Excitement displaced the foggy, wet weather as tiny tots from local ECD centres enjoyed a reading walking tour in Nantes Park.
Hosted by the City of Cape Town, the initiative commemorated World Read Aloud Day on Wednesday 2 February.
A child should have read 1 000 short stories by the time they reach the age of 7, starting while mom is pregnant.
This is the campaign the City is promoting.
At the event hosted by the City, along with partners in local government as well as literacy organisation Na’ilibali, in commemoration of World Read Aloud Day, children were encouraged to read as much as they can and to make use of the City’s library services.
Mayco Member for Community Services and Health Patricia van der Ross said reading allowed children to imagine and dream, something that must be encouraged. She added that children should actually develop reading skills and a love for this activity from a young age.
“When I was growing up I would walk to our local library and stick my head in a book and be there whenever I wanted to be,” she said. “We need to get that excitement back into the kids and have them know that reading can be fun. It must not just be for studying and being forced to sit behind a book, it can be fun and one’s imagination can run wild.”
The City aims to encourage parents to read aloud and sing to their babies when still in utero, from around 26 weeks.
“We want to encourage mommy to sing and read to baby while still in the womb,” Van der Ross said.
World Read Aloud Day is commemorated annually on the first Wednesday of February. Van der Ross encourages parents to help their children read.
“On a Saturday morning, go out to the library with your kids and find the books they are interested in. They have 14 days to return it to the library.
“We are always speaking about alternatives our kids can have, other than being on the road. Give them that opportunity. Reading is an amazing alternative to being on the street.”
