Soha Ali Khan says parents may sometimes need to incentivise children to read, rather than expect every child to naturally enjoy books.
Because routine is important for a child, in a recent interview, she spoke about her non-negotiable 8 pm bedtime for Inaaya and said she tries to maintain a schedule. Soha’s message to parents is therefore less about finding the perfect reward and more about looking at their own habits. Because sometimes, the parenting lesson a child absorbs is not the one a parent says out loud- it is the one they watch every day.
“You read books around them, you leave books around them,” she said. Getting a child to pick up a book when there is a television, tablet or phone waiting nearby is hardly an easy parenting battle. Soha Ali Khan knows this well. The actor and mother to daughter Inaaya Naumi Kemmu has admitted that sometimes, getting children to develop a habit they don’t naturally enjoy requires a little negotiation- and even a little bribery. Soha Ali Khan stresses the importance of parents being role models, saying children are more likely to adopt habits they regularly see at home. Instead, she believes books need to become part of the child’s surroundings. It is a small distinction, but an important one. Rather than presenting reading as yet another rule imposed by adults, parents can make it something children regularly see and experience at home. In fact, Soha’s comments fit with the parenting philosophy she has spoken about elsewhere: she sets boundaries for her daughter, but also understands that consistency has to come from the adults at home. A child may need an incentive to pick up a book initially. But if reading is never seen at home, a lecture about its importance may have limited impact.
