Time to word up
How to get boys to read. By Adrienne Hannan. Is barefoot best for running?
Q: My12-year-old son used to love reading, but his interest has waned as he’s gotten older. He’s outgrown Harry Potter, and Twilight and The Hunger Games don’t interest him. Do you have any suggestions on what might fire up his imagination (in an age-appropriate way!). A: Boys’ brains are wired differently than girls’ brains, and this shows up in the way they read and the reading choices they make. Boys see the world as something that needs to be mastered and in order to accomplish these goals they see the world’s components as tools that need to be understood. Reading materials that break the world down into its component pieces, allow boys to learn the rules and find their place in the world, will be appealing. Conversely, a girl’s view of the world is often seen in terms of relationships and interactions.
Genres such as fantasy, action and adventure incorporate the boys’ world view – they usually feature a rollicking quest of some kind, which features a character’s search for their place in the world and for greater understanding of the world. Focus on stories that feature an external journey of discovery as internal selfdiscovery is a more female approach. Active plots speak to boys’ natures.
Non-fiction is appealing as it helps boys understand how the world works. Non-fiction books are no longer wordy dusty tomes – modern books are full of added stimuli in pictures, colour, facts and web-links. We often see groups of boys surrounding a large-format non-fiction book devouring facts and information. Comics, similarly, provide a complex visual format that is very appealing to boys. General consensus used to be that comics were a lesser form of reading, but modern research shows them to be a more complex form of literacy than traditional print books. Comics come in all forms these days and cover every genre Between the covers: Getting boys to read is just a matter of choosing the right topics. If you have a parenting question you’d like an expert to answer, please email editor@ essentialmums.co.nz with Ask an Expert in
the subject line. of traditional fiction, and often have multi-media tie-ins with movies, video games, TV programmes and websites.
Humour is another appealing genre for boys, the edgier and more boundary-pushing the better. Boys are inherently rulebound and they view the world as being made up of rules, methods and processes. Humour allows them to test the lines and push the boundaries a bit, and they derive much delight from driving adults crazy with gross jokes. The novelty of downloading an ebook can be a motivator. Many public library systems now have free ebook collections that you can borrow and download.
Competition is a motivator for boys – so an interesting way to get your boys’ interest up is to get them involved in some kind of reading competition, at your local library, book club, school or bookshop, or create one at home where everyone has to participate.
This time of the year is award season for New Zealand books. The New Zealand Post Book Awards winners are due to be announced tomorrow, and the Library and Information Association of New Zealand Aotearoa (LIANZA) has recently announced its book award finalists. These awards represent the best books published by New Zealanders, check out the previous winners for reading suggestions. The Storylines Notable Books list will offer similar inspiration for reading materials. Adrienne Hannan is child and youth services co-ordinator, libraries, for Wellington City Council. DO our ancestors know best when it comes to footwear? A new study provides compelling evidence that barefoot running can be beneficial.
The Barefoot Running Project is a collaboration between Osteopathy Australia, sport’s performance consultants BAT Logic, ISEAL and the Victoria University in Melbourne. It explores the effect of footwear and foot-strike on our bodies.
When we are barefoot or wearing lightweight shoes, we are more likely to land at the middle or front of the foot. Elite performance consultant Ed Wittich said forefoot strikers were better at controlling the centre of mass.
Barefoot athletes also had more natural shoulder motion when they ran, he said. ‘‘This could be a positive for shoulder rehab.’’
While the results suggest barefoot or minimalist running might be considered a form of treatment and/or rehab, he cautions that those who have not attempted it before show ‘‘higher ground-reaction forces’’.
Cushioned running shoes have become popular only in the past 40 years. Runners wearing them tend to strike the ground heel first, causing reverberation up through the knee.
It has been argued that the heel-strike is unnatural and that shoes may be causing one of the most common sport’s injuries, the aptly named runner’s knee.
Hitting the ground at the front of the foot sends the echo of impact sharply back through the ankle, but has long been considered the more natural style. When in full flight, our bodies driving forward, we come onto the ball of the foot. The world’s top sprinters run on their toes.
However, those who suffer ankle or foot issues might find something more supportive helpful.
Shoes that cushion for shock absorption and extra support for stability, however, may not help those with a tendency to knee trouble. They may increase the likelihood of injury.
This research came with the caveat that if you were changing, particularly to minimal, you should do so slowly to give the muscles a chance to build up.
Fairfax