Nurturing reading habit

Have you ever read a book to your children? Ok, I'm asking Asian parents. I understand very well that reading to children is in the culture of the Westerners but not as much for the Asians. 

When my friend first told me to read to my foetus, I was like, "Urgh?! Read to him when he was not born yet?" My friend told  me that though foetus could not see what we were reading, he/she could hear us and viola, her sons remembered the stories told to them when they were just foetus. Is that true? 

I tried reading to my son when he was just 5 months old in my tummy and I felt bored. I felt like I was talking to a wall! I would rather spend time watching TV than reading, "A for Apple" to an unborn. So, I gave up and only read once in a long long while. 

When my son was born, I thought he would be too young to understand anything and hence, delayed reading to him again. Once when we went back to my husband's hometown in Johor, my sister-in-law advised me to read to my son as early as possible. She has a very good example - her son, who loves books more than anything else. It was awesome to watch that boy reading book after book. So, without any delay, I started to read to my son when he was four months old. I read to him whenever I was breastfeeding him. It felt good. He listened attentively. I bought simple books with short sentences and big pictures. 

Now, I thank God because my son answers most of the questions asked by his teachers. I thank God that I read to him early. I thank God when teachers came to me and said, "Your son knows a lot! You must have taught him well." I thank God that my son will pick a book and read by himself. I thank God for everything! 

I am one proud mother when my son would pick a book and sit down to read all by himself.