The story of how I gained a lifelong treasure by continuing to 'read 3 picture books a day' for 5 years

Hello, this is Taakun^^

Today, I'd like to talk about how
consistency is amazing!
as a habit.

Ever since my daughter was born, I have made it a
nightly routine
to read 3 picture books before bed.

Daughter: "Today I want to read 'Pan Dorobou' and 'Momotaro'~"
Me: "What about the third one?"
Daughter: "You can choose, Daddy."
Me: "Then, how about 'The Town Musicians of Bremen'?"
Daughter: "Sounds good!^^"
Me: "What order should we read them in?"
Daughter: "Bremen, Momo, Pan."
Me: "Okay~"

Every night, we have conversations like this,
happily choosing books,
and reading them together.

There are nights when it gets late and we say,
"Let's just read one tonight,"
but that's rare.

We even take picture books with us on trips,
so there are almost no days
where we don't read at least one.

We've been doing this for over 5 years,
since she was a baby,
and I really feel how powerful habits are.

My daughter is quite diligent about
her piano practice,
school homework, and studies,
but there are still days
when she just doesn't want to do them.

However, that never happens with picture books.

Even on nights when it's getting late and I think,
"Maybe we'll just do one tonight,"
she always asks,
"Daddy, how many books can we read tonight?"

Even on nights when I'm feeling lazy and think,
"Maybe we can skip reading tonight,"
she always brings me books, saying,
"Daddy, we're reading these ones tonight."

For my daughter, reading picture books is,
just a given.

It's gone beyond a habit and become her standard.

I truly realize that this is what it means to make something a habit.

When looking into early childhood education,
I've seen the phrase "read 10,000 picture books by age 3,"
but

I never really intended
to go that far.

I just wanted the time spent reading books
to be a fun time
for both me and my daughter.

I just wanted her to naturally grow to love picture books.

That was all I had in mind.

As a result, my daughter and I have read a total of
1,000 books a year,
and over 5,000 picture books
in total over 5 years.

Compared to "10,000 books by age 3,"
it might seem modest,
but the number of books isn't what's important.

The fact that reading picture books became
second nature to my daughter.

The fact that picture books became
something she is happy to receive.

I believe this is a lifelong treasure.

By the way, my daughter recently made her first purchase
with her own money,
and what she chose was a "picture book."

I wrote about that experience in this article ^^

Incidentally, it is said that children who have read over 10,000 picture books
have the following characteristics.

• They grew to love books

• Their vocabulary increased

• Their understanding of text improved

• Their memory improved

• Their concentration increased

It's not the case for everything,
but at the very least, all of these apply to my daughter.

Even just 3 books a day is enough to cultivate these skills.

My daughter was born early in the year, but
at daycare, she was told that
her language development was advanced.

She remembers details well, and
when she starts working on exercises or drawing,
she becomes so absorbed that she loses track of time.

I truly realize the power of habits.

Just 3 books a day.

I feel that simply by stacking these up,
there has been an incredible effect.

You don't really notice this before you start
or while you are actually doing it.
It's something you don't realize.

It's something you notice
only after you've built it up for years
and look back,
thinking, 'Wait, could it be?'

Climbing a mountain
is just an uphill climb
while you're on your way up.
It's just a mountain path.

It's only when you reach the summit
and look at the view
that you truly realize
you've come to a high place.

Whether it's studying,
work,
hobbies,
or business,

in everything, 'consistency is everything'.

Consistency is power

might sound like a cliché,
but at the end of the day,

there is nothing that beats
consistency.

The process of growth in things
is not a straight line.

It follows a curve.

The more you continue,
the more you reap the benefits of compound interest.

For example, with musical instruments,
you improve faster by practicing 10 minutes every day
than by practicing for an hour once a week.

If you want to challenge yourself with something,
I recommend not putting too much pressure on yourself.

What is something I can do every day?

Try focusing on that.

In my daughter's and my case,
it was 'reading 3 picture books a day'.

I think that
if it had been 5 books a day, it wouldn't have lasted.

If I had thought, "I must read 10,000 books by age three,"
and tried to read 10 books a day,
I think I would have retired long ago.

I was able to keep going because it was only 3 books a day.

The important thing is not
"because others are doing it"
or "because someone told me to do it."

It is whether you can do it yourself.

Even if it's small,
please try to move forward at your own pace.

When you look back,
you will find that you have come quite a long way. ^^