Avid Readers and their childhood...

[lisamarie]

My mom read to me some growing up--I recall her reading to all us 3 kids while lying in her bed. She read Nancy Drew, Bobbsi Twins, and Hardy Boys books--which all scared me as a little kid. :001_huh:

 

But I am pretty sure the reason I'm such an avid reader despite having unrestricted TV usage and cable is because I grew up living across the street from a library and I spent TONS of time there. While I did have unrestricted TV usage, I also had unrestricted library usage. Over the summer when they had those reading programs, I would read well over 100 books. I always got the top prize. If I was ever curious about a subject, I'd just go find a couple books on the topic and check them out. I checked out craft books, cook books, decorating books, etc. It wasn't just fiction--though I definitely read a TON of those.:D My sister and brother are also big readers.

 

I know that it's not just about how much you are read to as a child--my MIL would read her kids 5-8 books a DAY while they were young. My DH is an avid reader while my SIL and BIL hardly read at all. They just don't like to read for pleasure.

[Caroline]

My parents read to us a lot. When we vacationed, my mom would read us classics in the car. I remember listening to Heidi, The Five Little Peppers, Little Women, Anne of Green Gables, All of a Kind Family, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and many more on the way to and from Grandma's and the beach. My parents read to us every night. Since they were both in grad school when my older sister and I were born, they told us the author of every book they read to us, even board books. (Who else knows that Gyo Fugikawa wrote the board book Babies?) My parents continued to read to us long after we could read ourselves. My sisters and I are all readers.

 

I know my DH was read to a lot, too, because my DMIL loves to read to my kids. He doesn't read as much as I do, but he reads quite a bit. I am always looking for books that interest him and our oldest son so we can all read and discuss them.

 

We all read a lot at our house. My nine year old son has a friend who has spent a lot of time with us lately. He claims not to be a big reader. However, so far we have started him reading Rick Riorden and Lucy Hawking.

 

Sorry for the long post. I am very passionate about reading to people!

[3peasinapod]

I don't remember my parents reading to me at all, but I love to read (if I can find the time). :glare:

[cathmom]

I am sure that my mom read to me but I don't remember. I do remember my older sister reading to me - she's 2 years older than me. I began reading at age 3 though, so asking me to remember before that is pretty hard. I remember my sister reading a book to me, and all of a sudden the words just made sense and I've been reading non-stop ever since. In fact, I don't like being read to, so I probably wouldn't have wanted anyone to read to me after I could read myself.

[The Girls' Mom]

I can't recall my mom or dad EVER reading to me. In fact, the only books we had in the entire house were mine! lol. My dad's house had tons of books, and I had free range to read them, but he never read to me either.

[Dmmetler]

I think I was lucky in many ways-My mom likes reading aloud, and did so regularly until I entered college. Since I had a fiction-shy younger brother, that was also about the only way he was going to get exposure to fiction outside of what he was forced to read for school, so I think that was her excuse for doing so for a long time. She now volunteers to go over to a school and read to the kids regularly, reads to the kids in her neighborhood and church, and pretty much will read to any child who is willing to sit down and listen. Too bad she doesn't live closer-I suspect she'd LOVE SOTW.:001_smile:

 

 

She raised two avid readers, although my brother still doesn't read fiction.

[KidsHappen]

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

 

I was wondering about that myself, but the results of this polls are not showing that at all.

[cathmom]

I was wondering about that myself, but the results of this polls are not showing that at all.

 

But this poll doesn't ask if we saw our parents reading. :confused:

[Pineapple]

I was never read to in any fashion. The only book we had in our home was the big family bible that just laid on the coffee table. I remember going to the library on my own a few times when I was a kid. I started to read books for pleasure when I was in middle school.

[Kathleen in VA]

Neither of my parents read to me so I chose that option. However, I did have lots of school experiences with reading aloud. In third grade we took weekly trips to the library for storytime with the librarian. I remember hearing Charlotte's Web, The Hundred Dresses and Many Moons there. My fourth grade teacher read The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe to us. In fifth grade my teacher read aloud every day after noon recess. I heard all the Little House books, some Walter Farley books and a couple of Margeurite Henry books from her. I remember those readings being the highlight of my life at that point.

 

We had very few books in our house and I still remember the three books I received as gifts growing up. My mom's mom gave me a copy of Fox in Socks when I was in 2nd grade and I wore it out. She also gave me a copy of Wind In the Willows. When I was with my other grandmother one day she took my sister, brother and me to Toys R Us and told us we could pick out one thing to buy. I chose a large oversized hardcover copy of Peter Pan - a version based on the Disney movie, which I had never seen.

 

I think being read aloud to by my teachers instilled a love for reading in me, although I didn't actually become an avid reader until after I graduated from college. I think that's because I never had any books recommended to me. I just didn't realize there were so many good books out there. The books I read in high school and college did not resonate with me so I saw reading as a chore at that time. (The Great Gatsby, Catcher in the Rye, Lord of the Flies, for example) I think the themes in those books were beyond my years and killed any desire to read.

 

Becoming a homeschool mom was a boon to my reading. All those great catalogs with book suggestions helped me learn about children's literature. My children are benefiting from that and are all avid readers.

[Chris in VA]

My dad would read to me at bedtime (Pooh, mostly) when he was home--he traveled a couple of days a week when I was young. I don't remember Mom reading to me, but I think she did when I was very small.

I learned to read as a 6 yo in public school first grade (Who remembers Mary, Mike and Jeff? lol). I took off from there.

I think I read extensively because I was somewhat shy and had older brothers who really didn't play with me very often. Reading was my main hobby. When you work on something as much as I did, you get pretty good at it, and when I am good at something, I usually enjoy doing it.

 

I did do some research on early readers while studying for my teaching degree, and the research of the late 70's indicated that reading to your child was the best indicator that they would read well and early. I can't remember how they defined well and early, tho.

[Heather in Neverland]

I do not recall my parents ever reading to me but I what DID influence me was how much my mom read. She had stacks of books in the house and so reading just seemed like a natural past-time to me.I always had my nose in a book when I was young and still do.

[T'smom]

I only skimmed the other responses, but I agree with the PP who said that seeing your parents read is very important. I'm sure my parents read a lot to me when I was little (under 5) and my dad would occasionally read books like Little House to the whole family- but not very often- maybe once a year. But my parents were ALWAYS reading. There were stacks of magazines on every table, bookshelves in every room of the house, and even though they weren't really reading to me as I could read myself, they bought me lots of books and took me to the library a LOT. Actually, my dad was president of the library board for a long time and probably the patron that used ILL the most extensively.

 

Also, I'm not sure what extensively means- they did read a short bible story before bed every night- probably until I was 10, but I personally wouldn't call that extensive....other people might.

 

My bro and sis are also avid readers.

[NanceXToo]

I don't remember my mom reading to me, although she says she did when I was very little.

 

This is me. She says she did, but I can't remember it. I've had my nose stuck in a book on my own as far back as I can remember though and still love to read to this day. All the women in my family do!

[Mejane]

My parents never read to us; I don't think it would have occurred to them. Neither my parents nor my brothers were readers; I was the oddball. :001_smile:

[Guest mrsjamiesouth]

I don't remember my parents ever reading to me, but I was reading myself at 3. I read about 10-12 books a week.

[Mommyfaithe]

I am sure my mom read to me when I was really little...but once I learned to read, that was all over. By the time I was 8, I read much more extensively than my parents. My mom and dad read us little books and Dr. Seuss and such...but they always made sure we had tons of books to read...from yard sales, the library, cousins etc.....(we were pretty poor...) I am a reader, my brother is not. He never really learned to read well. Never did well inschool and I believe he has learning disabilities that were never addressed...but this was 45 years ago...so things were different then...sigh...

 

My Mom was a big reader...Dad was not...only the newspaper...I never ever remember him with a book or her without one....so, maybe they set the example. not really sure.

 

Faithe

[Kim in Appalachia]

My mom did when I was little. Books like Dr. Suess were the only thing she read. I don't know if I would have enjoyed her reading to me. I'm very visual and like to me in my own world (I have a son who is the exact same way, and he is not fond of read a louds).

 

I do think reading a loud is important, and I do it or try to provide it with audio books. But I don't believe it is the only factor in creating an avid reader. I think it helps a lot with vocabulary, comprehension, and can help with getting a reluctant child interested in reading, but some kids seem to be born readers and some are just not.

[RamonaQ]

My mother read extensively to me until I could read to myself (around 2nd grade). However, at that point she stopped completely (my baby sister was also born then, so that may also been a factor). The only time after that was when I was in third grade with a severe ear infection and she read me "Little Women".

[happi duck]

I was read to until I could read on my own BUT I saw my mom reading whenever she could.

[dragons in the flower bed]

Until I was five and reading chapter books independently, my mother read about eight to twelve picture books to me at bedtime. She didn't read to me much at other times of day, but she did tell fairy tales to us while we were waiting in lines, in the car, doing chores, etc. My father read to me during the day, but he hated picture books. He read me poetry and mythology, usually one small bit at a time because he had to explain most of it to me. My grandfather read the news to me most mornings.

[Hockey Mom]

My parents never read to me.

 

Though, I do recall them giving me a portable record player when I was about 4 y/o and some books that came with the records. I loved those!

[Beach Mom]

Nope.

 

I love to read - and did as a child as well, always had my nose buried in a book ... - 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.

 

:iagree:That's my story as well.

[Impish]

I don't remember ever being read to by my parents.

 

I taught myself to read when I was 4? and in traction in the hospital. There wasn't much else to do. A nurse also introduced me to Mork and Mindy while I 'hung' there :lol:

 

My mother 'claims' to have read to me, but a LOT of her claims have been proven to be lies to make herself look good, sooooo...

 

She is a reader, though, while my Dad is dyslexic, and unable to read for much comprehension.

 

Like some others have mentioned, I *did* have teachers that read aloud to the class. Funny enough, those few teachers were my absolute favourites for so many reasons...it never occurred to me that perhaps the read a loud might have had something to do with it too...They were just phenomenally kind, warm, loving women who showed a genuine interest in me (something that being from an abusive home I soooooooo needed...and what's with bullies seeming to *know* the kids that get thumped at home and continuing it at school? Not all the kids bullied are abused, obviously, but all the adults I know that were abused as kids were also bully fodder at school)

[sassenach]

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

 

I could have written this post. The funny thing is that my dad has always been more of a book collector than reader. He loves owning books, but I can't ever remember seeing him read (other than to me). On the other hand, my mom ALWAYS had her nose in a book.

[Punchie]

My mother read to me a lot when I was younger. I have memories of her reading Boxcar Children to me on the couch. I know it tapered off as I got older, but by then I was reading non-stop.

[Carrie12345]

I don't remember my mother reading to me (though I'm sure she did), but she always had her own nose in a book. My sisters and I picked up on that real quick!

 

I love the *idea* of reading aloud to my kids, and I do do it, but I hate ACTUALLY doing it. My mouth gets dry, my throat tightens up... It's all very ridiculous, considering I've always been a motor mouth. Put a book in front of me while my jaw is flapping, and it's a whole other experience! :tongue_smilie:

[Ester Maria]

did your parents read to you extensively?

No. Nor do I read extensively to my daughters, and they're rather avid readers as well. I grew up more along the lines of "reading is a private, quiet activity" mindset.

[elizabeth]

I chose moderately as I was able to read well at an early age. That combined with my repeated success of locking my mom outof the house while she was hanging laundry meant that I went to the local Montessori at 3.5 and mom took me to the library every week. My whole childhood was spent at bookshops and our library a lovely old Carnegie pictured here. What a magical place. http://images.travelpod.com/users/marty_chrissie/usa_2007.1178851380.p5090008.jpg Our city built a new library of the Frank Lloyd Wright style and the Carnegie is now our railroad museum. I do truly love our little city by the river.

[gpsings]

Not much reading to me in my home, but I had a 2nd grade teacher who read to us everyday after lunch, and 'woke up' my interest.

I had a turbulent childhood, and used books to run away.

[Kareni]

I have a very poor memory so needed to ask my sister if my parents read to us as children. The answer was No. However, I do recall my grandmother reading to us when we visited her for a month or so each summer. I recall that she read us I am David by Anne Holm (which is an excellent book about post WWII Europe). My parents and grandmother were all non-native speakers of English.

 

I was a voracious reader growing up though and gifts of books from my grandmother and parents were common.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[MamaT]

My sister read to me a lot when I was small and actually taught me to read at 4. She was 12 when I was born and was much more of a parent to me than my mother. She got married and moved away when I was 9, but still read to me when she came home and made sure I had tons of books. Since my sisters were so much older, I grew up more like an only child and spent most of my spare time reading. To this day we are always discussing what we are reading and she is still recommending books for me to read.

[Mommy22alyns]

I remember learning to read, but I think my parents stopped reading to me once I learned. I just remember raiding every bookshelf in the house and skimming books all the time.

[prairiegirl]

My mom read to me until I learned to read and then I was left on my own.

[samba]

I have no memory of being read to...but my mom says that she and my dad did read to me and I believe her. It must have been when I was really young, though. I am an avid reader and always have been. I do not like when people try to read aloud to me. I tune out...it even annoys me. I feel like saying "Just give me the book and let me read it for myself!" I need to try a little harder, though, because my dd enjoys reading to me :tongue_smilie:.

[dirty ethel rackham]

I don't remember being read to at home. I am sure my parents read some (or maybe some older siblings), but I don't remember it. I remember discovering books about 2nd grade and loving them. The kicker was Mrs. Duerink. She read aloud to us every day and longer on days where the weather was too crappy to go outside. James and the Giant Peach. A Wrinkle in Time. I was hooked. I lived for reading. It was an escape from bullying, from feeling inadequate at home, from not being good enough. Reading was my salvation.

 

I am sure we went to our local library when I was younger, but in 8th grade, we started going more regularly. That is when I got braces and my orthodontist was just around the corner from the library. Mom was in her romance novel phase and I was in my teen reading phase. I never really got into a classics phase (and I am still working on that:).)

[justamouse]

I wasn't read to, but all of the adults around me read-every day, always. If I finished my chores I got a book.

[LibraryLover]

My mother or father read to us daily. My first memory of my mother is of her reading poetry to me.

[cathmom]

Looks to me like being read to is not the be-all end-all that we're always told!

[LibraryLover]

Looks to me like being read to is not the be-all end-all that we're always told!

 

 

Think of poor Matilida! :D I've known people who were turned onto books by beloved teachers. (I had a first grade teacher who would turn the lights low after lunch and read chapter books to us. I never feel asleep, although I bet some tired kids did. lol

 

I do think it's more difficult to become a thoughtful reader if one was never read to. It's important to hear cadence, inflection; to discuss words, meaning, how they are used, tone etc etc. I think people who become readers without ever having been read to must be special people! :) It would be nice if everyone could live within walking distance of a library, with a nice children's libraian, especially if they are born into a non-reading family. "Moby *what*?" "Moby Dick daddy, and it's lovely".

Edited May 30, 2010 by LibraryLover

[mcconnellboys]

Wow, interesting results!

[Jean in Newcastle]

I only remember my mom reading to me until I was able to read. But then I read voraciously for myself. Both my parents were good examples of voracious readers though.

 

I learned to speed-read from my older brother. He bought a set of 40 Agatha Christie novels. We would sit side by side on the couch and read them. When he got to the end of the page, he would turn it, whether I was ready or not. You can believe I learned to read as fast as him!

[gandpsmommy]

One of the things for which I am grateful to my mom is that she read to me as a young child. I remember her taking us to the library when we were very young, for story hour and to check out books. We had picture books, collections of fairy tales/folk tales, encyclopedias, and novels to peruse. I have happy memories of my mom reading to my sisters and me at bedtime when we were preschoolers. She read us classics like Charlie and The Chocolate Factory and it's sequel, The Glass Elevator. She read us The Boxcar Children and The Bobsey Twins, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, and some books about a lady named Mrs. Pepperpot. I'm sure there were more, but those are the ones that come to mind.

 

I also remember my grandmother reading to us. She lived just two houses down from us, so we went to her house regularly. She kept picture books there for us. She had Little Bear, and a story about some pandas going to the fair. My sister's favorite at her house was The Fat Cat, a Scandinavian folk story about a cat who eats lots of people until a woodcutter cuts them all out. My sister had my grandma read that book so often, that Grandma decided to hide it for awhile because she was tired of reading it. But my sister was so distraught upon it's disapperance that Grandma "found" it and read it again. She also had a book called Whose Mouse are You? which I particularly liked.

 

We also went to church every week. Sometimes we stayed in the service and heard the sermon and sometimes we went to Children's Church and listened to Bible stories there. We also went to Sunday School every week, and to VBS a few times each summer, so we listened to a lot of Bible stories.

 

I'm not sure if my dad read to us regularly or not. I have no real memory of his reading to us, but I do recall that he told us stories at bedtime, many of which he had made up himself, and taught us new words while we were winding down for sleep.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

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

 

I'm sure that my mom read to me when I was little. But I don't remember reading aloud to be something she did after I was myself a reader. I did read everything that I could get my hands on, mostly from the library. In fact I'm a little surprised at how few books I actually owned as a child.

[Corraleno]

I do remember staying awake and reading with flashlights, bits of streetlight in the window, stuff like that...but no parental reading.

This was me. My parents never read to me, and we had very few books in the house. "Library day" at school was a big deal for me, and the librarian used to let me take out extra books. When I was 8 or 9, a relative gave us a huge set of pre-1960 Bobbsey Twins and Nancy Drew books, which I devoured over the course of the summer (including much late-night flashlight reading). At one point we also had a partial set of encyclopedias that could be purchased one volume at a time for $1 at the grocery store, and I read all of those many times. That was about it for reading material in our house, other than Good Housekeeping magazines.

 

Jackie

[Tutor]

I don't remember my parents reading to me, but I have pictures of them reading to me up to when I was about 3. I think by then they gave up because their voices couldn't keep up with the volumes of books I wanted to read. :lol: They did take me to the library 2-3 times per week, got me a library card as soon as I was allowed to have one, and let me check out the maximum number of books allowed and get books from any section of the library I desired. One of my favorite memories is of the day when my mom pulled up in front of the library and said, "I'll pick you up in an hour." Ahhhh, bliss.

[elw_miller]

When I was very little (4-6) I remember going to the library quite frequently with my mom. We read books every night. When I started reading and writing, I got to pick my own books, and, my mom would help me write my own stories by having me dictate them to her.

 

When I'd spend the night at my grandparents' (or another relative's) home, we read together then, too. I remember my grandma reading me the Little House books in particular.

 

When we'd drive a long distance, I had books on tape to listen to (and/or follow along by a bell dinging). Once I learned to read well, I always had a book with me on trips--it was expected of any person who did not get carsick while reading in the car to have at least one book to read.

 

Even when I was much older (teen), my siblings and I would listen to my mom read to us. We read The Wheel on the School, The Cat Who Came for Christmas, Tree Wagon, and several others.

[elise1mds]

I answered moderately. My mom read to me/us on a daily basis, but the problem was that she picked stuff that was INCREDIBLY boring and not aimed at kids. I didn't want to hear a biography of Molly Pitcher that was written for adults when I was 7. Or Amelia Earhart. I don't even remember who else. I remember very little from those books because I was already reading the stuff I *wanted* to read. She also insisted on reading the entire Bible to us, picking the time slot after breakfast on school mornings as the perfect time because we were a captive audience. I tuned her out then, too. I was. Not. Interested. Again, the book of Leviticus at the age of 9? Not engrossing. The only book I *do* remember her reading to us was Tom Sawyer.

 

She had read quite a bit to me when I was pre-school age, but I don't remember anything before I was 4, and I was reading by then.

[Dandelion]

I voted "moderately". My mom was a single parent - I vaguely remember being read to by mom in the evenings, but I doubt I was read to much in child care.

 

I learned to read at an early age (4 or 5), and then became a voracious reader by the time I was 8 or so. My mom DID support my "habit" by buying me TONS of books. I was reading all the time, and she would turn a blind eye when I stayed up late into the night reading by flashlight under my bed covers... ;)

 

Even today, I still read constantly - usually have 3-4 different books going at a time. So being read to moderately in childhood didn't seem to hurt my love for reading at all...

 

Interesting poll!

[JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst]

My parents (yes, both mom and dad) read to me extensively when I was young-from the time I was a baby. They graciously indulged my need to hear the same story repeatedly. They kept up this pace until I was at least 5 or 6. Once I was older they made sure to discuss the books I was reading with me. I'm sure this was a huge part of my becoming an avid reader.

 

This is partly temperament though. I always loved to sit still and read. My own children have only had that desire at various periods in their lives. But I still read aloud whenever they are in the mood.