Cool Mum Super Dad

I was back at Bank Negara yesterday in conjunction with their “Bulan Bahasa Kebangsaan” celebration. (Talk delivered in Malay). Some points raised:

1) Why some kids don’t like reading. One of the conditions I highlighted was dyslexia. Dyslexia is a condition whereby a person finds it difficult to read and write. For parents with dyslexic kids, the most important thing to remember is that, a number of highly successful people throughout the ages were / are actually dyslexic. They include Thomas Edison, Lee Kuan Yew, and Steve Jobs (Apple Computers founder) to name a few.  Being dyslexic doesn’t mean your child won’t do well in  life.  Many dyslexic kids are gifted. The word is encouragement;  don’t ever make them lose faith in themselves with your worries about their future.

2) A parent was concerned that his daughter was reading too much romance novels.  A lady in the audience responded that a number of girls just love romance novels - it’s the way girls are. I explained that, for many girls, it’s a phase that they go through. However, if there is valid concern that what the child is reading is adversely affecting her in any way, the parent needs to tactfully send this message to her. Point is, while we parents hold the purse strings, there’s no way we could absolutely make sure they read what we want to them to read and keep away from reading what we don’t them to read. They can still borrow from friends, buy used books/magazines/comics with their own pocket money etc. What we want are kids who are able to think for themselves. If you have a strong opinion about anything your teen is reading, do say so. You have the right to.  And your teen certainly needs to hear your say.  But first, ask yourself how you can put that across in a way that will trigger her mind best.

3) Comics and books in a series. If your kid is not into reading, getting him or her into comics might help. Some suggestions: Asterix and Tintin (these are available online as well). However, bear in mind that there are a lot more comics that are simply violent in content and unsuitable for kids, although the covers claim otherwise. Books in a series are wonderful because, once your kid likes one of them, you can bet he’ll love the entire series as it’s written by the same author.