Earlier I had shared about how my 3-year-old got very interested in reading and started reading herself at home.
Another thing which goes hand in hand with reading is writing, and yes, she enjoys it a lot too. Like I had also mentioned earlier, I am a very relaxed mother, and have never pressurized or even asked my kids to sit down and study, or made them sit through hours of homework or revisions (my kids are now 4 and 10).
However, I noticed that without my pushing them to do so, simple things I was doing as part of an everyday routine were already encouraging my kids at an early age to read and write themselves.
She wrote my name ‘Debolina’ herself without asking me, at age 3
1. Never told her to sit and write
Both writing and reading are inter-related. The Indian education system makes babies as young as two and a half years old hold a pencil and start writing. Most countries abroad encourage kids to start writing only once they turn 6!
A lot of parents feel pressurized and force their kids into writing and reading, way before they are ready for it. No matter what was happening in school, I never told my kids to sit down and write. I felt that if I made them feel like writing or reading was something they ‘had to do,’ they would surely lose interest.
2. Let the walls be dirty
When you have kids, the house should always look messy and happy, not sterile clean like a hospital or hotel, no? J Even though we have some really amazing wallpaper in the house, I realized it was better to let the children have a free run and make use of their creativity.
My baby would feel like picking up a crayon and writing a letter on the wall, and if I stopped her then and instead went to find a paper and pen, that would be the end of it. So, the best thing to do was let them naturally decorate the walls, and they did.
3. Homework is just like another activity
In a bid to make sure their kids are not left behind, many parents stress too much about the importance of homework, and in the process, create a kind of scare in the mind of the child.
I know it is important to complete deadlines and do your homework, but why not take it as just another fun activity?
When my daughter comes home and shows me what she did in class, I always smile and am super interested. She takes on the role of teacher and starts teaching me. And when she shows me what she has to write, I ask her if I should help her, or if she is a little grown up and wants to do it?
She always wants to do it herself, and even if they are not perfect always, that is how it should be – done her way, not by me.
Republished with permission from: The Indus Parent
Also read: Does your child have trouble writing? It might be Dysgraphia