Hong Kong is very results-oriented and no more so than when it comes to early childhood education. Many parents go to great lengths to get their child into just the right school, even if it means enrolling their preschoolers in something like harp lessons to pad a primary school admissions application.
Although parents will agree that reading books is a good thing, reading aloud to children may not be widely regarded as important for child development. Last month, I sat in on a parents' workshop in Mong Kok on how to read aloud to children. The workshop leader was a charismatic parenting expert who, in four hours of interactive training, extolled the benefits of reading aloud. Toward the end, one parent asked: 'What's the average number of times I need to read a particular storybook to my son before he should be able to read that book by himself?'
The parent was frustrated that her son really enjoyed being read to, but refused to read on his own. When the trainer learned that the boy was only three years old, she feigned exasperation and said: 'Please relax and don't force your son to read by himself if he likes to hear you read to him. It's a positive thing, not a negative, that your son enjoys being read to.'
When other parents in the room noisily agreed, the frustrated parent, by now a little defensive, said: 'But all my friends' kids who are my son's age are already sitting alone for long periods, reading on their own.'
The expert's reply was priceless. 'Yes, and I'll tell you a secret: that is also the kind of parents who say their son didn't study at all before an exam, when in fact the boy has been immersed in flash cards, tutorials and revisions.'
Even the frustrated parent had to laugh at that remark. Beyond the reassurance that three-year-olds don't need to know how to read or even how to recite their favourite stories, the expert underscored the idea that early literacy is just one of the many tangible and intangible benefits of being read to. The child's feelings of security and love for learning about things outside his immediate world are shaped by the physical togetherness, the soothing quality of a familiar voice, and the chat between parent and child that can come from reading aloud.