Charlotte Mason called it “twaddle”. And twaddle is a real word, though not one most people are familiar with, and certainly not one people, (at least those outside of the CM homeschooling community,) use very often.
But Dictionary.com defines twaddle as, “trivial, feeble, silly, or tedious talk or writing.” A quick check of Facebook is sure to yield terabytes of twaddle, but the library and, sadly, often our own bookshelves at home, are pretty chock-full of it, too.We all want our children to read, to experience the joy of learning new things and discovering new worlds and people and places through the beauty of the written word. Reading is a marvelous thing and books are a joy, but we really make an egregious mistake when we assume that, so long as our children are reading, they are making worthwhile use of their time. Honestly, that just isn’t always true.
Obviously we don’t want our children reading books full of questionable or blatantly inappropriate material, but that’s not at all what I’m talking about here. I’m simply curious how often we are perfectly content to see our kids reading, even when the books they are absorbed in are mostly mindless. We assure ourselves it’s better for our daughter to be reading Book 47 in The Purple Llama Detectives Club series than for her to be playing a video game or watching a movie. But is it really?
Listen, all books are NOT created equal. Reading is not automatically, indisputably beneficial to our children, particularly if the book is not challenging them in anyway or teaching them anything or inspiring their creative minds. Sometimes reading can be just as much of a means of “checking out” mentally as a video game or T.V. can be, and so perhaps we should do a more careful analysis of the books our kids are reading. Are they mostly pointless? Are they written well below our child’s reading ability? Are the novels they’re enjoying just repackaged versions of the other 24 books in the same series? If I’m answering yes to these questions, it’s very possible my child is reading a bunch of twaddle.
So am I saying it’s wrong to let your child read The Purple Llama Detectives Club series? (Which I made up, obviously, though it sounds very much like every other preteen book series I can find at my local library.) Do I think it’s wrong for them to read that stuff, provided it’s clean and age appropriate?
No. Absolutely not.
Should I stop being impressed and satisfied with that kind of reading?
Yep. Probably so.
I was literally disturbed when I ran across a list of books popular with children and teens 100 years ago, titles like Robinson Crusoe, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, The Secret Garden, The Wind in the Willows, and Gulliver’s Travels, some of which might be considered difficult reading for adults by today’s standards. Meanwhile book series like The Hunger Games or Twilight, which are wildly popular among teens and young adults, are written on an elementary to middle-school level. (And no hating on me for saying that, please. I haven’t read either book series, but reading level information was readily available from multiple sources. These books are plainly easy reading.)
I think it’s safe to say we’re expecting far too little from our kids; patting ourselves on the back because they’re reading, ignoring the fact they’re reading mostly twaddle.
So how do you get kids reading better books, books that challenge and inspire and teach them? Granted, when twaddle is all the rage, it can be hard to motivate our kids to read better things than their friends are reading. But it can be done. And I don’t believe forcing them to read good books is the only way to make it happen. (Though as a homeschooling mom, I’m certainly not beyond doing that!)
- Expose your kids to good books via audio dramas and audio books.
We have this horrible tendency to take beautiful books, particularly many of the classics, and because they’re thick and wordy and maybe a little challenging in their language, we look at them as dry, dull, and lifeless, even when they are some of the most amazing stories ever written. Good audio dramas, though not necessarily word-for-word reenactments, at least offer exposure to good books, which can begin to stir an interest and a curiosity in them.
I’m a huge fan, so I’ve mentioned them before, but Focus on the Family Radio Theatre has produced some very good quality dramas. Oliver Twist is a personal favorite, but I also love Les Miserables and Little Women and, (very suitable for the current season,) A Christmas Carol. Lamplighter Theatre produces beautiful retellings of old, out-of-print books, and Heirloom Audio has produced Under Drake’s Flag, what I hope to be the first in a long line of G. A. Henty books turned into a audio dramas.
Perhaps you think your child would never sit and listen to an audio book, but audio dramas are a good place to start and I know from experience how much they can help a child to look at a thick, daunting book on a table and realize there is much, much more within those pages than looks could ever tell. Playing a story while kids are doing chores or having a little quiet time before bed or while in the van running errands can have more of an impact than you might ever imagine.
You may think they’re not listening, but just wait until you turn the story off so you can talk to the lady in the bank drive-through and then forget about it.
“Mom! Turn Oliver Twist back on!”
- Read good books aloud to your kids
- Read good books YOURSELF
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I enjoyed your post. Reading is so important for mom's, too. There is a spelling mistake in your graphic.
Yikes! Thank you for drawing my attention to that! I stare at these things so much sometimes I can look right at a major mistake and not see it. Thanks! And thank you for reading, too!
Well, we listen to Adventures in Odyssey, Jungle Jam, and other fun audios like that, but nothing too deep, cause sometimes odyssey scares them. lol. Makena is a book worm and would either read or listen all day long. I am glad she's learned to entertain herself, but sometimes there are still those moments of.. is It really necessary to listen during dinner… let's all just talk to eachother!!! 🙂
Yeah, I don't necessarily advocate every audio drama or book for every child. Radio Theatre's Oliver Twist is pretty scary and I wouldn't let my boys listen to it for a long time, though I think my teenager found it more disturbing than any of the others! I always listen or read first before the kids, which saves us some of that worry. And Makena sounds a lot like Molly. She was always walking around with her nose stuck in a book. She still is sometimes!
We are indeed a family of readers. However, it's been a challenge getting my boys to love it beyond a certain age. I remember reading out loud a book my older son mentioned reading. At 16 years old, he thrived on us reading a book together, moments we'd read outloud and separate then get together for a lunch out to have our book-talk with him, dad and myself. I'm visiting from Weekly Wrap Up!
I do think as boys get older, (and busier,) they can sometimes lose interest in books a little, but of course that doesn't mean the interest won't return. They'll never forget the wonderful things they learned from the good books you introduced them to.
Thanks for stopping in!
Yes! There is so much twaddle to wade through – we end up listening to lots of classic books instead and have discovered some modern gems along the way as well.
There really is a lot of good stuff out there if people just know where to look for it. The library is a great source for audio books, but now there so many available for free online as well. I get a little overwhelmed at the choices! But there's never been a time when it was easier to expose kids to good writing.
Thank you for stopping by Tonia!
Very enjoyable post! We do read twaddle, for pleasure {dessert, anyone?} — but not in the school room. 😉
Understood. 🙂 Silly books are fun sometimes, but I never want to fool myself into believing they have much educational benefit for my children. Thanks for reading!
I completely agree! Reading good literature is one of my passions. I am planning on homeschooling (we are pregnant with our first) and engaging our children's interest in quality literature is important to me. Fun reads are fine, but there is evidence that there is a difference in the effects of quality literature versus "popular fiction". I recently came across this great article: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/03/i-know-how-youre-feeling-i-read-chekhov/?smid=fb-share&_r=0
One of the things I do on my blog is review popular teen literature. Some of them are really high quality and worthwhile, other times they are badly written and smutty. But I want parents to be aware of the content and value of books their teens may be reading.
I think book reviews like that can be very helpful to parents, particularly those who homeschool. I'm afraid too many moms and dads are welcoming of any and all books with the thought that reading is automatically more worthwhile and wholesome than visual forms of entertainment. That just isn't so and it's important that we be discerning. What you're doing can be helpful in that department!
Thanks for sharing, Nathana.
You make a great point and have great practical advice! I started reading chapter books aloud to my son when he was 2, and I still read to him 15-30 minutes a day and whenever we travel. You're right that older books have much better vocabulary! We're currently reading Treasure Island and have enjoyed the original Oz books very much. Here are the best books I had read him before age 5–I need to write about the ones we've read since!
He was slow to start reading on his own for pleasure, and I worried about that, but around his 9th birthday he started reading much more. I'm especially proud that he recently chose to read Spiderweb For Two, which I'd read to him several times starting at age 3.
I was a little slow to develop a love for books myself, so I don't get too discouraged when my children aren't so excited about them. But exposing them to good books, like you're doing, truly does seem to stir an interest that will draw them to reading eventually.
Thanks so much for reading, Becca!
Hi, great tips here. Please consider linking up at Book Musing Mondays this week. This post would be perfect. Thanks.
I did so! Thanks so much for the invitation, Mary!
I think when we set the example, our kids will be more likely to follow suit. I have two avid readers so far…one took a while though. And my other two I'm hoping will come along 🙂
Thanks so much for coming & linking up with us on last week's Inspired By Me Mondays! Hope you can come join us again for this week's party 🙂 Rachael @ Diamonds in the Rough
I wasn't an avid reader of books myself until I was some older, though I did like reading articles and short stories even when I was very young. But because of that I don't get too discouraged when a child doesn't show a lot of interest in books early on: I know their interest may develop yet!
Thanks so much stopping by, Rachael. And for the opportunity of linking up!