Read to the Children


Recently my wife took the Bean to a well-child checkup. While the pediatrician was examining Bean Patrick and Samantha started to amuse themselves by looking at some of the children’s books sitting in the office. The doctor asked, “You and your husband read to your children, don’t you?” Kate answered that we do, and asked why she would ask that question. The pediatrician answered that she can tell children who are read to from those who are not based on how they pretend to read when they are too young. I was happy to hear that because I go out of my way to spend time reading with my kids. Whitney is 8 now and old enough to read to me, but the other three depend on my and my wife to give them an appreciation for books. Reading is very important to me, and I hope that my kids also get that appreciation.


This is a picture of me reading Faulkner to Bean. Though she’s too young to speak, I am careful when reading Faulkner to omit any of the many racial slurs in his text. While I’ve been in school I haven’t been able to read as much to my kids. Many of the books that I read for my English classes aren’t really appropriate for younger readers. I found that Marcel Proust’s Swann’s Way was really good to read aloud when I wanted them to go to sleep. It knocked Whitney right out. Children don’t really have an appreciation for Chrétien de Troyes’ Arthurian Romances or Laurence Sterne’s Tristram Shandy, but my hope is that they will remember being read to.

Last fall I took a class on children’s literature in the Victorian Age. We studied some of the more well-known books like the Grimms’ Fairy Tales, Carlo Collodi’s Pinocchio, J.D. Barrie’s Peter Pan, Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Kipling’s Jungle Books. We also studied some less known books like George MacDonald’s The Light Princess (illustrated by Maurice Sendak), John Ruskin’s The King of the Golden River and Heinrich Hoffmann’s Struwwelpeter. I enjoyed that class because I could read my homework to my kids, and they were entertained while I was gaining an appreciation for many of the books I never read as a child.

It always brings a smile to my face when I see that one of my kids has fallen asleep while reading a book. I have done the same thing on many occasions, and still do.

Samantha at least makes sure to put her books back in her backpack (still strapped to her shoulders) before going to sleep. Many times after Kate reads the scriptures to Whitney she will ask Whit to recap what was just read. More often than not Whit can’t tell Kate what was just read, but I am okay with that. I usually can’t understand scripture myself! Whitney loves to read and will take the opportunity to read to anyone who will listen. Samantha is usually the only taker to Whit’s offer. Patrick can’t sit still long enough to hear a story.


Even if my kids don’t gain an appreciation for reading from us, it is my hope that by starting them young in regard to reading that they will be better off. I cannot imagine that they can but be helped by being exposed to reading and books at a younger age. But even if they are not helped in their educations by starting younger, at least they will remember the time that Kate and I have spent with them, which is just as important to me.