When it comes to parenting in 2019, many parents are making the most of helpful apps and devices, but nine times out of 10, books still win over gadgets in the development stakes.
Who doesn't have a fond childhood memory with books, whether it's the annual school book fair or the fairy tale you asked your grandmother to read over and over again? Reading to your child is an easy family tradition to continue, one that stirs the imagination, creates deeper bonds and brings contentment to you and your child.
The problem is children sometimes don't have the appetite for books even if you're an avid reader yourself. A new scheme is aiming to gift children the love of reading by making free books available to children as young as three months old.
The Bookseed programme, organised by Children’s Books Ireland, hopes to encourage parents to read to their children and will start sharing free books in Limerick next month.
With €50,000 in funding from the JP McManus Trust, the scheme will see 4,000 books handed out to babies, starting with one book at three months, another at between seven and nine months old and a final one when the child is one.
Speaking on The Ray D'Arcy Show yesterday, Children’s Books Ireland director Elaina Ryan outlined how the scheme is designed to promote long-term reading.
The programme will start early, with the first two books for each child distributed through health centres in Rathkeale, Newcastlewest, Abbeyfeale and Croom, as well as Southhill and Barrack View in Limerick City. The final book will be available in parents' local libraries.
And what book will these little ones be getting? Owl Bat Bat Owl, a charming story by Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick is the first book to be handed out, telling the story of a family of owls who become neighbours with a family of bats.
The initiative will start on 4 March and will run for two years. It is hoped that, if successful, the scheme will be rolled out nationwide.
