As far as mum manoeuvres go, it was definitely last ditch, and the size of the payout was certainly excessive. I can't say I am proud - but I am extremely satisfied. Because the plan worked. It worked so well, I'd suggest other parents of reluctant readers open their wallets and bribe their kids to read, too.
My daughter is a whip-smart kid, definitely smarter than I was at 12. But until I resorted to bribery, she'd never read an entire chapter of a book for pleasure. She'd read books for school, but getting her to do that was like pulling teeth, and on her own she'd read a few graphic novels and listened to the audiobooks of the Harry Potter series.
Just before the Covid-19 pandemic, a depressing US survey revealed how much reading for pleasure had dropped among children. Almost 30 per cent of 13-year-olds said they "never or hardly ever" read for fun, a substantial increase from the 8 per cent who said the same roughly 35 years earlier. Given that screen time among children also increased significantly during the pandemic, it's fair to conclude that leisure reading is an increasingly endangered pursuit among children.
But I held a candle for reading. Because I could see that what my daughter was looking for, like so many her age, was escape. To me, that felt developmentally appropriate. The problem was that the easiest way for her to find escape was to plunge into the addictive chaos of her smartphone.
This story is from the September 15, 2024 edition of The Straits Times.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the September 15, 2024 edition of The Straits Times.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
HORSEBACK FISHING ALIVE IN BELGIUM
A fisherman on horseback drags his net in the sea to catch grey shrimp in Oostduinkerke in Belgium in October.
K-pop star Jessi cleared of charges in case of fan assault
South Korea-based American singer-rapper Jessi has been cleared of all charges in the case of a fan assault that took place in front of her.
S'pore movies Wonderland and A Year Of No Significance selected for China film festival
Two made-in-Singapore movies have been selected to take part in the China Golden Rooster & Hundred Flowers Film Festival.
JJ Lin's concert tour to return to Singapore in December
Home-grown Mandopop star JJ Lin is set to return to Singapore's National Stadium on Dec 28 and 29 for the second leg of his JJ20 World Tour.
Three charged in Liam Payne's death
Three people have been charged in relation to One Direction singer Liam Payne's death in a fall from his Buenos Aires hotel balcony in October, the Argentine authorities said on Nov 7.
Looks like a lion, purrs like a pussycat
The two-door Mercedes-AMG CLE53 appears stout and aggressive, but is a friendly and easy-to-drive car
Dramatic electric roadster bolsters MG's street cred
The Cyberster is a two-seater convertible that mixes brawn and beauty as well as value and efficiency
V12 performance and looks define new Aston Martin Vanquish
After a six-year hiatus, the Aston Martin Vanquish returns as a meaner and bigger grand tourer.
Lively and sublime all-French concert by Red Dot Baroque
The Tastes Reunited comes from the French phrase Les Gouts-reunis coined by Baroque composer Francois Couperin, referring to a glorious unification of Italian virtuosity and dramatics with French elegance and restraint in musical performance.
Golden age for parks in America
Cities are sprucing up waterfronts, transforming abandoned industrial sites and bringing green space to neighbourhoods