CRYSTAL
We all know that parents can strongly influence their children’s development and learning, in effect becoming their first ‘teachers.’ However, determining how much influence we have is not always as straightforward as it may seem. In fact, one of the things that used to frustrate me when I was a young mother was hearing that parents can control the outcome of their children’s habits by modeling those habits themselves. The wisdom of the day was that if you wanted your child to be a healthy eater, provide and eat healthy food yourself; if you want them to be readers, let them see you reading.
It made perfect sense, and I did my best to model behaviors and habits that would last a lifetime. Imagine my consternation when our young son became the age when he could have been a reader, and getting him to sit down and enjoy a book was considered a torture tactic. I still remember him rolling around on the kitchen floor holding the book he was supposed to be reading and moaning as if in pain. And this was in spite of the fact that reading for me was a pleasure and a constant part of my daily life. What had I done wrong?
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Crystal and Kevin Sullivan
