Consider These While Buying Children’s Books

Encouraging the importance of books in a child’s life has immense benefits. Here’s how to go about it in a practical manner. 

”It is better to bind your children to you by a feeling of respect and by gentleness, than by fear.” – Terence.

Children of any age group have their own likes & dislikes, fears, secrets, love and expectations. From their young age itself, storytelling can be an effective means of communication that parents play a big role in incorporating this practice. Next to storytelling comes the books, they are the best friends. Encouraging the importance of books in a child’s life reaps more benefits.

Picture books, the first to be introduced to children. It lets them see, observe and familiarise themselves to the environment described in the book.

Then comes the colouring books. Ask them to fill them with colours of their choice and create a whole new world.

Next comes drawing books. These books help them to create a new object or form, on their own.

Buy books depending on the children’s interests. If they love and like sparrows and cats, select the book which carries them and don’t buy the books that include things which they may be afraid of such as a ferocious tiger, an owl, or lizards etc.

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While you buy books for children, don’t buy the bigger volume, as such they may feel burdened with many pages. Go for two books with minimum pages. This will also help in keeping the child more engaged as opposed to one big book.

As far as possible, be with children when they read stories, help them get the right meaning and moral in the correct manner.

Up to a certain stage till you feel that they can manage on their own, support them with storytelling or you should read out to them.

Select books according to their age. Books meant for a specific age group of children are marked with ages too. Get the right book for right age.

Take them to the book stores with care & governance and just ask them to take a glance. Give them a chance to pick out something they would like to read or work in.

There are a variety of publishers in the children’s category, try as many as you can and update yourself and your child. Catch the one in which your child feels most comfortable.

Kahil Gibran, the well-known Lebanese mystic, has expressed so beautifully in his masterpiece, ”The Prophet” about parenting:

• ”You may give them (Your children) your love, but not your thoughts.
• You may house their bodies but not their souls.”

For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams

• You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
• For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday. You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.”

Image via Unsplash

First published here.

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