When we think about protecting our young ones, what first comes to mind are the obvious and external dangers. Child traffickers, bullies at school, physical abuse, and exploitation. Yet, at times, it’s not necessarily the dangers out there your child needs urgent protection from. Instead, it’s the insidious dangers that live in your own home, mommy, hiding behind your busy work life and everyday household routines. One such danger is the threat to your child’s reading life.

But How Does Reading Count as Protecting My Child?

Children have naturally curious and teachable minds, and this is because of brain plasticity, which speaks to the brain’s ability to change, grow, and expand with learning. During those formative years, reading (or having a book read to them) develops your child’s thinking and problem-solving skills on an interpersonal level and also better preps them for school.

Think of those impressionable years as a window for learned behaviour. Gentleness and encouraging nudges towards reading will help them not only with their writing and vocab but also in trusting the strength of their inner voice. I’ve seen this, by the way. I used to help give English extra lessons in school. Nothing pained me more than neglect on that level; some of those scholars weren’t confident in themselves, and I could see the nervousness in their writing. And I knew that was academic and lifelong damage that could’ve been, for the most part, avoided by reading in their early development.

Kids learn to be confident enough in speech and independent thought as much as they learn to be nervous and uncertain. In a way, you’re not only teaching them to read and write but also, through gentle instruction, how to be kind and gentle towards themselves and others.

Tips on How to Strengthen Your Child’s Reading Life:

Creating a safe space for your child to just be.

We’re thinking about the kids, mommy. For them to thrive well in their reading, a safe and peaceful home is the best space for their imaginations to run wild and free. This comes around full circle: for your child’s reading life to grow, they must be in a safe environment free from abuse, neglect, and emotional starvation. That way, they can have their eyes on more books and growth, not surviving and navigating needless trauma.

Hold bedtime readings of all their favourite/choice stories.

According to a Stats SA finding in 2019, almost half of South African children have never had their parents read a book to them. Not only is this a great way to help better your child’s literacy, but why not also see it as a means to improve that mother-child bond? The best of both worlds, mommy. Also, encourage them to approach you about a book they would like you to read them. Knowing they can take initiative helps build their self-confidence and will to stand up for what they want.

Have small post-reading talks about what they think about the story you read them (or a storybook they might be already reading by themselves).

Why not? Chatting with them about the story, what they found interesting about it, and stuff as such will make them better readers. They will consciously mine for small details in the stories on their own—that will sharpen their comprehension skills. Talking with them will also develop their sense of intelligence and the recognition of different perspectives. Your child will become empathetic, open-minded, and respectful of different opinions.

Audiobooks, audiobooks, audiobooks.

It’s a busy world out there, and the game of being a supermom is already on “Hard” level—throw in some life stresses of adulting, and it shoots up to “Impossible”. This is where audiobooks come in handy. But this is for the older young children.

Make the reading culture look cool.

Kids are copycats in nature. “Babies are brilliant imitators,” Luke Burgis wrote in his book Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life. Notice how your baby girl puts on your lipstick when you’re gone. When not doing anything, try reading a book in their presence. And also, mommy, looking like you’re engrossed and interested in your book might help, okay? Visit the library and bookstores frequently when with them. They will notice. In no time, they’ll start flipping through pages, too.

Another great resource is the Cadbury digital library, a reservoir of relatable homegrown stories for children written in their indigenous home languages.

In your journey through motherhood, your child’s protection is your number-one mandate. While shielding your little you from worldly dangers, be careful to also protect your child’s reading life, too. If anything, once you’ve done so, you would’ve already taught your child a lifelong skill that will help them protect themselves in the world.