Everyone who's visited us in UK have made this observation to us - the country's full of babies. An uncle had said that he felt he was at risk of being run down by a baby buggy every time he walked on the pavements here. In fact, it seems common to see families with 4 children in tow and so multiple baby buggies is hardly a rare sight.
I guess that's why it is not surprising to find that here, the pregnancy/childbirth industry is huge and ante- and post-natal care superb. Or these could be in response to the high birth rate here, who knows? Public health services here are free, meaning childbirth is free. There are all sorts of grants available for application for British citizens, so something is bound to suit one. A British citizen preggie can also apply to have her prescription costs paid for by the state as well as receive a grant, basically some preggie pocket money to support you in your pregnancy, up to you to spend on baby stuff, maternity stuff, vitamins etc. And the child once delivered, can apply to have a child start-up fund, basically some seed money to start his savings account. Ok, we don't qualify mostly, since we are not British citizens, but it certainly makes you appreciate the state's help, no matter the criticisms of the welfare state.
After delivery, a community midwife makes about 3 home visits to check on you and baby's progress. Once discharged by the midwife, the health visitors take over. 1 home visit and the rest are trips made by us to the health visitors' office to have Baby weighed and any questions, doubts clarified. At the 6th week mark, both Baby and I get one check-up at the GP's and Baby gets a 6 week check and weighing at the health visitor's office again. Then starts the vaccinations.
So, today, we brought Julien for his 6 week checks, the doctor cleared him and so did the health visitor. He is now a healthy 5.04kg, as heavy as a sack of rice and that explains the aching backs and arms both of us are experiencing. But he has also "progressed" so much in that he is more alert and aware now and always looking about, checking out his environment. He tries to lift his neck to look around, when we hold him on our shoulder and he increasingly smiles, giggles and makes gurgling noises. In short, he has become a big boy and a more and more interactive baby. It still amazes me how all this growth has been managed just on milk!
We were very pleased by the outcomes of our visit. And the icing on the cake? A Bookstart gift pack for babies. Basically, we received some free books to start Julien on his love affair with books. There are beautifully illustrated leaflets inside the pack to explain why babies should start interacting with books from birth and cajole otherwise-reluctant parents to start establishing this habit. There is a laminated card of nursery rhymes, again with lovely and engaging illustrations. And a few books suitable for babies - lots of pictures and a few words.
If there's any topic close to my heart, it's the importance of reading. And that gift pack really touched me. I thought what a wonderful idea it is - to educate and encourage parents about the importance of reading. And what a wonderful gift for the kids - a love for reading! Intrigued by the movement, I checked it up on Internet. And this is what I found:
"Bookstart is the national programme that encourages all parents and carers to enjoy books with children from as early an age as possible. It is administered by the national independent charity Booktrust. It is a public and private partnership and is sponsored by over 25 children's publishers.
Bookstart began in 1992 in Birmingham with a pilot project involving 300 babies. Booktrust commissioned Prof. Barrie Wade and Dr Maggie Moore to undertake research into the effects of early book-sharing on child development. Wade and Moore found that Bookstart children began school with significant advantages and with higher attainment in all aspects of the pre-school, nine baseline assessments."
But what was more interesting were the research findings of Prof. Wade and Dr. Moore, when they did an observational study, where parents shared a book with their children, of two to three years, and compared Bookstart families with a non-Bookstart sample. Basically, they found that a greater percentage of parents were more involved in reading to their children and encouraging other related skills like getting the children to make predictions. They were also more likely to get books as presents for their children as well as bring them to the library. Here are the exact research findings (and I am including them here as a reminder to myself of the importance of reading, in case, one day, they removed these statistics from their website!):
Research findings
- 83% of Bookstart parents read the whole text compared with 34% of non-Bookstart parents
- 64% talked about the story, compared with only 24%
- 43% encouraged the child to join in, compared with 17%
- 68% encouraged the child to make predictions, compared with 38%
- 68% of Bookstart children looked at books as one of their favourite activities 21% for children who had not received Bookstart
- 75% of Bookstart parents said they usually bought books as presents for their children compared with 10% for parents who had not received Bookstart
- 43% of Bookstart parents took their children to the library at least once a month compared with 17% for parents who had not received Bookstart.
It was a sobering revelation. And even if we did not have these data in the past, I know our parents always understood the importance of reading and education. My parents had gone to much trouble to enrol my sister and I in a missionary primary school, fearing that we would not learn English properly otherwise, since we are a Chinese-speaking household. And every weekend, we would be going to the library or the then biggest bookshop in Singapore (Popular in Bras Basah) and sitting there and reading books and then going home with our loans. I had always thought then that it was great that every library card can borrow up to 6 books and we can max out each other's card.
The reading habit was so ingrained in us, that both of us have a great love for books. I remembered my secondary school teacher being surprised when she asked me about my plans for the afternoon after the last paper in one r year's examination - I had said I was going to Queenstown library to borrow books. I still remember my favourite series and character at that time - The Great Brain, a series of children's books by American author John Dennis Fitzgerald (1907-1988). He based his stories on his childhood experiences, which mainly center on the escapades of his older brother, Tom Dennis Fitzgerald, nicknamed "The Great Brain" because of his sheer intelligence.
And luckily for Julien, Daddy Low has a great love for reading since young too. His favourite story about his reading history is how in a family quiz, he had the right answer to the discoverer of America - was an Italian explorer by the name of Amerigo Vespucci in 1497 and NOT Christopher Columbus - and he eagerly shot up his hand, thinking smugly that no one else would know the real answer... and was crestfallen when the adults awarded the point to the cousin, who said "Christopher Columbus!" I think this convinced Daddy Low of the importance of reading, but also taught him that adults are not always right! Haha :) So, anyway, with both parents who love reading, Julien has a good learning environment.
So far, I have been reading the rhymes off the laminated card to Julien. And he has grown to recognize the one that goes "Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle". Everytime we reach "And the cow jumped over the moon", he crinkles up into a smile and sometimes gurgles with delight. It is such nice way to spend time together! Apparently, we will receive 2 other gift packs - one for toddlers (18-30 months) and one more for 3-4 year-olds. Bookstart also works with libraries and one of their projects is Bookstart Rhymetime in libraries. These sessions teach children and their accompanying parents rhymes and songs and babies from one day old onwards can sign up and join! I am looking very much forward now to go to these activities with Julien and to go through his growing library with him. Jules, I hope you are as excited as me and will have an enduring relationship with books :)
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