Getting a child to read...
...as opposed to dragging him or her away from television.

Both Dhiman and I love to read. Books and magazines and newspapers and even brochures are strewn all over our home. We spend at least Rs 10,000 a year on books. But Riju's affinities still lie frustratingly with the television. And computer games. And remote-controlled cars.

Granted, he reads Tintin and newspapers. But I want him to devour Enchanted Woods, Famous Five, Adventurous Four, Jungle Book, Robinson Crusoe, Alice in Wonderland NOW. Why isn't he pouring over "Buro Angla", I wonder bitterly. Or, "Raj Kahini". But however much I advertise the cause for reading, my son still favours television shows. And I don't want to overdo this — it might turn him totally against reading.

The temptation to compare his childhood with our's is huge. We had read most Enid Blytons by his age, also some of the classics. Bengali books, too, were devoured at a great rate. But the comparison is unfair, really. The little television we had comprised mostly of once a week evening shows of Charlie Chaplin or Godzilla. Or, some years later, Johnny Soko and the Flying Robot and Diff'rent Strokes. Would we have read as much if we had the Cartoon Channel, or POGO or Nickelodeon vying for our attention? Probably not.

So what's the solution? Any suggestions?