In this issue, we invited Chen Xin to discuss the following with her:

————————————— The following text is compiled according to the online salon issue [American readers] 16.

Beautiful reading: what are the benefits of parent-child reading that parenting circles often say?

Chen Xin: Parent-child reading has many advantages, but the most important thing for me is good memories. I remember when I was four or five years old, I was sitting on my father's lap, and he told me Andersen's fairy tales. In the summer evening, he read Astro Boy to my brother and me. From then on, I became interested in science fiction. So I hope my children will recall their childhood and have good memories in the future. The most important thing in parent-child reading is the time we share with our children.

Of course, parent-child reading has other benefits. For example, reading with infants is more like playing parent-child games, which can cultivate their reading interest and help them develop reading habits.

When my children are not in primary school, it is as natural as picking up a toy to read at home. For them, books are similar to toys. Of course, reading with children can also cultivate children's concentration, understanding of language, sense of language and imagination. However, these are by-products. Only when children really devote themselves to reading can children often get these gains. If you are not sincere, just thinking about cultivating children this and that, it is likely to destroy children's interest in reading. So the biggest gain, I think, is the parent-child relationship, which makes parents and children closer, because we shared this time, this story and this emotion. My child is in grade four or five now. Some of the books they read are so thick that I have no time to accompany them. Now we are in the car, listening to books together, and we can talk together after listening. This is also an option. Finally, our research also confirms that reading with children is helpful for their future study.

You think children live in the world of words before they know them. There are words everywhere. They see words, trademarks, road signs and store names. If parents often read with them, they will gradually understand that these words are meaningful. Sometimes you will observe some children playing games, such as going to the supermarket. Some people will write "shopping list", in fact, I will write something.

These so-called shopping lists show that they understand that words have functions, although they don't understand them yet. In life, he will gradually connect sounds with words and objects with words, so we call it an informal literacy experience, so if a child is interested in trademarks, tell him. The more informal literacy experiences, the better children's language development and future literacy ability.

Some studies have compared the informal literacy experiences of poor families and middle-class families. Children from poor families rarely have the opportunity to read stories with their parents. Therefore, between the ages of 2 and 6, children from low-income families spend only 25 hours reading with their parents, but parents from middle-class families spend more than 1000 hours reading with their children. After entering school, these children have significant differences in understanding letters, pronouncing words correctly and even writing their own names. So we encourage parents to read books and play games with their children. If they are interested, they will tell them what they see around them to cultivate their curiosity and interest in reading, but they never think that the task of parent-child reading is literacy.

Parents should regard parent-child reading as an emotional time to share with their children, and be sincere when reading with their children.

Beautiful reading: Some parents in the comment area began to ask questions: What should children do if they are not interested in reading?

Chen Xin: I think it's best to add age. Whether 1 or 2-year-old children are not interested in reading or primary school children are not interested in reading is very different.

Beautiful reading: what about preschool children?

Chen Xin: Babies' attention span is short. They are easily attracted by new things. Actually, this is a good thing. Just because their attention is always attracted by new things, it is beneficial for them to know the world in large numbers and quickly.

Therefore, if preschool children are not interested in reading, we need to pay attention to ourselves. Because many parents always have a certain purpose when reading with their children, such as summing up the central idea after reading, or always asking, what do you remember and what the story is about. If you continue to do this, the children will be unhappy. So the key is that parents should be interested in this matter. Our interests coincide with those of the children. When reading a book, what their children want to say and what problems they have naturally flow out.

Beauty reading: how to operate it? What are the forms of interaction?

Infants' attention span is very short. For example, many children bite books, smash books, smash books, or turn pages and throw them aside. This is normal. They are exploring the world. We can find three-dimensional things to replace the contents of the book first, because the contents of the book are flat and can only be read. Babies learn by touching, biting in their mouths, and so on. Then I also thought of a way to buy some toys for small animals, different brands, different colors and different shapes.

Before the age of one, children's books were quite simple. You may turn a page to find an animal, then you say a name, and then learn how to call it, just like playing parent-child games, you can also imitate the behavior and habits of animals and so on. At the same time, we gave him animal toys. Children can touch, bite and explore this thing, and they can see their parents say the name of this animal and have fun actions to attract their attention, but not too much at a time. Slowly, he can associate animals with the pictures in the book, and he can associate the sounds or actions of animals with animals-this is the process of learning. When they are familiar with these animals or objects, and then let them read these things in books, they will feel meaningful and enjoy reading them.

Another way is to use cards instead of reading books. When a child reads a book, as I said just now, it is page by page and flat. If there is a card, he can play with it. You can use two cards and ask him where the animals are. At first, he may not order or order wrong, so you give him the right one and encourage him to "Oh, yes! This is a little pig! " In that case, he will gradually associate the image with the name.

Also, I used to read my children's own photos as books. If you put your child's photos in an album and tell a story by looking at them, then the people and things in the photos are familiar to the children, so you will feel that this matter is meaningful to them, so you will be interested. Most importantly, after such a story-telling process, they will find "Oh, there is such a game". When the mother points to a picture of the baby eating or other things, slowly, they will understand that reading is like this.

Form, there are actually quite a few forms of parent-child reading. One is to read stories with them when they are young. At this time, they don't know much about reading, and they can tell stories in books in everyday language. The other is that when children can read books by themselves, it is quite interesting for parents to read one page in turn. In addition, if time is limited, you can listen to books in the car.

Every child is different, so it depends on what children like and try different ways.

Beautiful reading: what if children who have attended school only look at pictures and don't like words?

Chen Xin: If you are a child in the lower grades, then this is normal. You only look at pictures instead of words, and most of them look at picture books, which shows that his literacy is not enough. In this case, parents and children can read more and talk more to see how much children know about this book.

If the children in the third and fourth grades still don't like to read, it can only be said that the children's ability doesn't match this book. This problem is actually not a problem of reading pictures, but a problem of children's reading interest and reading ability. Therefore, children should develop certain reading habits in the early stage. For example, in our family, it was routine to drink milk, take a bath and brush your teeth before going to bed when you were young. Children are used to reading when they first come, and they are also allowed to choose their own books. Over time, they became interested in reading and developed reading habits. I will study after I enter school, so I am naturally willing to read a good book. Therefore, it is very important to be interested in reading. In our family, we love reading, and almost every room in our family has bookshelves. Moreover, when the children were young, we specially bought small bookshelves for the children to take by themselves. Reading interest needs to be cultivated slowly.

In fact, children's attention is different from that of adults. Gopnik has an interesting theory that adults' attention is like a spotlight, always focusing on what is useful or effective for us. For example, when we read a book, for us, words are the fastest and most effective way to get information, so our attention will be focused on words. Children are different. Their attention is like a beam of light. As we said before, children can easily notice new things. Many things are new and exciting to them, so when they are still reading, they pay attention to the words and pictures. There are many award-winning picture books in our family. After my children can read, when we read together, they will still notice the pictures, because I sometimes find that they point to some details in the pictures that I will never notice. On another occasion, children said that the protagonist in a book didn't draw a nose on the cover picture. I didn't even notice. I said it was impossible, and then I went to see it. Sure enough, I didn't draw my nose. So children's attention is wider than we thought. As a normal child, I don't think I need to worry about reading pictures and words.

Beautiful reading: A parent asked a very realistic question. He asked, children like reading, but they also like tearing books. What can we do?

Chen Xin: If it's a baby, it's normal to tear books. This is a way for him to learn. How do babies learn? He studies with all kinds of feelings and movements. Then when we buy books, we'd better buy books that can't be torn open.

If there are some books, like hungry caterpillars, there are holes in the books that children can touch. The author Eric Carle also has a book called What a Quiet Cricket, which is a book that crickets will bark when they turn to the last page. I remember that the children liked this book very much at that time, and I was particularly looking forward to it. When he looks at the front, he looks forward to the back, expecting the cricket to scream, and then he is happy to turn to the end.

Some books are touch books. For example, having a page about puppies will give you a furry feeling; If this page is a small fish, it will feel like a fish scale; This page is a small mirror, smooth and you can see yourself. This is a suitable learning method for children, and children will be interested.

Beautiful reading: should the type of books be determined according to the gender of the children when buying books for them? Can boys read more "feminine stories"?

Chen Xin: I think there is no problem. Both boys and girls can read. I didn't read many books in China. Many American children's novels feature girls, such as Judy Moody, and boys, such as Flatt Stanley. Usually boys are more likely to choose books featuring boys. I don't think it's necessary to deliberately. Children may gradually develop their hobbies by choosing their own books, but we can often recommend some good books for them to read or listen to, and children will like to share a book with their parents. There are good works, no gender orientation, male and female protagonists, and children like them. Generally speaking, they like good works.

Beautiful reading: Now there are many electronic screens in every family's smart phones and tablets. Will reading books with electronic devices have a bad influence on children?

Chen Xin: Babies should start with physical books. Because they explore the world by senses and actions, they say they should buy all kinds of touch books and pop-up books for their babies and allow them to play with books. I think it is more important to use physical books, so that children can touch them, turn them over and master the rhythm of obtaining information by themselves. When the children are older, such as the senior grade of primary school, if they travel, they can take electronic devices to read books. But I still suggest having a physical book at home. My two children like reading popular science books. I sometimes borrow some good novels. They don't like it very much, and sometimes they return it. But I found the book I bought, and unconsciously, they sometimes picked it up and read it. They have read all the poems I bought many times. So prepare some bookshelves for children and buy some books at home.

Beautiful reading: A parent asked: Teacher, my child is less than two years old, but she also likes reading books suitable for older children. Should she be encouraged?

Chen Xin: What level of books children read is not determined by their age, but by their cognitive level. I don't think there is any need for special restrictions. Although children should not be restricted from reading some high-level books, they should not be discouraged.

Beautiful reading: If children get angry easily, how to carry out emotional education through parent-child reading?

Chen Xin: Don't treat reading as medicine. Read at first reading. Put your mind and body into reading. Children get angry easily, and reading can't solve it The so-called emotional education, in life, the key is that parents should feel and understand their children's emotions. Of course, there are also some picture books to read to let children know what emotions are and how to calm them down after they have them. This can only be used as a supplement.

Beautiful reading: what about parent-child reading? At what age is it appropriate for children to start studying?

Chen Xin: My family can start reading with their children when they are four or five months old. Our posture is that the child is sitting on our lap, and we want to hold him with one hand and hold the book with the other hand, hold the child's hand and turn the book over. In this way, we and our children can not only face the book, but also see each other's faces. I think this is the key.

Babies' attention is short-lived, so how can we find out where their attention has gone? We can see each other's faces, see where their eyes are looking, see where their fingers are pointing, see where their attention is, and read to them according to their attention, so that children will become more and more interested in reading. With more and more familiar things, the breadth and intensity of attention are also improving, so their confidence will become stronger and stronger, and the time they can persist in reading will become longer and longer.

Parent-child reading is an interactive process Parents can adjust the speed of speech according to their children's interests and understanding, increase gestures, let their children turn pages, and let them master the rhythm of receiving information themselves. Don't be impatient if the child asks us to read a page again and again. Listen to him and let's read it several times. Interaction is a good way to learn.

Beautiful reading: When children can read by themselves, can parent-child reading stop?

Chen Xin: I think it's ok to stop parent-child reading when children can read by themselves.

Some parents can't wait for their children to study by themselves as soon as possible, so that they can put it down. But in fact, as I said, even if a child can read by himself, he will still like reading with his parents. Because what they need is for their parents to share this story and their experiences. Studies have shown that families who often read parent-child books will have a better parent-child relationship and their children will learn better. Of course, some experts suggest that if you study with your children, you can read some classic books.

Beautiful reading: Do teachers have any good books for parents to read to share or recommend?

Chen Xin: I recommend some authors in stages.

0-2 years old, Eric Carle, Karen Katz, william martin, Mo willems, these authors are all imported from China, and they are not afraid to tear or bite when buying cloth books or cardboard books.

3-6 years old, Leo Lionni, David Shannon, Doreen Cronin, "Different Ksenya Goryachova Camilla" series, Zhongjiang Jian 'an "Cute Little Mouse Brother" series.

7- 10 years old, magic school bus series, magic tree house series, Harry Potter series, roald dahl's works, elwin B. White's works, and Schell Silverstein's children's poems. These will do.

I also want to say that every child has different interests and doesn't have to follow the book list.