C.S. Lewis, Turkish Delight, and the Beauty of Reading Aloud to Your Teens

C.S. Lewis, Turkish Delight, and the Beauty Of Reading Alound to your Teens

 Click on any of the photos to see them at full size.

Turkish Delight and the beauty of reading to your teens

Turkish Delight and the beauty of reading to your teens

Chronicles of Narnia with Turkish Delight.  The beauty of reading to your Teens

One of my favorite things about parenting is reading aloud to my children.  I don’t stop once they are able read to themselves.  I don’t stop when they reach the teen years. Even my husband appreciates being read to.  He will often ask me to read to him because he finds it so soothing.  What a loss we all would feel if I gave up reading aloud to my family!

Five reasons to read aloud to your teens:

  • People – even adults – like to be read to. Audio books are a billion, yes billion, dollar industry.
  • Listening to someone read to you can be a bonding experience.  The human voice is very pleasant to listen to.  We have dealt with some attachment issues with one of our children.  I can see out of the corner of my eye how she watches me when I read to her.  It is a very enjoyable and non-intimidating way for her to learn my face and continue to get to know me.
  • It is a way to enjoy quality time together without the distractions of the world.  The phone can go to voice mail.  The laptop is shut and there are no alarms telling me what facebook and e-mail are doing. The TV is turned off. I sometimes put on calm classical music and brew some tea to share with my listeners.
  • Reading aloud is a great way to introduce vocabulary, the pronunciation of words, and new ideas.  Wrestling with hard books can be a great way for everyone to learn.  We can hash out these concepts together.
  • Most cultures have an oral tradition. Stories and histories were passed down by word of mouth.  I think it is inherent in human beings to want to hear and repeat a good story.

And C.S. Lewis and Turkish delight?  Well, spending an evening having your mom read to you while you eat a sweet treat might just be something you remember for a very long time.

So, do you read aloud to anyone in your life or does anybody read to you?  Are you an audio book fan?

Leave a comment.

You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.-C.S. Lewis

Sharing at A Return to Lovliness, Imparting Grace, Jordan’s Onion, Nancherrow, Four Simply Living

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53 thoughts on “C.S. Lewis, Turkish Delight, and the Beauty of Reading Aloud to Your Teens

  1. Brittany

    I do still read to my son. He’s only 4 though. I was looking forward to when he can read by himself (soon!), but I guess I should continue reading to him after that.

    Reply
  2. Jill Foley

    I read to my daughters every day – they are 9 and 7 and it’s the time of day I cherish most. I love that we can get lost in a good story and experience it together. They are both good independent readers, but I plan to read aloud to them for as long as they will listen.

    We also do much of our homeschooling in a read-aloud style. I love learning with them.

    Reply
  3. Felicia

    I’ve never looked at it in this way! Thanks for the insight! I do occasionally read to my kids or one of them may read but we will have to incorporate the sweet treats while reading! And I love CS Lewis!! What a great pick!

    Reply
  4. roxy

    i remember that part of the book! and craving turkish delights. every once in a while, if i ask my husband to rub my shoulders, he’ll have me read to him. it’s pretty cute. 🙂

    Reply
  5. Kathleen Kidder

    Elizabeth visiting your blog and reading this delightful post was like taking a trip to a day spa! Beautiful design, beautiful photos, a wonderful experience and you made me want to go read aloud to my husband right now. I do read aloud to people occasionally at an assisted living residence, etc. Thank you for a delightful visit.

    Reply
  6. Alli

    My children are all grown and have left the nest, but I always enjoyed reading to them and as a result, most of them share the love of reading almost as much as I do.

    These days I am reading to my grandchildren. They are homeschooled by their mom (my daughter) and they also love to read and we all love C.S. Lewis.

    Reply
  7. Elizabeth

    Elizabeth,
    Beautiful post and comments. We must have something more in common than our names because today I just posted on reading to my children! It is a very beautiful post and I must admit I have never had Turkish delights! I enjoyed my visit here!

    Reply
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  9. Chrystal @ YUMeating

    I think its great that you still read to your kids. When I was about 8 or 9 I started reading adult novels even if I couldn’t understand a lot of it. However, because I would get so absorbed in things I couldn’t imagine being read to, even as a teen. I’ve never been able to deal with audiobooks either. Reading is just something I love and something I much prefer to do on my own. It’s my special time. I do this when I am writing my own books as well. I know a lot of authors read their stories outloud when done or stuck. I can’t do that. I’ll take the time to print it out and read it if I have too. My kiddo, now at 9, doesn’t mind being read to once in a while, but she has also discovered that reading can take her places that sometimes us reading outloud cant take her. (hope that makes sense)

    Reply
  10. Diane

    I love reading to my grandchildren, they are only 2 and 5 and they really enjoy it when I do.We also like to make up stories together. One will start and we each take turns adding on to the story. It is so much funand we all end up laughing at the silliness of our stories. Your post is a wonderful reminder. Thank you. 🙂

    Reply
  11. Jenn

    What a cool idea! I used to read to my 13 year old all the time. Now I have two toddlers and finding the margin to read to our oldest is hard. I know your kids loved this!

    Reply
  12. Amanda Smith

    My son is 12 and i don;t read to him anymore. But now I think I will. He doesn’t really like to read. I wish he did. My grandaughter is an avid reader and so is my husband.

    Reply
  13. Katie @ Pick Any Two

    My son is a toddler so obviously we read aloud to him all the time right now. You make some wonderful points for why that practice shouldn’t end when he learns to read by himself. I majored in literature and loved learning about the rich oral traditions in the history of so many cultures. You’re so right that reading aloud is just a part of who we are!

    Reply
  14. Toiia L. Rukuni

    Thank you for sharing five reasons for reading to your teen. I have a five year old and 7 month old daughter and tI love reading to them both, I am encouraged to continue to read to them both well into their teens and to try to make turkish delight as a lovely treat!

    Reply
  15. Megan Bailey

    First, I almost wish I could join in in listening to you read C. S. Lewis. He was one of the first authors I read as a child.
    Second, this is so encouraging. I am in my third trimester and am reading to my son who is in utero The Hobbit and this post has encouraged me to continue to reading to him beyond the toddler years.
    Thank you!

    Reply
  16. Lisa

    I love reading aloud to my kids. I’m just now getting a teen so I will have to keep this in mind. We love reading! And the turkish delight pics are mouth-watering!

    Reply
  17. Louisa

    Reading out loud seemed to lull my children to sleep when they were younger. Nowadays my eldest who loves to read prefers to read on his own but shares passages and likes to discuss. I still get to read to my youngest though. 🙂

    Reply
  18. Paulina

    My son is only 7 months and I LOVE to read to him, I am looking forward to when he interacts mire and know what’s going on! I really never considered reading to him when he is a teenager we might have to do that. My husband sometimes asks me to read to him and I enjoy it!

    Reply
  19. April

    Reading aloud is probably one of my least favorite things about parenting. I read quickly when I read to myself, and I feel like the story DRAGS along when I read it out loud. I find myself rushing through words, paragraphs, and even chapters if I can get away with it. I also rarely like being read to. My mind wanders. I need that connection of reading the book myself. I first learned how good it is to read to those who can read to themselves for the learning and the vocabulary. I still keep it up for my son though, who’s in fifth grade. It really is time for us to get a new book to read. Library time!

    Reply
  20. danielle

    I don’t like being read too – Im a very visual person and I need to see the words in order to understand whats going on. I do love reading with my kids though and listening to their little voices.

    Reply
  21. Celine

    Reading with my son is one of the best gifts I can give him everyday. I also love it when we read aloud together because imagination flows easily. Thanks for sharing this. Oh, and thanks for reminding me how good Turkish treats are. I have some in our cupboard that I’ll savor after reading some more of your posts 🙂 Have a great weekend!

    Reply
  22. Sarah

    I can see that being a good thing and very enjoyable… I know I love to listen in when my husband reads aloud to the baby. I guess it just never gets old. 😉

    Reply
  23. Kendra

    My husband is the family reader most night but you’ve made me think about taking this job back. I’ll make a point to do at least one night a week. It’ll allow me time to connect with my boys.

    Reply
  24. Becka

    I often force my kids to read to me. I tell them it’s so they can practice reading but it is really because I like to be read to too. 🙂 I like to read to them and I like to hear them read. 🙂

    Reply
  25. Tammy @ creativekkids.com

    I read aloud to my younger kids every day, but now that my older ones are in school all day, it is hard to read to them. I am still trying to read to them a couple times a week (besides what we do for family devotions.) I’ll have to make a point to do it more often in the summer.

    Reply
  26. Regina Partain

    Hi Elizabeth. Great post. I love reading aloud to family members. I don’t know if they enjoy it as much as I do, but they seem to like it. Of course, being addicted to reading certainly helps in this venture.

    Reply
  27. Chuck Taylor

    Thank you Elizabeth for this blog. You have brought an insight to me that I hadn’t considered. We read to our kids every night (ages 4 & 1), but the picture of the Turkish delight looks like a fun way to bring them into that story. I remember reading about Turkish delights when I was young and I always wondered what it would taste like. I think that giving such an opportunity to our kids to learn a strong command of the English language by reading to them is imperative for their brilliant future. What great thoughts. Thank you for taking the time to share this and invest so well in your kids. Blessings.

    Reply
  28. Dawn

    Thank you for sharing, I do read to my younger children. They all learned to read by Kindergarten. I seldom get time to read for myself now with all the activities they are involved in, but they still enjoy reading before bed. Visiting from Commentathon

    Reply
  29. Tammy

    I was hooked from the title. I do read aloud to my kids (8,7 and 5) but not consistently. I too have sensed how bonding it can be and am now inspired to do it more and more often. In fact, I recently borrowed the Harry Potter series in audio form from the library but it just wasn’t the same.

    The way you aligned former oral traditions with the use of reading aloud is what will motivate me to read aloud tonight and many, many nights to come.

    Truly…..thank you!

    Reply
  30. Ashleigh @ Passion for Life, Love, and Health

    I’ll be honest…this is the first post in the commentathon that has actually made me think and made me happy I came across it! While I don’t have any kids–teens or otherwise–I think your points can really be fitting for people in any type of more intimate relationships (especially couples or best friends). I don’t read aloud to anyone in my life, and no one reads aloud to me. But after reading this one post I am rethinking whether that will continue! There are some books that my fiancé is always wishing I would read…and now I think I’ll see if he’ll read them to me. I think I would enjoy the books so much more if they were part of a bonding experience. Thank you for writing this post!

    Reply
  31. Raki (Outside the Box Mom)

    So glad you shared this. At first, I thought my 11-year-old would never let me read to him as a teenager. But, as I read more of your post, I’ve realized that you’re right. I love to be read to. For the days when I don’t have the energy to use the right intonation or get the pronunciation right, it’s great to be read to. We will definitely have to try this.

    Reply
  32. Felicia

    That’s really great information! I don’t really have anyone to read to, but I know I will when I have my own children. When my husband and I were dating, we actually read together. I think it was a bonding experiencing in all honesty. I wouldn’t mind being read to and could certainly see how it could be beneficial.

    Reply
  33. LeeAnn G Taylor

    “Reading aloud is a great way to introduce vocabulary, the pronunciation of words, and new ideas.”

    I completely agree. I have read out loud to my kids (4 and 1) since they were born. We recently finished up Charlotte’s Web and the first book of the Little House on the Prairie series with my 4 year old and she loves to read “chapter books” each night before bed. We also have gone through the Jesus Storybook Bible several times. It’s a sweet sweet time of bonding and learning together.

    Reply
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  35. Kim

    I love visiting my friends’ kids and reading to them before bed. There’s a certain amount of vulnerability in reading aloud to someone and, in my opinion, a very personal experience to share with a child or loved one.

    Reply
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