Were you read to much as a child?

[happynurse]

I am just curious if I'm alone here, but I can't recall my parents reading to me. Never. I'm sure they read me picture books when I was younger, but I don't remember it. And chapter books? No. Not at all. Still, I managed to earn two Bachelors degrees and graduated Magna Cum Laude. So I guess my lack of being read to didn't inhibit me too much! LOL.

 

Anyway, I'm curious what others' experiences were. Did your parents read to you much growing up? Do you credit being read to (or not) with any specific success or lack thereof? Just wondering for no reason other than I'm apparently feeling reflective/nostalgic this morning. 

 

Thanks in advance for sharing.  :001_smile:

 

[Ellie]

Nope. The only book my mother ever read to me was the 101 Dalmatians. And I lived to tell about it. :001_smile:

[EKS]

My father read to me every night until I was in 4th grade or so.  By that time he was reading the Lord of the Rings, I remember.  I credit those sessions with my learning how to read as well as I did.

 

ETA: I remember being surprise that most other kids I knew didn't have parents who read to them.

[madteaparty]

Never. But we were told many fairytales and true stories of war etc by our grandmothers who cared for us. I did see my parents read a lot.

We read a lot of books because there was not much else to do, having no TV.

[Aiden]

I do not recall being read to. However, I have vague memories of--and I've been told about--being so upset that my big sister got to go to school and I didn't that my mom homeschooled me for preschool. She taught me my letters and numbers, complete with flash cards, because if my sister did school at school, then by golly I was doing it at home! I'm not certain if she taught me to read then or not. She homeschooled me at age 3 until the private school would accept me for K4. I would assume she read to me during that time, but I have no memory of being read to then or later.

 

Eta: the only reason my sister and I even went to private school was because the public school told my parents I wouldn't be allowed to start until age 6 because of my birthday. There was no way mom was homeschooling me that long or listening to me whine about being left at home while my sister went to school, so they put us both in private school until I had completed first grade and the public schools couldn't hold me back based only on my birthday anymore.

[marbel]

My mother read to me a lot.   My father, never.  I only recall seeing him read one book my entire life with him (of course that is just my recollection).  It was Victory Through Air Power, fyi, and I still have his copy.  I'm sure you were all dying to know that. :lol: See what an impression it made on me?  

 

I don't know what if any effect it had on my reading life.  I could read before I went to kindy.  I read to my kids a lot when they were little - still do, some, actually - and my son was a late reader who struggled for a while.  He had the love of books though from a young age.

 

I would never say that no one can be successful if they were not read to, but I would say that having books around and parents modeling a love of reading and learning go a long way for a kid.  I think overall statistics show that reading aloud is important. 

[Garga]

I'm thinking my mother probably read to me. But I don't remember it.

 

I remember that we lived in England for a couple of years. When we moved back to America, one of our English friends came to visit us. She read The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe to me every night while I was in bed while she was here. That's the only time I vividly remember someone reading to me. (Her name was Auntie Lucy. Can you get any more perfect than that? A little old woman named Auntie Lucy read TWTWTW to me! I also got to see Tom Baker in Doctor Who on TV while I lived in England in 1977. Another awesome memory for me. I'm a special snowflake after all!)

 

Back to the subject...I have a very fuzzy memory of my mother reading to me, but I don't know if it's real or just a supposition memory that, "Well, she *must* have read to me, so I sort of remember it..."

 

Because she was a good mama, I'll bet she did read to me. However, I learned to love reading pretty early and once I started you couldn't get me to stop, so maybe I didn't want to listen to someone read to me when I could dash through the book faster on my own with my eyes. I might have been the one who drove her to stop reading to me.

 

Final answer: I have no idea.

[KrissiK]

My mom read to me a lot! And one of my favorite memories is my dear Grandmother reading aloud "Mike Mulligan's Steamshovel" to me. I can still hear her shaky voice. She'd had a hard life, but she was so loving to her grandkids.

[marbel]

My mom read to me a lot! And one of my favorite memories is my dear Grandmother reading aloud "Mike Mulligan's Steamshovel" to me. I can still hear her shaky voice. She'd had a hard life, but she was so loving to her grandkids.

 

Aww... so sweet.

 

My mother read to my kids too.  They had a very short time with her - she was nearly 40 when I was born, and I was 41 and 42 when my kids were born, you can do the math, and for the first few years of their lives she lived pretty far away - but she loved reading to them.  They remember her reading The Little Engine that Could.  She probably read about Mike Mulligan too!   

 

 

[mommymilkies]

Nope

[Hobbes]

My parents read to us a lot. I was homeschooled... definitely part of our family culture. :) My mom even made her own "books on tape" for us! They now read a lot to my kids and so do my sisters. Books are a common gift for us. I do think it's shaped the vocabulary/literary reference/shared story aspect of our family.

[mamiof5]

Not at all. I think it did impact somewhat my lack of reading when I was a teen/young adult, but now I read a lot because I read to my kids all the time :). I remember in highschool literally falling asleep when teachers read to us (philosophy, history), it was bad! And even today, I don't grasp a whole lot if it's read to me, I have to read it myself. My kids can sit, listen and understand so much of what I read to them (and stay awake), but they have been read to since they were babies.

[freesia]

Yes, all the time. I remember books like Mike Mulligan and the Judith Viorst books. I recall the Little House Books and Charlotte's Web. I remember my Dad reading There's a Monster at the End of This Book to us on moving day. Mostly, it was Mom though, as Dad worked afternoons and evenings.

 

I'm not sure if I credit this with anything other than creating a literate home, where books and ideas were valued. Fitting reading aloud in to my kids has been a priority that has been "easy" to be consistant with b/c it's part of my "culture."

[Hunter]

Memories can be weird. I'm not sure I know ALL that happened. My memories are of what I thought about and noticed as significant, then.

 

I clearly remember my mom setting an example of reading herself, though. She read a lot. We didn't have a properly working color TV until I was 13, and no cable until I was 16. And when outside the USA, TV was only broadcast for a few hours a day in the morning and evening, and there were only 2 channels.

 

I taught myself to read at 4, and risked being hit or yelled at every time I asked an adult to read me a word. I figured out if I waited 45 minutes to an hour between single words, the adults would find it less effort to read me a single word than punish me for bothering them.

 

I'm kind of assuming with that very clear memory, I wasn't read to a lot. :lol:

[momma2three]

Yes, nightly until I was about in middle school.  Then they continued to read to my younger sister for a few more years... I was welcome to join in, but I usually had too much homework.  When I was younger, they'd read to us in our rooms before bed, and when I got a bit older they'd read in the living room while my sister and I colored or did a craft. (My dad usually worked late, so my mom usually read to us.  When he was home, he was usually the one who read to us.)

 

My parents are a bit book-obsessed, though, and were always reading.  At the dinner table, they'd each have a magazine in front of them, reading it and discussing the stories in their respective magazines with each other.  I can't help it, and despite DH's disapproval (though he's gotten used to it now), I still bring The New Yorker to family dinners, and tell everyone what I'm reading about through the meal.  

[Renai]

I have no recollection of being read too, however I grew up a reader myself. I always had a book in hand, my favorites being Black Beauty, Heidi, and Alice in Wonderland. I also don't remember learning to read, but apparently it happened, so...:D

[Aurelia]

Before I learned to read, my parents read picture books to me. Once I learned, I didn't want them to anymore. I read all the time on my own, and we had an entire room in the house designated as the library (literally wall to wall shelves with books 2 rows deep), but I just didn't like the way they read aloud. 

[J-rap]

Yes.  I know my mother read to me a lot when I was very young, but I don't remember too much...just a little.  What I remember most is my father reading to me.  He read to me for years, until I was probably in junior high.  He read me beautiful things like poetry by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and also fun and clever poetry by Robert Louis Stevenson and Robert Burns.  Whenever we went on roadtrips, we would write limericks together.  He was a remarkable man and he inspired me a lot.  Probably not at the time, but as I grew older.  :)

[HomeAgain]

My mother read to me a lot. Picture books, yes, but mostly chapter books. My teachers through 8th grade read to us every day, always chapter books or great literature after lunch. I remember many of their selections fondly.

[Vida Winter]

Very early, yes. Past kindergarten, no.

[lulalu]

Memory is hard. As a young child (before school) my mom did. Not my dad. However, it was really this past week as I was reading mother goose that I had a memory of how much my mom read mother goose to me! And the tears came as I wish I could hear her voice again!

 

After starting school not much to my memory. But I loved to read and did so a lot.

[desertflower]

My parents didn't read to me. I don't know if that had any impact on my life. Was I magna cum laude? No. But I love where I'm at now. :) I would do it all over again.

 

I do believe in reading aloud to my children has its benefits.

[Butter]

No, because I asked them not to.  I HATE being read to.  It drives me out of my mind and has as long as I can remember.  I learned to read at 3 1/2 and ever since I've only wanted to read to myself.  My mom reads to my dad to this day.

[Holly]

My mom read lots of picture books to me, but I can't remember any specific chapter books, although I think there may have been one or two.  She read to me for the elementary years, until I started reading chapter books on my own.  She also took us to the library fairly often, especially during the summer or over school breaks.  I remember our library had a "storyline" that you could call for a bedtime story.  I often did that when she was tired or busy.   :lol:  I guess it's the modern-day equivalent to Librivox.  

 

I plan on reading to my children until graduation.  I think you can learn to love books without being read to, but it can't hurt!  

[Loowit]

My mom did, but I never liked it.  I hate being read to. I also hate audio books.  My mom and dad read a lot themselves, my mom more so than my dad.  I didn't pick up a reading habit until middle school.  I never enjoyed it in elementary, I am not sure why.  But in middle school it just clicked and now I usually have two or three books I am working on at a time.

 

My children all love to be read to and we read to them every day.  Fortunately, I enjoy reading aloud..  DH has a deal with youngest that if he is ready for bed on time he gets a story with dad.  It is a huge incentive for DS because he loves being read to.  Interestingly, my DD is the only one who really enjoys reading on her own. My middle has dyslexia so that makes it hard for him to read, even though he likes the idea of reading books and tries.  Youngest doesn't put much effort into reading on his own, but I am still trying to find a book series or genre he might enjoy.  So far I haven't had much luck.

[amsunshine]

No -- except for a few picture books when I was a toddler.  (Dr. Suess and the like).  I was an avid reader on my own, though.  I was constantly checking out lots of books from the library and reading, reading, reading.

[73349]

Every day when I was little, but once I was reading well (kindergarten or so), I preferred to do it myself. To this day I do not enjoy podcasts or audiobooks.

[Hunter's Moon]

I have no recollections of being read to, though my mother swears she did.

 

I still became an avid reader and lover of learning without that experience, though I did have access to books from a young age.

[mommysanders]

I think my mom read to me when I was little, but not much past then. I remember asking her to read a chapter book to me when I was a tad older. But I got frustrated because I had no reading comprehension. So we both gave up. I was always a poor reader. It has effected many other areas as well. Not sure if that's directly related to the fact that I wasn't read to much.

 

 

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[BooksandBoys]

My mom claims that the reason she taught me to read at 4 was because I needed her to read to me all the time. I have absolutely no memories of being read to as a child, but I read to myself constantly and she did take me to the library every week throughout my childhood. :-)

 

I have memories of being jealous of my friends who had family read-aloud time well into our teen years. It's one of the things I decided I wanted for my own family when I was very young.

[wintermom]

I do remember my mom reading books to me when I was young. I also remember elementary school teachers reading books aloud to us in class. I loved it. I was an extremely active kid, though, so I imagine my mom had a hard time keeping me still enough to read to me. It took a while before I was really fluent in reading, but I definitely grew to love books, and I'd spend all my savings on buying books and eventually my own IKEA bookshelf (which I still have today!).

 

I still read aloud to my dc, and have since their birth, with no plans of stopping. We also listen to audio books and stories in the car.

[Farrar]

Nope. The most I remember being read to was the first grade teacher who read all the EB White books aloud after lunch in lieu of nap time. We all got to curl up on mats.

 

However, my little brother was read to a lot. Mostly by me, mind you, but a lot of it was personality. I didn't like it much as a kid. He loved it. I think he probably still would enjoy it.

[SparklyUnicorn]

never

 

 

[KarenNC]

Probably until I learned to read myself, but I honestly don't remember it. I also don't remember how old I was when I learned to read, the only point I can remember distinctly is reading my grandfather's copies of Edgar Rice Burroughs when I was in third grade. I did have lots of examples of my mother and grandfather reading constantly, and I read to my sister who is 5 years younger.

 

The exception to this was that from about age 5 my father read to us nightly a bit from the Bible as part of family devotions (along with praying aloud in order of age and a sermon from him), but not for pleasure.

[Slache]

I was never once read to. I don't think that made much of a difference, but I was always expected to be in my room and make no noise with no books, toys, or games. I have a lot of social awkwardness and some cognitive difficulties I blame on having to just sit and do nothing for hours on end.

[RootAnn]

Nope. We always had tons of books around the house. My mom & older sister were huge readers. I assume my mom read aloud to my older sibs, but stopped before I came around. (I can completely understand this as I'm #4 in birth order & I don't read aloud as much to my #4 & #5 as #1 & #2.) Who knows.

 

My dad was probably dyslexic. He didn't books, but he did read the newspaper (while sitting on the pot).  :lol:

[Julie Smith]

My mom says yes. I don't remember much of my childhood and the only memories of being read to, was listening to audio books on long car trips. 

[MerryAtHope]

Yes, until I was 6 or so. I have favorite stories that each of my parents read to me. We also had school teachers that read chapter books to us. I remember our 5th grade teacher reading From the Mixed-up Files..., and another reading The Mouse and the Motorcycle. And my high school lit teacher reading portions of The Scarlet Letter or poetry to us. 

[Curlymom]

I don't remember being read to as a kid, but according to my mom, I learned to read at 4, so that may have something to do with it.  I was a voracious reader, so while my parents didn't read to me, they valued reading (both are professors) and I did massive amounts of reading on my own from a very young age.

 

I read a lot more to my kids than anyone read to me.  

 

My husband did not come from a family that valued education - they didn't read to him and didn't have a lot of books.  He's not much of a reader.  He will read the news, but he doesn't necessarily read for fun.

[Rachel]

I don't remember it but I'm sure they must have as I started reading at 3.5. I do have several worn books from my childhood and remember trips to the bookstore and library. I remember both my parents read a lot themselves. They divorced when I was 7 and things changed a lot after that. I have few memories from when my mom lived with us so it's quite possible the reading memories are just gone.

[Grover]

I don't remember - I'm pretty sure they read to us as preschoolers, but I don't remember it, so assume it stopped once we could read on our own.  Certainly not chapter books.  My dad is almost certainly dyslexic, and I suspect my mother has fluency issues, although hers might be more from lack of use that a genuine deficit.  I do remember having an eye injury as a mid teen and going CRAZY because I couldn't read for myself so my Dad took pity on me and attempted to read me a chapter of whatever novel I was currently reading (David Morrell, but I can't remember which one).  It stopped pretty quickly because he couldn't manage it, and devolved into him sharing all off the rhymes and poems he could remember (some quite off colour, and most a trifle rude, lol).  That's one of my favourite memories with my dad - just spending time with him like that. 

[OneStepAtATime]

Mom read to me until I was reading truly independently.  She would sit in the rocking chair with me and we would rock and read and rock and sing.  Loved it.  Once I was reading more advanced books on my own we didn't do that anymore but I don't remember there being a specific day when we stopped.  I guess it just happened gradually over time.  I was obsessed with books and created my own card catalog for the books I owned.  She couldn't have kept up with my reading needs if she had tried.  Dad never read to us.

[lots of little ducklings]

My mother: very little, if at all.  My father on rare occasions (such as Christmas).  

 

I was an early reader and read voraciously,  so I'm not sure (from an academic perspective) if I missed out on much.  However, Dh and I do read daily to our children, and I love how sharing books with each other has shaped us as a family.   From THAT perspective, I know I missed out on a lot as a child.  

 

And of my siblings, I am still the only "reader."  Certainly people differ, but I can't help but wonder if they would be more inclined to read now had they been read to as children.  

[Tanaqui]

Every time I see this thread I read it as "Were you read too much as a child?" Every. Time. "Yes, because as a child I was a living book. I was read all the time, and it drove me batty!"

 

Seriously, though, our parents weren't big on reading aloud. They were big on reading our books to themselves, though... even if we were in the middle of them. I read very quickly today. I had to learn, or else I'd never be able to finish a story!

 

 

[Hunter]

This ends out being a very emotional question, rather than a merely academic one.

[dirty ethel rackham]

I don't remember my mom reading to me, but I remember being read to by my teachers.  Mrs. Duerink read to us every day during lunch (small parochial school) and that is when I fell in love with books.  They became my escape from bullying, turmoil at home (older siblings were teens in the early 70s), etc.  I still read to escape when life gets hard. 

[Mom22ns]

My mom read to me every night until I was maybe 10 or 11. I was already an avid reader on my own. I also remember most of my teacher's reading aloud in school through 6th grade. My senior lit teacher read something out loud to us too. I don't remember what, but I remember him reading.

 

Every memory I have of someone reading to me is a good one. They are all positive memories and thinking of them makes me feel close to those who were doing the reading even now. I'm glad my kids will have that kind of memories of me. 

[happynurse]

This ends out being a very emotional question, rather than a merely academic one.

 

 

Yes, I could certainly understand that. :)

[Mommy22alyns]

No, I can't recall it ever happening.  I do remember being taught to read before kindergarten though.  But somehow I still turned into a bibliophile.

[UCF612]

I have no recollection of them reading to me. They tell stories of my sister teaching herself to read but neither parent can remember when I learned. "Normal age I guess," is all the say. My sister is an avid reader and always has been. I didn't care to read at all until adulthood. I can read very well and all excellent at reading aloud so I guess it didn't matter in the long run. My mom is a teacher now (started when I was in 2nd grade) and is a big proponent of reading to kids.