FAMILY MAKES TIME SPENT READING A PRIORITY ON DAILY BASIS

Just before Shannon and Jared Ritter go to sleep, mom and dad like to pair up with their children and read a book. Reading in the Ritter house is not only a pleasure, it is a way to unwind at the end of the day for Kenny and Laura Ritter of Cape Girardeau and their daughter Shannon, 5, and son Jared, 2.

"The TV's off and we just read," said Laura Ritter. "We let them pick out a couple of books before bedtime and we read them with them in bed."

Ritter said she values the time she spends one-on-one with her children, and reading to them provides that opportunity to her in an enjoyable way. She said in addition to the closeness she has seen her children become more articulate because of reading.

"We started going to the library when Shannon was 2," she said, "and we've been going ever since."

Ritter said in addition to each child checking out two or three books every week, educational movies also are available at the library. She said many times movies and books are checked out with a similar theme in mind.

"Before we went to Florida we checked out books about the ocean and sea life," she said. "Last weekend we went camping, so we checked out books about wildlife and trees."

Susan Bartlett, coordinator of Cape Girardeau's Parents as Teachers program, said reading to children is "crucially important." Bartlett said families like the Ritters use reading to educate their children and strengthen the parent-child bond.

"Parents should read to their children from birth on," Bartlett said. "Even when they get older, it's important to share books beyond their reading level. And it doesn't have to be books; it can be the newspaper, magazines, letters or cereal boxes."

Bartlett said the most important aspect of reading to young children is to fuel a child's interest in reading later in life. She said simply allowing a small child to hold a book, determine which way the book opens, where the pictures are, and other simple tasks are important for a child to foster a later interest in reading.

"I can recall an uncle reading the funnies to me on Sunday," she said. "He was the only one who exposed me directly to the newspaper, and I still read the funnies and think of him."

Ritter said books her children like were some of her favorites as a child. She said Jared sometimes requests books about Curious George and both Shannon and Jared enjoy books with the Berenstain Bears.

"I like the books with the bears because there is always a message or a lesson," Ritter said. "It's always a subtle one too."

Bartlett said besides the messages and lessons books offer children, reading materials also can be used as interactive games. She said other sources of printed material like newspapers can be used for interactive games with children. Bartlett said by taking two copies of the same sale circular in a newspaper, and cutting the pictures of the sale items out, children can mix and match pairs of pictures as a game.

Bartlett said pop-up books encourage interaction in children. Many more books that benefit children have been written in recent years, she said.

"The market for children's books is vast these days," Bartlett said. "They are very articulate and expressive. The pictures are classic artwork and some of them are expensive. But books have a greater, lasting effect than other things."