Read, father.

As parents, we find ourselves doing things for our children that we would not typically do otherwise. This is probably the essential predicament of parenthood. From it also arises the joys of parenthood – engaging the world again through the eyes of your child.

This is what I think about as I read “Moo, Baa, LaLaLa” for the 527th time to my 3-year-old daughter. Left to myself, it’s not a book I would pick up. But of course, I’m not left to myself. Not for an instant. Not ever. It’s a strange twisted kind of joy.

There have been a gazillion words written on the benefits of reading to young children It’s something many of us enjoy, but for many others of us, it isn’t something we relish. We do it because we put the child first.

One of the CNMI’s great programs is MotherRead-FatherRead. The program was born some 20 years ago when a young working mother, Nancye Brown Gaj of North Carolina, was reading to her 3-year-old son and wondered: What would it be like for a parent who did not have the skills to do something as simple as read to a child?

The main reason many people take adult literacy classes is because of their desire to read to their children. MotherRead-FatherRead was started by Ms. Gaj as a way to help people to read to their children. It has since grown to include people from all walks of life, who have the desire to become better parents and to learn with other parents. The program brings together parents about once a week for eight weeks. During a session they read some children’s literature and discuss things like the motivation of the main character of the book. “Did her goals change over the course of the story?” (That’s the sort of thing I never could figure out during high school English classes.) The sessions give parents new skills and insights in helping their children get the most out of a book or story. Parents may borrow books to take home for the week

Mary Binauea, the coordinator of the CNMI MotherRead-FatherRead program, points out that, “At the end of the eight weeks, parents who have attended six or more sessions receive a nice book bag and a few paperback books to keep.”

Childrearing often falls primarily upon mothers, but I would like to encourage fathers to get involved with the program. Dr. John Gottman, a child development specialist, points out that the emotional intelligence of a child is highly dependent upon the emotional involvement of the child’s father, more so than the mother. This was big news to me, and also big motivation.

So, consider signing up for the MotherRead-FatherRead program. You may contact Mary at 235-7322 or by email at binauea@hotmail.com

(David Khorram, MD is a board certified ophthalmologist, and director of Marianas Eye Institute. Questions and comments are welcome. Call 235-9090 or email eye@vzpacifica.net. Copyright © 2006 David Khorram.)