I vividly remember reading Guess How Much I Love You to my newborn son as he lay on my chest as I lay on the couch. It was the first children’s book that I ever read as a dad. It meant everything to me and probably nothing to him. After all, he was a just week old and could not interpret English yet, while I was 28 and desperately needed to embrace both the challenges and the rewards of fatherhood.
It was the summer of 1998, and my life was being turned upside down and inside out by just one tiny child. We were in process of preparing for a cross-country move, changing careers, selling a house, buying a house, all with and a colicky newborn. In no small way, that book helped me to put things in better perspective. Yes, my life was changing radically, but the “I love you to the moon and back” message of the book was a mantra that helped me to embrace a new lifestyle of sacrificial love.
Reading children’s books has been a daily activity in our home ever since then. Our 19-year-old daughter has intellectual disabilities and cannot read on her own, but she absolutely loves to read with others. Fortunately, her favorite books, like The Grumpy Monkey, are also our favorites. These books remind us of some of life’s most important lessons. They help us to process our emotions. They put things in better perspective. And they make us laugh. A lot. Which is often all we need. Sharing laughter with a child is sacred, priceless, and healing.
A good children’s book, read together in close physical contact, is a powerful tool for instilling the secure attachment that children desperately need. A good story. A good laugh. A good hug. This combination is 10,000 times better than letting a child play with an iPad. It is the antidote to the electronic walls of isolation that so many of our children are growing up within.
Reading with children is the foundation of a healthy childhood
Here are some all-time favorite books for children of all ages (although they are written for very small children). Please buy them for the parents, children, and school teachers you know.
In My Heart: A Book of Feelings
Curious George’s First Day of School
The Wide-Mouthed Frog: A Pop-up Book
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