Hooked on Phonix

Ian doesn’t want to read. He loves being read to, he just doesn’t want to do it himself. I’m of two minds. On the one hand, I was also worried that he wouldn’t crawl, walk, talk, count to ten, or eat an ice cream cone without using his ears. Still working on that last one.

On the other hand, we’re readers. We make weekly trips to the library. Ian has his own library card. I’m fairly sure the librarians are plotting to ambush me in Non-Fiction if I request just one more book by Alastair Reynolds.

We don’t have cable and don’t watch a lot of movies. Ian and I occasionally bond around Guitar Hero or Mario Kart. Last week we played Duck Hunt.

If this kid doesn’t start reading, what the heck is he going to do around here?

I’ve been busy at work lately, and the other day worked off my frustration by putting my son in a head-lock. He returned the favor by putting my nose in his eye. It wasn’t an accidental poke in the pupil or schnoz in the sclera. He put his hands to my face, and gently but firmly pulled me toward him until my nose was resting in the corner of his eye. Again and again and again.

Strange.

And as my fingers played along his ribs and under his armpits, I asked Kelly, ‘Wanna go out for I-C-E C-R-E-A-M?’

Mid-squeal, Ian raised his head. ‘Ice cream?’

Stink. Er.

3 Responses

  1. Jungle Pop
    Jungle Pop at | | Reply

    That’s interesting. I think all kids are different (duh), so just be patient, grasshoppa.

    Our son (just about 5) has just started really reading a few months ago. But he hates phonics. He doesn’t want to sound things out, he just recognizes and reads whole words. A valid approach, I suppose, but what about when he gets stumped? He hates phonics!

  2. Natasha Becoming Something
    Natasha Becoming Something at | | Reply

    Well, some words are worthy of learning earlier than others. In our house it was B-A-T-H.

    We have the opposite problem here. We have two early readers and one child who’s newly five and DESPERATE to learn to read. We’re readers too. (But I also don’t like to miss Lost or House.)

  3. Sax
    Sax at | | Reply

    The story of how I learned to read involved a similar set-up. My brother and I were read to and loved it, but at some point there wasn’t the time for bedtime stories anymore. After a bit I must have decided that I was going to get my stories no matter what, because when there was eventually time again for bedtime stories I wanted a new book, not one off the shelf. I’d read them all already, much to my mother’s surprise.

    Opportunity and motivation to read to himself, and the time to do it, might be enough.

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