Doubting Thomas Becomes a Believer

The day after David was born a volunteer from First Steps came to talk to Jason and I and gave us lots of helpful information as first time parents. I don't remember all that much of it because at the time I was scarfing down my first real meal since giving birth and we also had some good friends in the room visiting. What I do remember is that this woman was giving me lots of free stuff and very helpful advice! The one thing she told me that stuck out was the importance of reading to your child everyday. She explained that this was David's best chance at doing well in school and developing his interest in learning. Now this information is probably not new to most of you since many of you come from a background in education. I studied finance in college and learned absolutely nothing about childhood development. I decided to take her advice to heart and began reading to David before we left the hospital. If nothing else maybe it would create an enjoyment for reading which is never a bad thing. In the beginning it was a way to pass the time, keep him awake, and do something other than watch TV while I held him (since that was the only thing that would soothe him most of the time). Then it became a habit. It was and still is part of our daily nap time ritual. Next, I noticed he actually preferred some books and could pick out his favorite book for me to read. It wasn't until a few days ago that this doubting Thomas truly believed in the gift that is reading to your child...

David has lots of books and loves to take them off the shelf one by one until they are all scattered across the floor. Exhibit A:

Jason and I were playing with David in his room and I began asking him questions about some of his favorite books. I began with "David which book goes 'come little ducklings' mama called one day. 'Paddle on the water with me'. 'No mama no' the ducklings cried. We're too scared!' ?" He stopped what he was doing and I could see the wheels turning in his head. He went over to the pile of books and began searching for the book; Little Quack Dial-a-Duck. He found it relatively quickly. I was impressed, but still not sure it wasn't a coincidence. Next I said "David which book goes 'On Monday he ate one apple. But he was still hungry. On Tuesday he ate two pears, but he was still hungry...' ". He searched and searched until he found The Very Hungry Caterpillar. I repeated this exercise over and over with about 6 of his favorite books and one by one he found them, picked them up, and looked at me for my approval. I am elated and I hope I can keep reading everyday with David and any future children.