Oh the joys of watching my little Karis dive in and absolutely love the world of books! I strongly believe this is due in a significant part to the fact that she has a very simple toy collection. Other contributing factors may include the fact that we have no television, and we started reading books together very early on. She has one small basket of toys and yet she still prefers her books. I am incredibly thankful for a local library through which we have access to innumerable books. No need to purchase our own. We read all her books several times a day…thus the need for weekly trips! But I love it! I love seeing her in her little corner or in her little red rocking chair, simply reading stories to herself, and cultivating our relationship by reading frequently together. Precious! That is one simple way we save money on entertainment and enjoy the simple pleasures of life.
She’s a girl after my own heart.
I miss her, the little fairy. I’ll definitely be coming over soon…!
It’s wonderful that Karis loves to read. It really opens up the world for our kids. One of our foster children came to us when she was 2 yrs old and as we started to read to her, she would not sit still (she had not been exposed to books but did have a tv in her bedroom), but she learned to enjoy it. Currently our 19-month old son loves to read. As soon as we get him up in the morning from his crib, he picks a book from his book bin and runs to the toddler bed in his room and sits to read. We are thrilled that he is learning to love books.
Lindsay, as I have examined the new “baby walkers” that don’t walk, I noticed how many colors, noises, shapes, even electric noise makers they have. I wondered if we are training our kids to desire entertainment and stimulating amusements…. good post. Few toys… more simplicity, less distraction/attraction devices.
Dad
I really wish that I could let my girls have free access to their books, unfortunately I have to keep my eyes on them at ALL times when their books are out. With 2 little ones at the same developmental stage… well… all it takes is me being distracted for a moment and they’ll have cardboard books torn in two. The only books I can let them have all the time are rag books, anything else just gets wrecked unless I’m directly supervising.
Can’t wait till they’re past this stage and can really enjoy books without destroying them!
Tell me more about not having a tv. We just have one in our house and friends of ours think we’re living in the dark ages because our 5 year old and 21 month old don’t have one in their rooms!!! Did you all grow up with TV and it was something you wanted to continue or did you and your husband decide to not have one? This idea seems revolutionary BUT wonderful to me!!!
Aaron and I came to the conviction prior to getting married that we did not want a television in our home. There are many reasons that have lead us to this conclusion. One being we did not want it to easily become a electronic babysitter. Secondly, studies are showing the links of TV watching to obesity, sexual promiscuity, learning disorders, and attention problems, especially from the consumption of TV and children (Dr. Mohler wrote a fascinating article about TV’s in the bedroom and the links here). And far more importantly, as J Matthew Sleeth says, “A careful look at the public shows will reveal that there are seldom any intact families or parental role models. For the most part, TV land is politically correct, morally ambiguous, and materially oriented. God is nowhere to be found.” This is just one way we have chosen to guard our home.
How wonderful and SO TRUE!! I wish we would have come to the same agreement when we got married. I guess there’s no time like the present! Just have to convince my husband to get on board!!!
My little Azlyn loves books as well! I so enjoy seeing her little head go back and forth, page after page, and then gives a quick toss to quickly grab another book. I do have the T.V. on most of the day, just regular T.V, and she has never watched it. I think a lot does depend on the child. Even at other homes they will have some children movies, or shows on and she still does not watch. I guess I have been lucky!
I totally agree with you! We don’t have a TV (although we watch movies sometimes) and our daughter also has a simple collection of toys. We’ve also been reading to her since she was born. Now, she absolutely loves to read. Plus, because she doesn’t watch commercials, she’s not always asking for the latest piece-of-junk plastic toy. =)
~Kate
“Which Proverbs 14:1 Woman?”
http://proverbs14-1.blogspot.com
Great post- my babies are book a holics too! I liked your post on simple toy collection- I was just weeding out toys this week- It is so hard when everyone buys your children toys (junk). I felt really bad about passing it on- I’m glad to see someone else thinks that’s ok. We keep the toys in bins on a shelf- mainly blocks, lincoln logs, musical instruments. But the children have two tall bookshelves full of books- my mom picks up free books at the book bin. You gave some awesome suggestions- Thanks! I will be weeding some more! Did you hear that the new saftey regs will cut out alot of the small companies that make non toxic toys? Go to HSLDA’s website to read about it….
That is SO great. We are at the same place right now. As I type my son, 19 months, has been quietly in his room for ten minutes. When I peek around that corner to see what he’s up to he’s sitting in his chair reading in his room. What a blessing! He also has one basket of toys and a few wooden shape sorters and stacking toys on his shelves. We also have no tv. The Lord is definitely moving in our generation to return us to a simpler life more focused on him. It is so encouraging to read your blog and those of your blogging friends and to see I am not the only one!
My daughter is only 10 and 1/2 months old. I try to read to her, but she won’t really sit still. But she loves to read herself with all her cloth books and board books. I make a point to read to her at least 3 books a day, whether or not she actually pays attention. Hopefully this will instill a love of reading in her, since it is my all time favorite hobby…aside from sleeping. We started a couple months ago, and I just wish we had started sooner!
Our library has a story time, but only for children one and older. You better believe that we will be going as soon as she turns one! I only wish they had a program for younger children. But, sadly, she will be one in the blink of an eye!
This picture is adorable. She looks like such a happy child!
Blessings,
Kelly
That is so sweet – let her read to the baby too – the Man read to my tummy when I was pregnant and the Man-Cub knew his voice and would turn his head toward him right after he was born…
Hi, there, I am new to the blog world and am enjoying your blog very much. One of the reasons I so much want to get our debt paid off and quit working is that I find I do not read to my two younger children nearly as much as I did their siblings when they were younger. It is so important to cultivate that love of books from an early age.
Greta Rose prefers her books above ‘most any of her toys. She studies the pictures and is always excited to see little people like herself in the illustrations. I used to read to her more when she was really little, but nowadays she wants to explore so much that she won’t sit still for an entire book–she wants to turn the pages herself! I guess we’ll have to cultivate a bit more “quietness of spirit” in the read-aloud-time-with-mommie department.
Love it. She’s looking like such a big girl. Lindsey, how are you feeling? How much longer? What are you doing to prepare for your new little one?
That is sweet. It has always brought a smile to my face to see my children read. My 4 year old loves to read. At night he likes to grab the Bible and read the next chapter to me. He reads a little bit then tells me what verses I’m supposed to read. I don’t think he quite understands what he’s reading but I love that he loves to read it and it’s such an enjoyable time.
Don’t you just love it? My older daughter LOVES going to the library and usually brings home a stack of books. The majority of the books she checks out are educational like books on other countries, books on animals, cooking ,etc. I love it!
Have a great day!
My toddler is the same way. He would read books all day long if he could. We, too, make weekly trips to the library, as the same 10 books get old after a week. Right now we are reading through the first little house books and found a gem this week: “Sakes Alive! It’s a Cattle Drive.” Makes me laugh every time.
My children don’t watch tv period. It’s horrible for children under the age of 4. Too much activity etc, they’ve seen a possible link between early tv watching and ADD/ADHD because of how “busy” tvs are.
I started reading my babies in utero. LOVE love love my local library. They had story hours and everything. We do have tons of toys, but my girls love books as well. But we do have a rule w/toys, when new toys are brought in, they must give up old toys. And we also have a playroom, so that toys aren’t scattered throughout the house.