Zero Value

Did you know that introducing young children to the joys of reading as early as six (6) months old offers considerable benefits?  Benefits not only redound to the child but to parents as well since regular reading sessions help establish close relationships between them.  However, parents will have to make allowances for the wandering interests of very young children which should not be a source of discouragement.    

There is nothing wrong when a very young child is unable to fully cooperate with the reading session since that is simply how they are.  They discover the joys of reading while seemingly busy inspecting the books physically and listening to their parents tell the story.  As they grow older, cooperation and eagerness to read by themselves are expected to develop.  In the mean time, parents should opt for books that can withstand some wear and tear such as board books.

Since very young children are still unable to grasp the idea that books are not meant to be destroyed, it is highly advisable to save those highly-treasured books whether for sentimental reason or their high price, for later.  Consistency and perseverance hold the key to success.  Parents should find a way to make reading sessions enjoyable by being more creative in their presentation. 

Discussing the contents of the book on the level that can be understood by the child makes comprehension a lot easier.  Parents will be surprised how much learning becomes enjoyable for eager readers.  Increased understanding encourages further reading.  The sense of accomplishment plus the sense of security obtained from being snuggled with a parent reading a book forms the very foundation of genuine book lovers.

I wrote about renting in the previous post and that got me to doing some more reading on renting and being tenants. I found a potential good read in the book The Tenant Survival Guide: Essential Reading for Prospective Tenants and Those Already in Rented Accomodation. Written by Lesley Henderson, it is touted to be a definitive guide for tenants – both prospective and current – who need to know all sorts of things ranging from things to look for when checking out a place, deposits, inventories, contracts, and so on.

I found the book on Amazon and was looking for user reviews and comments but I could not find any. The excerpts that I read were enough to entice me to take a closer look at it, though. You can see the first page in Amazon if you want to read it for yourself.

Some information on the author. Lesley Henderson runs a family business and has been a landlord for most of her life – practically all her adult life. This should give tenant readers assurance that she knows what she is talking about. Of course, there might be a bias towards landlords, given her position but that is what I want to find out in reading the book.

If you are as interested as I am, you can find copies from $10 to $14, used and new, from Amazon. And if you do get around to reading it, maybe you would like to share your thoughts and opinions in the comments?