Family reading, connecting love

Help your child love reading

On Saturday afternoon, not busy with school, two boys Nguyen Chinh Minh (12 years old) and Nguyen Thanh Lam (10 years old), sons of Nguyen Duc Tu and Bui Bich Phuong in Gia Loc town (Hai Duong) sat leisurely reading their favorite books. Occasionally, the two boys would exchange with each other what they had just read, mingling with happy laughter.

Minh said that, besides going to school and doing homework, he and his brother spend most of their free time reading books. Books provide them with a lot of new knowledge, which helps them learn as well as social skills.

To foster their children's love for books and newspapers, Mr. Tu and Ms. Phuong have their own methods. Ms. Phuong shared that when they were young, she taught her children to love books by reading to them regularly. She bought books that were age-appropriate. Since her children could not read yet, she prioritized books with lots of beautiful pictures and drawings. The number of words in the books gradually increased as her children grew up. The genres of books were also rich and diverse, such as comics, literature, history, science, etc., both domestic and foreign books. To give their children a quiet space with enough light, they built a study room with 2 bookshelves with thousands of books. Many books and stories were read over and over again until they knew them by heart.

Ms. Phuong said: "In his free time, my father still reads books and stories to the children. After reading, the three of us discuss and share with each other. I also often ask my children questions after each book they read. That way, the knowledge they gain will stay with them longer."

In Hai Duong, each family has different ways to encourage their children and grandchildren to love reading. Mr. Dang Van Nhac in La Tinh area (Tu Ky town) believes that "books are the windows to the soul". Although he is over 80 years old, he still considers reading books as "daily food and drink". He reads many genres to enrich his knowledge and share it with his children and grandchildren. He always teaches his children and grandchildren to never stop reading. To encourage the love of reading, on holidays, Tet or special days, Mr. Nhac will buy books as gifts for his children and grandchildren.

"I choose books that are appropriate to their age and interests so that they find it easy to read. Sometimes I discuss the books I have read with them, which helps me understand their thoughts and feelings and makes the family bond closer and more intimate through those discussions," Mr. Nhac shared.

Replicating the family bookshelf model

In the context of many other forms of information and entertainment, reading is forgotten in many families. Mr. Nguyen Dao Truong in Binh Han Ward (Hai Duong City) is over 90 years old but still loves to read books every day. He said that the number of people reading books, especially young people, is decreasing. Most of them do not actively seek out books to explore but mainly look for documents for work.

Sharing this, Mr. Nguyen Duc Tu (Gia Loc town) hopes that each family will practice and form the habit of reading for their children. "Reading helps children develop love, personality, discover new things, and be confident in communication. I really want to share my family's books to spread the spirit of reading to everyone, especially the young," Mr. Tu pondered.

To develop and spread the reading culture, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Hai Duong is coordinating to replicate the model of family bookcases, clan bookcases, and school bookcases in localities. Compiling documents guiding the construction of suitable family bookcases and clan bookcases. Mobilizing and guiding the construction, preservation and promotion of the value of rare document and material collections towards forming a documentary heritage profile... If implemented effectively, this model will have a positive impact on the reading culture of the people.