Educating A Child in Your Own Way

I have heard from fellow mommies, teachers, and many people that reading is an important part of early childhood education. It goes without saying that inculcating reading habits such as summer reading into a child is one of the best ways to make them familiar with the world, along with providing knowledge. However, all children are not similar; some might be a bookworm from the early childhood stage while others might pick up reading habits late and few others might never feel like reading a book. As a mother of a toddler, what I feel is imbibing basic manners and moral values for kids should be the first step to literate your child.

My son will be turning 3 this month, and he does not sit for more than 5 minutes while I read him stories. Initially, I was sad thinking why, unlike all other children around us, he does not enjoy listening to bedtime stories? Will he never take up reading habits? But I soon realised how impatient and wrong I was. I myself forgot that every child is different and it’s absolutely fine if, at this age, he does not enjoy listening to stories or take up any reading habits. I make an effort though to surround him with different toys and colourful books ranging from stories, touch and feel books, picture books and more. He loves turning pages, identifying objects/animals/characters in the book and develops his own stories and narrates to me. Isn’t it beautiful and delightful for a mother?

I think and believe that imbibing good moral values for kids such as reading habits in the early childhood stage is of foremost importance. A child can pick up reading habits even at a later age or he/she might be a very learned person in future but is this what we are looking at? For me, a truly learned person is someone who has not only bookish knowledge but also basic moral values. I have come across many learned individuals who have excelled in their academics and hold a good position in their career but lack moral values. To me, they are illiterate. What is the point of education, especially the importance of early childhood education, if tomorrow our children do not know how to respect individuals, do not understand the pain of the needy or do not share in the happiness of others?

What the future holds for my munchkin, I really don’t know but as of now, I am happy with what he has learned so far. We never taught him to say thank you, sorry, to say hello, bid goodbye, or greet someone with a smile. Thankfully, he picked up positive things by just observing as we practice in front of him. I feel proud as a mother when he salutes our security persons, when he greets everyone in the lift while going to school, when he goes running to a child falling in the park saying, “Ohh ho,” with a cute sad expression, when he says thank you to cab/auto drivers who drop us home, when he bids goodbye to our household help and when he feels happy when guests come and interacts with them. I hope he continues learning moral values for kids, along with his early childhood education and evolves as a truly literate person in the future.

About The Author:

A Mother of a Toddler, Content Specialist by profession, Blogger, Recipe Developer and Dancer by choice/hobby. A fan of literature, art, and craft. Writing and reading fictional books keeps me occupied during my free hours. Travelling and cooking are my passion!