Simplicity Parenting

[Mallory]

I just finished this book! Anyone read it yet? It is aimed at all ages, not just babies and toddlers but plenty of it applies now. One interesting point in the book and counters what is said in The Read-Aloud Handbook is that you should limit the number of books a child has. The author's arguments were good, but I'll have to think about this. My strategy was to have as many as possible!

[Anne]

That's very interesting. We were shopping yesterday and in a big toy department of a store we were of course looking at the books. My little daughter loves them and I was wondering about exactly the same thing: As much as I love buying her new books, might it be better if a little kid just has a limited number of books which he/she knows well? The same idea as with toys, that children shouldn't be overwhelmed with too many. But, just like you, I thought, 'The more the better. Each one is different and special.'

What's the author's argument?

[Mallory]

Simplicity Parenting is an amazing book first of all. I just finished it and rated it five stars. The authors of the book would make the same argument you did - less is more - in all areas of a child's life - toys, books, outside influences (read: tv). Basically, all those toys and books just teach a child to always want more and that the key to hapiness is in acquring more and more stuff. Older children will start seeing reading as more for achievement then enjoyment ("I'm on #36 of the Captain Underpants series!) The author does promote more "rhythms" or routines, so the bedtime story is very important. But since the importance in reading is to enjoy books (and not to just read as many as possible) having a dozen or so books that the child cherishes is preferred.

I wouldn't say the Read-Aloud Handbook would disagree with most of those points. The author did write a number of pages though, on the direct correlation between how many books a family owns and how much their child enjoys (or is good at, I can't remember?) reading. That is a correlation though, not necessarily cause and effect.

Simplicity Parenting did have some guidelines for how to go through and pare down the book collection so that you are only keeping "good books". I liked the advice so I did go through them and eliminate about 20 or so, so far.

I mean, really. She just wants to read the same one over and over again anyways right? Right now it is

Happy Baby Animals

"Mama, Again??"

[Anne]

Yes, less is definitely more when it comes to tv. Same with sweets... (which is so unfair - why can't sugar be healthy? :)

It also makes much sense that too many toys can cause children to value quantity more than quality. Trish Kuffner (The Toddler's Busy Book) suggests to rotate toys, because after four to six weeks they will seem new to the child again :)

I'm still not sure whether this all applies to books, though... Little children certainly don't need piles of books and they don't need to read a new one every day. They love their books and enjoy looking through them and hearing the same stories over and over again, just as you described it. Until they know them by heart even!
I assume the authors had little tots in mind and not older children, who can't be expected to read the same book several times, unless they're enjoying it.

Anyway, I'm not really convinced that having too many books would make children become competitive readers who only regard reading as achievement... So far, I have never met a kid (neither primary nor secondary school) who was like that, bragging about how many books they've read or how fast they read. In fact, way more often it's the exact opposite and you're happy if they read at all. Maybe my experience is just very different from the authors'.

I do think that a child's love for books and reading can be influenced by how many books there are in the family's household. Assuming that the parents actually read these books and don't use them as decoration :)

If a child grows up being read to a lot and seeing that other family members enjoy reading themselves, he/she will experience reading as fun and enjoyable.
I am always amazed at how (relatively) gentle my little girl is with my books. She loves pulling them out of the shelves and flicking through them, and sometimes she even climbs onto an armchair and holds a book as though she was reading :)
If she didn't have access to any books she wouldn't be able to do that...

Anyways! This has become longer than I had expected - and I haven't even read Simplicity Parenting or the Read-Aloud Handbook (yet). I did count my daughter's books that are in daily use... thirteen (phew!). Plus a few musical and stuffed books.

It also made me wonder if there are many adults who think it's the quantity of books they own/read that counts most? :)

I'll look up Happy Baby Animals and "Mama, Again??" now, they sound very cute.

[Anne]

Haha! Silly me, I just realized that "Mama, Again??" is what your little daughter says! :)
I'm used to putting book titles into quotation marks, which doesn't seem to be necessary in English.
So I'll look up Happy Baby Animals now :)