{"id":292,"date":"2013-03-09T10:39:29","date_gmt":"2013-03-09T10:39:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/f62.931.myftpupload.com\/?p=292"},"modified":"2013-03-09T10:39:29","modified_gmt":"2013-03-09T10:39:29","slug":"why-dont-dads-read-to-their-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.petehowells.co.uk\/index.php\/2013\/03\/09\/why-dont-dads-read-to-their-kids\/","title":{"rendered":"WHY DON\u2019T DADS READ TO THEIR KIDS?"},"content":{"rendered":"

It seems that reading, especially to children, is seen as the prerogative of women. I don\u2019t know whether I was shocked, horrified, angry or sad to find out that only 1 in 8 of us fathers bother to read to our kids. This, in the news again last week!<\/p>\n

It is a privilege to read to children. It is a great way to bond with them, to share a joke, discuss the merits of the tale, the motives of the protagonists or the quality of the illustrations. Bedtime is a perfect occasion – but not the only one \u2013 to read something for your children. What better way to end the day than with a few minutes of fiction?<\/p>\n

I had a bedtime story read to me almost every when I was young. We weren\u2019t rich or posh, we weren\u2019t middle class. It was just something that happened. I did the same for my daughter. The only time she didn\u2019t get a chapter or two of a story was if she had been \u2018naughty\u2019 and then she was only allowed a very short story or a poem or two. The idea being that a point was made but she was still read to.<\/p>\n

Some fathers feel embarrassed, some lack confidence, some really struggle with reading themselves. This is something that should be remedied long before boys become fathers \u2013 i.e. in schools, or at home; especially if these teenage boys have younger siblings. Most books for little children aren\u2019t too difficult though, and a quick read through while they\u2019re not around can help.<\/p>\n

\u2018Booktrusts\u2019 attempts to \u2018getdadsreading\u2019 has been going for some time. \u00a0Freddie, so called, Flintoff launched a campaign to get dads reading back in Sept 2011. http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/a54abf4\u00a0<\/a><\/b>\u00a0 \u00a0\u2018Now there\u2019s a bloke\u2019, you might say. Freddie Flintoff: hard man, bit of a boozer, wild, cricketing great, even a sometime boxer. If he can do it etc.<\/p>\n

Some dad\u2019s might have been be put off by the Duchess of, so called, Cornwall and her puppets campaigning for the same concern http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/a4pttyp <\/a><\/b>\u00a0Nonetheless…<\/p>\n

Men, if you haven\u2019t done it, try it. And if you can make it a routine, you\u2019ll be surprised what it does for your credibility, respect and feeling of self worth. You might also find it helps you<\/i> to relax too. There were several times when I\u2019d be woken with a nudge, \u201cdad, you\u2019re snoring,\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, no,\u201d I\u2019d lie, \u201cthat was the sound the dragon made\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t a complete lie. It was just another tall tale.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It seems that reading, especially to children, is seen as the prerogative of women. I don\u2019t know whether I was shocked, horrified, angry or sad to find out that only 1 in 8 of us fathers bother to read to our kids. This, in the news again last week! It is a privilege to read […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nDads reading to kids<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.petehowells.co.uk\/index.php\/2013\/03\/09\/why-dont-dads-read-to-their-kids\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dads reading to kids\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It seems that reading, especially to children, is seen as the prerogative of women. 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