I\’m rich because I have a dad who reads to me

In the world of childcare in Chinese families, fathers are often a marginalized role. When we talk about fathers raising children, we often have images in our minds of grown men who are clumsy and confused, or of fathers who just throw themselves on the sofa when they get home from get off work. Perhaps because of the long-term social division of labor between men and women in the history of human society, many people have the idea that men should take care of the outside world and women should take care of the house. They believe that women are born to take care of children and do housework, while men should earn money to support the family and watch football games. In fact, in modern society, the social division of labor is no longer as clear as it was in the Stone Age. Many working mothers work from nine to five every day, just like fathers. It is unfair for mothers to have all the childcare responsibilities fall on them when they return home. I have written many articles about parent-child reading together before, but in these articles it is often mothers who leave me messages to discuss methods. In the past two and a half years, I have witnessed Dad Su\’s transformation from a confused newbie dad to one of the protagonists of parent-child reading at home. Because I have received messages from some mothers asking me how can I get my father to participate in parent-child reading? Let’s talk about this article today. The importance of dads reading to their children goes beyond simply participating in parenting: Why should dads participate in parent-child reading? American experts have conducted a study and comparison of 500 families and found that if the father insists on reading to his children, it will have a great positive impact on the children\’s language ability and word recognition ability 1-2 years later. Moreover, during parent-child reading, fathers are more inclined to use abstract thinking to diverge the content of picture books (in contrast, mothers pay more attention to details, object names, etc. in picture books), and children\’s abstract thinking ability will also improve due to working with their fathers. Improved by reading. Moreover, research from the University of Sussex in the UK also found that reading aloud can also play a magical role in reducing stress for fathers. More importantly, parent-child reading is a high-quality companionship that is particularly helpful in strengthening the emotional bond with children. Especially for fathers who are very busy at work, if they can only do one or two things with their children, Su’s mother suggests that parent-child reading is a good choice. Since Su Bao was three months old, we have read picture books to her every day, including half an hour in the morning, half an hour in the afternoon, and 20 minutes before going to bed. Adherence to parent-child reading has brought increasingly significant changes to children\’s reading interests, language cognition, and thinking abilities. Because I am at home taking care of my baby full-time, Su Bao and I read most of the picture books together, but Su’s father also plays an important role. For example, every morning after Su Bao gets up and has breakfast, the first thing he does is ask to read a book with his father. As for slowly developing my teammates into the protagonists of reading together, I actually only did these three little things: Learn to let go, and it will be no problem for a father to take care of the baby. \”Leave the bottle for me to warm it up.\” \”This is not the right way to take care of the baby. Let me do it.\” Is this conversation familiar? In fact, many times it is not that fathers are unwilling to participate in child care, but that we exclude them. Many times if mothers learn to let go and let fathers practice, they will find that they have unexpected talents in raising children. Every time it was daddy time for Su Bao and Su’s dad, Su’s mom would happily go shopping and go to the spa. After the mother is completely separated from the role of childcare, the father becomes the protagonist of childcare.The sense of responsibility will be stronger. When Su\’s father takes care of his children, he often invents some magic tricks to coax them that really blow my mind, and they are very efficient. For example, once he was at home alone, carrying Su Bao on his back with a sling, watering the flowers in the front and backyard, clearing the dishes in the dishwasher, and folding the clothes. Another discovery is that every time Su Bao plays with his father, he always acquires some major new skills, such as a sharp increase in English vocabulary, improvement in fine motor skills (they like to play with building blocks and study construction together), and numerical cognition. New breakthroughs, etc… Clear tasks and concrete responsibilities. Men are rough animals. When it comes to parenting responsibilities, sometimes they may want to participate, but they don’t know what to do specifically. Of course, there are some fathers who haven’t realized it yet. importance of one\’s own role. For both types of fathers, the method of detailed tasks can be used to guide them to participate in parent-child reading. Method 1. Give dad several designated picture books and ask him to read them all to his children within a week. Method 2. Fix a time period every day as a reading time for father and baby, even if it is only fifteen minutes and a half, it is very meaningful. Su\’s father is very busy at work and has to work seventy or eighty hours a week. In order to ensure that he can participate in child care, we made an appointment that he must participate in the first hour after the baby wakes up every morning and half an hour before going to bed. No matter how busy you are, you still need to give your baby a bath and read to her before going to bed. You can wait until the baby goes to bed before spending some time on work. After fixing the two ends of the day in this way, Dad Su reads picture books with his son every morning and evening. It has been two years now. Choose the right picture book and use picture books to inspire fatherly love. Some fathers may say, I am willing to participate in parenting, but I don’t know how to read it together with my children. There are three small suggestions: Method 1. Use Dad’s talent: When the three of us read together, a game we like to play is that Mom reads the text part of the picture book and Dad “does the dubbing”. For example: \”Goodnight Gorilla\” is a very classic book. It tells the story of a group of animals escaping from the zoo under the leadership of orangutans. Su Bao particularly likes it. But this book has very few words. When we read it together as a family, I would use words to describe what was happening in the book. At the same time, Dad Su would imitate the sounds of various animals in the book as the plot developed. Dad Su was very good at this. Talented, he often makes his children very happy. Method 2. Cute Baby Offensive Because he likes his father to imitate animal sounds, Su Bao took the book \”Good Night Gorilla\” from the bookshelf as soon as he could say yes, handed it to his father, indicating that he wanted to listen, and said in a sweet voice, \”Dad.\” ,Book\”. Seeing the baby\’s sincere and cute little expression, Su\’s father\’s heart melted, and it would be easy to read it with her 100 times. Sometimes (smartly) I would record the heartwarming moments of Dad Su and his baby reading together as a small video. One day I found Dad Su secretly took it out of his phone and read it… Method 3. Father\’s Love Picture Book Select some dads The picture books you are interested in can also be used as a starting point for cultivating a \”dad who loves to read together\”. I was visiting a children\’s bookstore in New York some time ago, and I saw a section dedicated to picture books for dads: many men were interested in machinery, cars, and dinosaurs when they were young. There are many picture books on this theme; of course, you can also chooseChoose picture books with a father\’s love theme to stimulate dads\’ interest; you can also choose fairy tale books that dads liked when they were children as exclusive reading books for him and his baby. The picture books that Su Ma will recommend today include the above three types. Finally, I send you a \”Dad\’s Book List\” selected by Su\’s mother: Guess How Much I Love You Author: Sam McBratney Suitable for ages: 2Y+ This is a picture book suitable for fathers and babies to read together before going to bed. It is warm and humorous. The picture book tells the story of a little rabbit and his father who love each other more, and in the end the father wins. The most classic sentence in the book is: \”I love you right up to the moon and back\” (I love you right up to the moon and back). Daddy And Me Author: Karen Katz Suitable for ages: 1Y+ This is a flip-book masterpiece by American best-selling picture book writer Karen Katz. It tells the story of a baby and his father looking for nails, screwdrivers, saws, and other \”men\’s\” things together. Every time a card is turned over, there are dad\’s tools hidden underneath, which is very interesting. Usually, you can read the book after six months of reading. The reason why Su Ma recommends reading this book is that the tools in the book are not common daily necessities. Older babies have a vague understanding of these items. If you watch it again, you will be more engaged. My Dad Author: Anthony Browne Suitable for ages: 1Y+ Anthony Browne’s masterpiece is the first picture book about their father for many children in the United Kingdom and the United States. Use warm and humorous language to describe what kind of person \”my dad\” is, such as eating well, being strong, being brave, etc. The last sentence of the book, \”I love my dad, and my dad loves me too, forever and ever\” really makes people cry. Many babies around me will kiss the father in the book when they see the last page of the book. Papa Please Get the Moon for Me Author: Eric Carle Suitable for ages: 2Y+ Grandpa Carle’s classic masterpiece. Little Monica wanted the moon, so her father tried to find a way to help her pick the moon, but it was not that easy. After thinking a lot of ideas, her father finally picked the moon, but the moon was too big to move home. The ending Very warm and humorous. In childhood, every child hopes to have a father who can pick up the stars and the moon for him. Daddy Hugs Author: Karen Katz Suitable for ages: 1Y+ This is a book that not only conveys dad\’s love, but also teaches babies digital enlightenment. From a hug on the first page to the ten hugs at the end, each page records the warm moments and hugs between \”I\” and my dad, such as the baby\’s first steps, dancing with dad, and falling and being hugged by dad. Hugs for comfort and more. Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site Author: Sherri Duskey Rinker Suitable for ages: 2Y+ This is a beautifully illustrated picture book about construction.The story of the guys at the construction site finishing their day\’s work and getting ready to take a break. The protagonists in the book: excavators, dump trucks, mixer trucks… are all dads\’ favorites. My Dad Loves Me Author: Marianne R. Richmond Suitable for ages: 6M+ This book was a gift from Su’s mother to Su’s father on Father’s Day last year. There is only one sentence on each page, describing an animal cuddling with its father. The painting style has rough lines and a simple atmosphere, which is very warm. Dada Author: Jimmy Fallon Suitable for ages: 6M+ This is a recently published book. The author has won Emmy Awards and Grammy Awards and is a famous anchor on NBC TV. The original intention of writing this book was to let the baby say the first word dada (dada in English baby talk), so the animals in the book tried hard to teach their babies the word dada, but what they said was another word. Sound, for example, Mavericks can only say moo…A cute picture book that makes people laugh. Author: Byron Barton. Suitable for ages: 1Y+. Dads loved all kinds of airplanes when they were young, so read this picture book with your babies. Bar. This book describes aircraft with various functions. Even dads who don\’t like to read together with their children may be interested in it. This set of books also includes chapters on ships, trucks and machinery, making it a perfect picture book for dad. The Gruffalo’s Child Author: Julia Donaldson Suitable for ages: 1Y+ The first time I got to know the character Gruffalo was when Su Bao’s aunt gave her the Gruffalo, a super best-selling picture book in the UK. She was less than one year old at the time, so it was a bit early for her to read this book, so Su’s mother read it first and couldn’t put it down. Later, I watched the cartoon of the same series, and I was even more amazed by its storyline and perfect painting style. The Gruffalo’s Child is the sequel to this book, telling the story of the Gruffalo and his daughter. The baby Gruffalo wanted to explore the dense forest, but she met the mouse that her father was particularly afraid of. After experiencing various \”thrills\”, she finally returned to her father and fell asleep in the cave. Our whole family especially loves this series. In parent-child reading, dad has an indispensable power. Will you use reading to enrich your children?