it whatsoever. I was an avid reader (still am!), but I was reading at 4 (at least - I don't remember ever not being able to read.)

[MomOfOneFunOne]

I went with moderate but, like many of you, I don't actually remember my mom reading to me. I am an avid reader and read aloud to my girl often who is also an avid reader. but her name isn't Often.

[kathkath]

Research says that seeing your parents read on a regular basis is a huge factor as well.

[C_l_e_0..Q_c]

Seeing how my mother read extensively to my own kids, I'm pretty sure she read to me when I was too young to remember. There were a few books that triggered my memory when she took them out for my own kids.

[Night Elf]

Other: I honestly don't remember them reading aloud but I'm sure they did. However, my parents always had a newspaper or book in their hands. One of my favorite outings was to the library where we would check out a tall stack of books, bring them home, and still finish them before our next library visit.

 

Yet, my DH and I read a great deal and it hasn't affected our children. DH almost always has a book in his hands. Even the children have commented that he goes through books like a person doing word finds. We use computers a lot, but even when we didn't, the kids didn't choose books to fill their time. They just aren't avid readers.

 

Edited to add: I forgot to mention my DH's childhood. He started reading early and doesn't remember his parents reading aloud. He saw them reading and he started reading and he liked it so much that he would fly through books. And he's never slowed down. :)

Edited May 29, 2010 by Night Elf

[Sasharowan]

I don't even remember learning to read. My mom says she and Grandma read to me a lot and I grew up with parents reading constantly. I was the kid in 1st grade who was reading Nancy Drew and getting in trouble for not listening to the teacher.

[JudoMom]

For those of you who consider yourselves to be "readers" - whatever that means to you - did your parents read to you extensively?

 

I have vague memories of my Mom reading to me when I was little (before I could read, and I was an early reader), but they are only vague. What I really remember is our trips to the library--the way it looked, sounded, and smelled are etched in my memory. The excitement of going and getting new books.

 

In addition to the library, we always had books around.

[lionfamily1999]

Research says that seeing your parents read on a regular basis is a huge factor as well.

What about having them shush you?

 

:lol:

 

There were many, many times when my mom would dominate a room while reading.