Syracuse Parent and CNY Family

Dr. Monica Jones is a pediatrician with Syracuse Pediatrics. Reach her at www.syracusepediatrics.com. To send a health-related question to the doctor, write to editor@syracuseparent.net

Reading is good for our health
Posted on Sun, October 7th, 2007
Written by: Monica Jones, MD, Pediatrician/Syracuse Pediatrics
email: editor@syracuseparent.net

Recently, local author Tim Green published a book called “Football Hero” that was targeted to children ages 8 to 15. He has been visiting many schools and bookstores in the area to promote his book. I had the opportunity to hear him speak to a small group of students at the Syracuse Hebrew Day School. When asked why he wrote a children’s book he explained that he wanted to write something that kids would love to read. He wanted the book to be one that would allow them to have fun and learn to love reading. His message to the kids was amazing – Keep Reading! This is my message to all of you who read this column today.
Reading is the fundamental to all education. When children are infants, reading helps them bond to their parents and siblings. It is also an incredible tool to help children develop speech. As they get older, reading together still can provide invaluable quality time with family but continues to spark learning on many different levels. Here are a few tips to help your children become an incredible reader.
1. Read with your children at least once every day.
2. Make sure they have lots of things to read--books, comic books, and magazines. Don’t feel like you have to buy them all. Take a trip to your local library.
3. Help find books about things that interest your child.
4. Respect your children’s choices. As long as it’s age and reading-level appropriate, let them go for it. Different kids like different types of books.
5. Praise your children whenever they try to read.
6. Check up on your children’s progress. Listen to them read aloud, read what they write and ask teachers how they’re doing in school.
7. Be a reading role model. Let your children see you read, and share some interesting things with them that you have read about in books, newspapers or magazines.
8. Continue reading aloud to older children even after they have learned to read by themselves.

The right carrier
Now that you’ve successfully excited your child about reading, they’ll want to carry their books with them in their backpack. Combine that with textbooks and that bag could become too heavy for their small backs. Here are some tips to prevent such problems.
• Choose the right backpack.
• Look for one with two wide, padded shoulder straps, a padded back, and a waist strap. If your child must carry a heavy load, consider a rolling backpack.
• Make sure your child wears both shoulder straps. Wearing a backpack on one shoulder can increase curvature of the spine.
• Keep the straps tight so the pack is close to the body.
• Pack light. Backpacks should never weigh more than 10 to 20 percent of your child’s total body weight.
• Try having your kids take advantage of their school lockers to help lighten the load.
Hope it’s an exciting and wonderful school year for all.

Dr. Monica Jones is a pediatrician with Syracuse Pediatrics. Reach her at www.syracusepediatrics.com. To send a health-related question to the doctor, write to editor@syracuseparent.net