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Read it again, Mom!
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Parent-child reading fosters pleasure and relationship bonding as well as impressive educational benefits. This article reports research behind scholastic success and a template for parent-child book sharing. - photo by Julie Nelson
When my mother comes to visit her young grandchildren, she packs her suitcase with childrens picture books. Guess what the grandchildren look forward to do with grandma as they curl up together on the couch?

Adult-child reading fosters pleasure and relationship bonding and the scholastic benefits are astounding. Reading 20 minutes a day to children from birth through 5 years old is strongly linked to kindergarten readiness. Furthermore, reading proficiency by third grade is the most important predictor of graduation from high school and career success. Educator Patrice Monnier summarized research this way:

  • Students who scored 90 percent better than their peers on reading tests, read for more than 20 minutes a day, exposing them to 1.8 million words a year.
  • Students who scored at 50 percentile, read on average only 4.6 minutes a day, exposing them to 282,000 words per year.
  • Students in the 10 percentile for reading, read less than 1 minute per day, exposing them to 8,000 words per year. (It would take them one year to read as many words as what a good reader would read in two days.)
As a professional educator and mother of five grown children, I have a lot of tricks for sharing books with kids. Its more than just opening up a book and reading the words. Parents can create a book trailer, like a movie, to entice a child to read. Prepare your child before even opening a picture storybook. Then involve him in the reading and discuss a thinking question at the end.

Here is a template for meaningful book sharing:

Introduction. Start with an introduction and discussion, using the theme of the book. For example, Have you ever seen a mouse? What do they look like? Do they really like cheese? Show your child the front of the book and talk about what she sees on the cover. Now give a short summary of the best parts, or a book trailer. This is a book about a mouse who loves to eat cheese and a cat who wants to eat the mouse. Do you think the cat will catch the mouse?

The next part involves asking them to listen for something so they can develop critical thinking.

Critical Thinking (Sample Question). While I read this book, I would like you to see how the mouse figures out a way to eat the cheese before the cat catches him. For a toddler or preschooler, simplify the question such as Lets read the book and see if the mouse can hide from the cat. If you are reading a chapter book to an older child, review what has happened in previous chapters and ask some kind of critical thinking question about what you are about to read.

Shared Book Experience. Shared reading involves your child in whatever appropriate ways you choose. Here are five to try out:

1. Chanting together repeated phrases or words

2. Stopping at predictable parts and asking children to fill in a key word

3. Echo reading (the child repeats back a phrase you have read)

4. Making plot predictions ("I wonder what will happen next.")

5. Applying the storyline to real-life experiences

Number two works best with young children and a rhyming book. "My cat is fat and she ate a ______." The pictures should give her a clue to the missing rhyming word. An example of #5 might be, Why do you think this lion looks so unhappy? Are you ever sad when you get wet, too? Making predictions and applying to real life is especially useful for chapter books, before starting each new chapter. Chanting together repetitive phrases is one of my favorites with picture books. When you have a repetitive phrase, like Chicka Chicka Boom Boom! ask the child to say it aloud with you on every page it appears. Be sure to track your finger along so she can see how the words translate into the familiar sounds.

Post Discussion Question. Example: Did the mouse get the cheese? How did the mouse outsmart the cat? Do you have a cat for a pet? What do you feed it?

I dont always create a pre- and post-critical thinking question with short picture books, but I do use them with chapter books. I always figure out a way to introduce the picture book, get a child involved in wanting to hear what it is about, and involving him while I read. If appropriate, I discuss the book's message afterward and relate it to the child's life or react meaningfully to it.

Choose quality books, recommended by your librarian and other professionals. Engaging picture books will have build-upon or repetitive phrases, while others are rhythmical, which is really important for early readers to hear often. Gauge your childs attention span by how long the book should be. For older children, I like to give a chapter book the "three-chapter test." If it hasn't grabbed the child's interest by the third chapter, move on to another book.

So pick up a book tonight when you tuck your child in for bed. Read for 20 minutes, talking about the book and discussing your day together. Make it a daily ritual, like brushing your teeth. When you hear, Read it again, mom! it's the highest compliment you can earn.
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How to avoid 'sharenting' and other paparazzi parenting habits
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A recent study revealed parents often spend up to two hours staging a single photo of his or her child to post online. - photo by Amy Iverson
Before having kids, some people just dont appreciate their friends baby posts. But after having a child of their own, three fourths of new parents jump right on the parental social media bandwagon. If you have become a member of this group, there are some rules to follow for posting responsibly.

Much of a parents worry is how to teach their children to use social media responsibly. We talk with our kids about privacy, oversharing, and setting restrictions on their devices to keep them safe. But parents themselves need to look in the digital mirror once in a while. Before having children, it doesnt take as much effort to think about what to post online. Its up to us to decide what we share about our own lives. But once you become a parent, there are many questions to think about regarding what is appropriate to post about your kids on social media.

In a recent survey, kids clothing subscription company Mac and Mia surveyed 2000 new parents to find out how they are documenting their kids lives on social media, and what concerns they may have.

First of all, people without children seem to feel a bit differently about the onslaught of baby pictures online than those who are parents. 18 percent of people say before they had kids, they were annoyed by their friends baby posts. But after having children of their own, 73 percent admit they post progress pictures of their little ones every single month.

Not only are new parents letting the world know each time their baby is a month older, but they are posting about their kids every few days or so. Men and women report they post 6-7 times per month about their baby.

And while 70 percent of new parents say the benefit of using social media is how easy it is to help family and friends feel involved, there are some downsides. Here are a few tips to avoid the pitfall of becoming paparazzi parents.

Dont miss the moment

In the Mac and Mia survey, some parents admitted to spending up to two hours to get the perfect shot of their baby. That seems a little extreme. New and old parents alike should be careful about spending so much time taking pictures and videos that they dont enjoy the moment. Years ago, I decided to never live an experience through my phone. A study by Linda Henkel, a psychology professor at Fairfield University in Connecticut, found that when people took pictures of objects in an art museum, they didnt remember the objects as well as if they simply observed them.

This photo-taking impairment effect can happen to parents as well. If we are so consumed by getting the perfect photo, we can miss out on the moment all together, and our memory of it will suffer.

Dont forget about privacy

60 percent of couples say they have discussed rules and boundaries for posting their babys photos, according to the Mac and Mia survey. Even so, men are 34 percent more likely to publish baby posts on public accounts. If parents are concerned about their childrens privacy, keeping photos off of public accounts is a given.

In the Washington Post, Stacey Steinberg, a legal skills professor at the University of Florida, and Bahareh Keith, a Portland pediatrician, wrote that sharing too much information about kids online puts them at risk. They write that all that sharenting can make it easier for data thieves to target out kids for identity theft. Check that your privacy settings are where they should be and never share identifying information like full names and birth dates.

Dont be paparazzi parents

36 percent of parents say they take issue when their childs photo is posted online by someone else. Responsible social media users will always ask permission before posting a photo of another child. But parents should also think about whether their own children will take issue with their own posted photos a few years down the road.

When parents are constantly snapping pictures and throwing them on social media, it can be easy to forget to pause and make sure the post is appropriate. I always use the billboard example with my kids. I ask them to picture whatever they are posting going up on a billboard in our neighborhood. If they are okay with that, then their post is probably fine. Parents should ask themselves this same question when posting about their children. But they should also ask themselves if their child would be OK with this post on a billboard in 15 years. If it would cause embarrassment or humiliation, it might be best to keep it private.

Once children reach an appropriate age, parents should include them in the process of deciding what pictures are OK to post. Researchers at the University of Michigan surveyed 10- to 17-year-olds and found children believe their parents should ask permission more than parents think they should. The kids in the survey said sharing happy family moments, or accomplishments in sports, school and hobbies is fine. But when the post is negative (like when a child is disciplined) or embarrassing (think naked baby pictures or messy hair), kids say to keep it off social media.
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