Do You Want Your Kids To Read? If So, They Need To See You Reading – A Lot
Bestselling author Charlie Higson, author of the Young Bond spy series and The Enemy zombie saga, says children cannot be blamed for preferring computer games or television to books if they never see their parents read.
A recent National Literacy Trust survey found that fewer children than ever are reading in their spare time, with one in six admitting they were too embarrassed to read in front of friends for fear of being labelled a “geek”.
Although Higson says “surveys are surveys and kids are kids, and they don’t always tell the truth,” he advised parents: “The way to deal with it is not to worry about it but to take a gentle approach and read a lot yourself…Do kids see their dad sitting in the living room reading a book? I should imagine they don’t very often. I read a lot but I mainly read at night when I go to bed, or on holiday…If adults make books more a part of their lives then they will become more a part of their kids’ lives.”
For more on Higson and his thoughts on the survey, see the Telegraph here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/9531697/Charlie-Higson-why-would-kids-read-books-if-their-parents-never-do.html
Per his website, Charlie is also a successful adult novelist and has written four thrillers, King of the Ants (1992), Happy Now(1993), Full Whack (1995) and Getting Rid of Mr Kitchen (1996). He lives in North London.
Bryan Thomas Schmidt is an author and editor of adult and children’s science fiction, fantasy and humor books, short stories and articles. A frequent contributor to blogs like SFSignal, Adventures In SF Publishing, Grasping For The Wind and To Be Read, he also hosts Science Fiction and Fantasy Writer’s Chat under the hashtag #sffwrtcht on Twitter and blogs about writing and creativity on his own blog at www.bryanthomasschmidt.net/blog. Connect With Bryan On Google+
Bryan Thomas Schmidt is an author and editor of adult and children’s science fiction, fantasy and humor books, short stories and articles. A frequent contributor to blogs like SFSignal, Adventures In SF Publishing, Grasping For The Wind and To Be Read, he also hosts Science Fiction and Fantasy Writer’s Chat under the hashtag #sffwrtcht on Twitter and blogs about writing and creativity on his own blog at www.bryanthomasschmidt.net/blog. Connect With Bryan On Google+
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