Hoe kry mens jou kinders sover om 'n boek oop te maak?
“Ek hét actually ‘n lewe en daarom hóéf ek nie te lees nie!”
Lees tussen die lyne: Jongste reken sy ma het nié ‘n lewe nie. Is alle tweede kinders so hardkoppig en aspris-moeilik?
Ek het nie die antwoord op alles nie, maar na ‘n vreeslike gesukkel, lees my kinders uiteindelik. Siende dat ouers gereeld my advies vra:
Beperk elektronika/skermtyd:
- Solank as wat kinders vrylik en heeldag lank toegang tot elektronika het, gaan hulle nié lees nie. Ons kinders het normaalweg 30 minute skermtyd per dag (TV/selfoon/elektroniese speletjies, ens.)
Is daar boeke in jou huis?
- Sorg dat daar baie boeke in jou huis is. Indien jy nie tans boeke kan bekostig nie, sluit aan by ‘n biblioteek, of koop tweedehands indien daar glad nie ‘n biblioteek in jou dorp is nie.
Lees vir jou kinders stories wanneer hulle nog klein is
- Ek het altyd saans vir my kinders stories gelees wanneer dit tyd was om te gaan slaap. Hulle was gevolglik mal oor stories, maar was bloot te lui om self te lees. Dit was makliker om mý te smeek om te lees. Daar bestaan nie iets soos ‘te vroeg’ nie – babas sal ook by stories baat, selfs al verstaan hulle nog nie.
- Hou moed: indien jy nie saans slaaptydstories vir jou kinders gelees het nie, beteken dit nié dat die stryd verlore is nie. (Jy het wel ‘n voorsprong indien jy saans vir jou kinders stories lees.)
Practise what you preach
- Kinders doen dikwels wat hulle sien. Indien die ouers lees, is dit die voorbeeld wat die kinders sien. Indien jy selfs net die koerant lees, baan dit reeds die weg.
- Indien jy nie self ‘n leser is nie, beteken dit nie noodwendig dat jou kinders nooit lesers sal wees nie. Dis egter onbetwyfelbaar ‘n groot voordeel indien jou kinders jou ook met leesstof sien.
Van watter tipe flieks hou jou kinders?
- As jou kinders graag skop, skiet en doodslaan kyk, is dit waarskynlik die genre boeke wat hulle sal prikkel. Dieselfde met romanse, komedie, drama, ens.
Wat is jou kind se belangstelling/passie? Gebruik dit in onderhandelings.
- Beide my seuns is sportmal. Hulle toerusting en toernooie kos ons ‘n lewer en ‘n long. Wanneer hulle dus ‘n nuwe item benodig, sê ek soms hulle sal self daarvoor moet betaal, want geld groei nie op my rug nie. Hulle het nie geld nie? Hulle kan geld verdien. Hoe? Deur ‘n aantal bladsye (ouderdomsverwant) te lees.
- Voorbeeld: die seuns wou onlangs ‘n nuwe sokkerbal hê. Dit was R150. Hulle het met my kom onderhandel (kinders leer blitsvinnig!) en het gevra of ek vir hulle ‘n sokkerbal sal koop as hulle elkeen 50 bladsye in hulle onderskeie boeke lees.
- Ek beloon graag. Die seuns het my baie opgewonde vertel van Avengers Endgame wat ongeveer ‘n jaar gelede nuut vrygestel was by Ster Kinekor/Nu-Metro. Toe sê ek dat ek nie vir ‘n fliek (en springmielies en koeldrank en Smarties en en en) begroot het nie, maar ek ‘n plan sal maak indien hulle elkeen ‘n boek klaar lees. (Wees realisties: mens gee nie vir ‘n onwillige 14-jarige leser Shakespeare se versamelde werke nie). Die uiteinde? Op hulle aandrang het ek toe saam met hulle gaan fliek en dit was heerlik!
- Jy’s nie elke naweek lus vir ‘n ‘playdate’ en die vreeslike heen en weer ry nie? Ek ook nie, maar vir iemand wat lees, is ek bereid om die wiele te laat rol. Die gevolg: Onder normale omstandighede het ons baie dikwels ‘n toeloop van maats wat naweke hier kom oorslaap.
Hoe dit begin het?
- My jongste seun (wat actually ‘n lewe het!) het my twee jaar gelede R100 geskuld en kon dit nie terugbetaal nie. Ek het toe onderneem om sy skuld af te skryf indien hy lees (R1 per bladsy.) Teen bladsy 80 was hy verslaaf aan die boek en het daarna die res van die reeks gelees sonder enige verdere onderhandelings. Kinders moet net ver genoeg lees om te besef dat die boek regtig puik is, dan is die probleem opgelos. (Hulle moet natuurlik ook nie 24/7 toegang tot elektronika hê nie, want dan sal hulle vir seker nie lees nie.)
Die Wet van Barnard & Barnard
- Indien daar ‘n fliek oor ‘n boek gemaak is, moet die seuns éérs die boek lees voordat hulle die fliek mag kyk. So het my tiener al ‘n paar keer vir my (en maats) verduidelik hoekom die fliek baie swakker as die boek is.
Uit die mond van 'n eks-nie-leser wat haar genre gevind het
“I was never interested in reading any books. At the age of 16, I was more into my sport than anything else. To relax/unwind, I would enjoy a good crime/action movie or series during free time.
This was until I was (at the age of 20) introduced to Karin Slaughter by my stepmother (Annerle Barnard) – to be more specific the Will Trent series. She kind of knew at the time that I enjoyed a good CSI series and thought that crime fiction books would be a great start.
To be honest, I didn’t think the books would interest me but I tried it anyway. She taught me to always try something before I decide that I wouldn’t like it.
Now I’m addicted to Karin Slaughter’s books and can’t wait for a new one to arrive in the bookstores.” – Zandrie Grosskopff
Daar is regtig baie opwindende jeugliteratuur in beide Afrikaans en Engels beskikbaar. Indien jy ‘n lys met voorstelle wil hê, stuur vir my jou e-posadres via die KONTAK-blad op my webwerf.
VRYWARING: Ek is heeltemal daarvan bewus dat daar kinders met leer- en leesprobleme is. Daarmee kan ek ongelukkig nie help nie. Spreek eerder ‘n kenner op hierdie gebied indien jy hulp benodig. Die wenke bo is wenke wat algemeen bekend is en dit wat vir my kinders werk, gaan nie noodwendig vir alle kinders werk nie. Dit is dus nié die Wet van Mede en Perse nie. Ouers moet self bepaal wat vir hulle kinders werk.
Jou tiener verkies volwasse literatuur/flieks? Ek kan jou help met voorstelle.
Deel asb.: Hoe’t dit gebeur dat jy in ‘n leser ontpop het en hoe het jy jou kinders aan die lees gekry?
How do you get your children to read?
“I actually have a life and therefore I don’t need to read.” Tween pushed the book aside without even bothering to look at it.
Second children … eish. Strong-willed deluxe.
I don’t have the answers to everything but both my sons are finally reading. They won’t sell their soul for a book but they read and ask me to buy them specific books.
Limit their screen time
- With my own children I have seen that they definitely won’t read when they have unlimited access to cell phones/TV/electronic games, etc. Under normal circumstances, our boys have 30 minutes screen time per day.
Are there books in your house?
- Make sure that there are books in your house. If you can’t buy books, join a library. Very few of today’s youth will enjoy Dickens. Look for something modern and kick-ass. Suggestions? We’ll get to that.
Stories at bedtime are vitally important
- Read to your children at bedtime. It makes a significant difference and in addition it helps the brain to relax.
- If you have teens and you have not read to them as children, don’t lose hope. I know of a few individuals whose parents weren’t readers and yet these individuals themselves are addicted to books. There is always hope and it never is too late to start.
Practise what you preach
- It makes a big difference if your children see you reading, even if it only is the newspaper.
Which kind of movies do your children watch?
- The kind of movies your child watches, should be a good indication of the genre he/she will enjoy reading. Try to find books of a similar genre.
The Law according to Barnard & Barnard
- If a movie based on a good book is released, our boys first have to read the book before they may watch the movie.
Know your child’s Achilles heel. Use that in negotiations.
- Both my sons are addicted to sport but the equipment and tournaments/tours cost us a liver and a lung. When they tell me that they need shoes/racquets/strings/anything that we didn’t budget for, we negotiate. Initially I told them that they need to pay for their own strings (racquets) as they had received pocket money for chores they had done. Later one of them wanted to earn money to purchase an item, so I told both they could earn 50 cents per page read. Teeth bared, they both went for the opportunity. 😊
- If one negotiates often enough, they learn fast. Example: the boys recently came to me and asked me if I would buy them a soccer ball if they each read 50 pages. That’s the ideal situation: they now take the initiative and negotiate with me about something I might have refused. 😊
- What do we negotiate for? Anything they’re really passionate about. Playdates (I’m exhausted during weekends and don’t always feel like driving up and down but reading makes my car’s wheels turn), sport equipment, movies at Ster Kinekor/Nu-Metro and once in a while even junk food I had not planned for (Steers/Debonairs, etc.)
How it started?
- My second child owed me R100 which he couldn’t pay, so I told him that if he read, I would write off his debt at R1 per page. At page 80, he realised that the book was phenomenal and read the entire series without me having to ask/pay him. (The rest of the book series cost me money as I had to buy the books but that is an investment in his future. For a book I will make a plan.)
I’m an avid reader and have read tons of children’s books and young adult literature (to find out what’s really cool.) If you want a list with suggestions (both English and Afrikaans books) send me an email via the KONTAK/CONTACT page on my website.
DISCLAIMER: There are children with learning and reading disabilities. I can’t provide any advice. Please consult a specialist if you need help. What works for my children, won’t necessarily work for all children. Please do not regard this as the letter of the law. I merely shared what works for my own children. Each parent needs to determine what works for his/her children.
Please tell us how you started reading/got your children to read.
From non-reader to reader:
“I was never interested in reading any books. At the age of 16, I was more into my sport than anything else. To relax/unwind, I would enjoy a good crime/action movie or series during free time.
This was until I was (at the age of 20) introduced to Karin Slaughter by my stepmother (Annerle Barnard) – to be more specific the Will Trent series. She kind of knew at the time that I enjoyed a good CSI series and thought that crime fiction books would be a great start.
To be honest, I didn’t think the books would interest me but I tried it anyway. She taught me to always try something before I decide that I wouldn’t like it.
Now I’m addicted to Karin Slaughter’s books and can’t wait for a new one to arrive in the bookstores.” – Zandrie Grosskopff