Think back to Christmas when you were a kid. Remember how excited you were as you counted down the days until Christmas eve when Santa would arrive?

You probably remember all the sights leading up to the holidays – the twinkling lights, the wonderful scents, visiting friends and family, dinner parties, cookies and treats galore and classic Christmas songs at home, at school, in the stores and even in the streets.

Hearing those old carols from years past can sure trigg6er a stroll down memory lane at Christmas time, can’t they? Today, children all over the world still love those same tunes and the same Christmas specials and they too will have fond memories to share with the next generation of children.

Here are a few of my own favorites:

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was and is still one of everyone’s favorites. Remember how happy you were when Rudolph triumphed and ending up saving Christmas by helping Santa Claus guide the sleigh safely through the night? It was the one thing that made him different that also made him a hero.

Another one? Frosty the Snowman had us all imagining dancing with Frosty in the playground, in the streets, and at the train station. We’d singing happily about having fun just like Frosty suggested. Thumpity-thump-thump, thumpity-thump-thump, way more than just a song. In our childish imaginations, Frosty was real and we all delighted in hearing a song about him or watched him on television.

Another favorite is the catchy tune of Jingle Bells even though most kids these days can’t relate to a sleigh or horses. But one that they will be able to understand and be affected by (at least most of the children I know are) is Santa Claus is Coming to Town – many small children learn how to control themselves during the crazy holiday season based on the words of that song! We wanted to be on his list – the nice side not the naughty.

As for being nice during the season or good, another old time favorite is the Chipmunks singing their Christmas Don’t Be Late song.

As for me, I did have one particular favorite – being the poor kid in the county with a love for animals I really related to The Little Drummer Boy. Rum-pa-pa-pum.

Well that was a fun walk down memory lane. I sang them, taught them to my daughter and one day she’ll share them all with her child. And after all, isn’t that one of the wonderful parts of Christmas – passing on traditions in a very un-traditional world these days – and creating new memories of this cherished holiday with loved ones.

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When I was young I was all but ignored. When I had my daughter then, I was at a serious loss. I hadn’t a clue how to parent her as I’d never been parented myself. Yes, I had been provided for, for the first 7 years of my life, but not guided or taught or assisted in the exploration of the world. I had to make sure my own child would have the opportunities I was never afforded – time of a parent.

When Veronica was just 4 weeks old a very good friend of mine said: “Read to her. All the time.”

“But she doesn’t understand the words! Why would I read to her now? Can’t this wait a few years?”

“No. Start now. Here’s a book – Slippy Chicken Soup with Rice. Read it.”

So I sat on the edge of the bed, tiny baby Veronica drifting off to sleep “Slippy once, Slippy twice…slippy chicken soup with rice!”

Feeling rather silly. I kept it up anyway. Every night there was a story. Right up until she was 10 years old. Sometimes she’d read to me. Other times we’d alternate paragraphs. Serious bonding time. Serious make a child literate time.

In a world that is slowly but surely turning away from paper books and having faces glued to monitors and television screens, the importance of developing a passion for reading when very young cannot be overlooked. Reading is a habit and should be established well before they even know what you’re saying. There’s no forcing required – I can’t tell you how many horror stories I’ve heard from full grown men about their mothers shoving words down their throats and chastising them for being incapable.

If you can’t excite your child over the written word yourself, before you do any damage, consider a few options:

Sign him up for reading class. There are many well structured after school reading classes that aim to draw children to books. They help kids with diction, idioms and phrases. For young children, these classes can be fun with animated characters and pictures. Illustrated picture books, rhymes, silly songs and pretend stories all work to engage a young child into the joy of reading.

If your child has a favorite character, topic or animal, pick a series of books that features this character. For my son, it was Spiderman. Thanks to a love of wildlife, my best friend’s son latched on to some great chapter books early in his childhood.

Set a good example. A skill like reading cannot be learnt in isolation. Do not leave all the hard work to the after school program. Pick up books that you think your child will like. Sit and spend time reading together, or reading seperately, but in the same room.

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