Reading – cultivate the habit!

Mini Nair

Reading – cultivate the habit!

Reading – cultivate the habit! Recently I came across a cartoon strip where two mothers were sitting on a bench with their kids. One pair had a mobile in their hand while the other had a book. The ‘mobile’ mother was curious to know how the ‘book’ mother could make her child read. It was hilarious but a thought-provoking one. A child always tries to emulate what their parent does. It may be some actions, words or habits. If a parent is always angry, don’t expect the child to be happy and carefree. They also express their emotions through anger. A parent who uses abusive words should not expect that the child will not catch on the words. A child will bring out those words while they have a difference of opinion with anyone. It can be in school, in a family gathering or some other place where it is least expected. Then the parent tries to cover it up by beating up the child in front of people. They don’t realize that it is they who are responsible for such action. I have come across many people who wonder about how much I read. They comment – ‘As soon as I touch a book I feel sleepy’, ‘I cannot read such big books yaar, it’s so boring’, ‘How can you finish such an enormous book so soon??’ And I wonder how? That strip made me realize that it’s my mother who had cultivated the habit of reading in me. And I am passing on this beautiful habit to my daughter. My mother used to be so engrossed in the book that she was reading that we could get away with anything during that time. We could ask for permission for anything and she used to say mmmmmm. And then it was only after she came out of the ‘trance’ of reading that she realizes she had given us a ‘yes’ instead of ‘no’. But jokes apart, if you read, you develop yourself. It is rightly said, ‘a book takes us to different worlds sitting in one place’. Your vocabulary, diction, understanding, and so forth develop when you are in constant touch with books. I was not so fortunate to go to an excellent school where English was cultivated, but my habit of reading helped me a long way in overcoming my shortcomings of English. So parents, develop habits which you will be proud to see in your child. Read or try to inculcate the habit of reading in your child. It takes time, but it is worth that while.

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