6019. Reading to a 4-year-old grandson before bedtime

 

 

On 30 Jun 2026, at around 8.30pm, my grandson HOW invited me to his bedroom to read for him for the first time. He always tried to sleep as late as possible. "I can't read," he said as he looked at me with his bright round eyes. "Grandpa, come sit on the floor with me," he sat cross-legged and had chosen his favourite bedtime book.

"I can't sit like you," I replied. He understood as he had seen me having mobility issues as a 76-year-old.
His bedroom was congested with two single beds, a small square table 2 feet by 2 feet and a book shelf of around 3 feet wide.

I sat on the right corner of this table and he sat on my left while 80 percent of the table was filled with his toys. "I cannot see the book as you read," How explained as I held the book on a higher level to read to him. I spotted a "nook" at the end of the single bed where a bar had been installed to prevent him from falling out. 

I sat on this nook and immediately regretted doing it. The mattress sunk low and I was sitting with my knees higher than my hip level. I know I could not stand up as my legs are weak and there are no handles to grip for me to stand.

I read him "From head to toe" by Earl Carle. He exercised on the restrictive hard parquet floor of around 4 square feet between the bed and the table and bookshelf. On one page of a donkey kicking with his hind legs, the writer asked "Can you do it?".

"I can do it!". He followed the illustration of the boy doing a back kick. Insufficient space for his back legs to extend. His right knee hit the hard floor. He knee was painful. He winced in pain and looked for his nanny in the next room for comfort.

I decided to get up and got him to Grandma's bedroom where he could exercise on the big king-sized mattress. "HOW HOW," I said. "Ask your Daddy to help pull me up as he is strong." The nanny wanted to help me but she was a petite woman and she could hurt her back. Daddy came with a stern face. He pulled me up with both hands easily.

In Grandma's room, HOW HOW had lots of space and safety for his back kicks. Grandma focused on her smartphone game while I had a lovely time reading to HOW HOW. It was nearly 10pm. He felt the weariness and said: "I am going to sleep." He opened the door and went downstairs to his room to sleep without saying "Good night Grandpa, Good night Grandma. Grandpa, Thank you for reading to me!".
Maybe, one night, I will teach this mischievious grandson the values of life when I read to him.

  
 

A nook is a small, quiet, or sheltered space, such as a cozy corner in a room or a secluded spot in nature. It is often used to create a dedicated area for a specific activity, such as a reading nook or a breakfast nook.

Earl Carle's "Head To Toe" book
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpCebCxrPVk.. A footage of the donkey kicking with his back legs.

Blog story:
https://2010vets.blogspot.com/2026/07/6019-reading-to-4-year-old-grandson.html

More educational videos:
youtube.com/Dr Sing Kong Yuen

Stock photos for sale:
www.shutterstock.com/g/toapayohvets

 

 

 

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On 30 Jun 2026, at around 8.30pm, my grandson HOW invited me to his bedroom to read for him for the first time. He always tried to sleep as late as possible. "I can't read," he said as he looked at me with his bright round eyes. "Grandpa, come sit on the floor with me," he sat cross-legged and had chosen his favourite bedtime book.

"I can't sit like you," I replied. He understood as he had seen me having mobility issues as a 76-year-old.
His bedroom was congested with two single beds, a small square table 2 feet by 2 feet and a book shelf of around 3 feet wide. 

I sat on the right corner of this table and he sat on my left while 80 percent of the table was filled with his toys. "I cannot see the book as you read," How explained as I held the book on a higher level to read to him. I spotted a "nook" at the end of the single bed where a bar had been installed to prevent him from falling out. 

I sat on this nook and immediately regretted doing it. The mattress sunk low and I was sitting with my knees higher than my hip level. I know I could not stand up as my legs are weak and there are no handles to grip for me to stand.

On 30 June 2026, at 8.30pm, I read to my grandson, HOW HOW the book - "From head to toe" by Earl Carle. He exercised on the restrictive hard parquet floor of around 4 square feet in his congested bedroom while he acted on the illustrations in this book. 

He had only this walking space between the bed and the square table and bookshelf. On one page of a donkey kicking with his hind legs, the writer asked "Can you do it?". 

"I can do it!". He followed the illustration of the boy doing a back kick. Insufficient space for his back legs to extend. His right knee hit the hard floor. He knee was painful. He winced in pain and looked for his nanny in the next room for comfort.

I decided to get up and got him to Grandma's bedroom where he could exercise on the big king-sized mattress. However, my 76-year-old legs were weak. I could not stand up from a low position above a very soft mattress at one corner of his bed. 

"HOW HOW," I whispered so as not to wake up his younger brother. "Ask your Daddy to help pull me up as he is strong." His nanny wanted to help me but she was a petite woman around 5 feet 3 inches tall. She could hurt her back! Daddy came with a stern face. He pulled me up with both hands easily. 

In Grandma's room, HOW HOW had lots of space and safety for his back kicks on the king-sized mattress.Grandma welcomed him. She focused on her smartphone game while I had a lovely time reading to HOW HOW. 

He did his back kicks, thumbed his chest, arched his back and did the exercises I read the book.   

Time flew like a tornado and it was  nearly 10pm. He said: "I am going to sleep." He opened the door and went downstairs to his room. He left suddenly. He didn’t say "Good night Grandpa, Good night Grandma. Grandpa, Thank you for reading to me!".

Maybe, one night, I will teach this mischievious grandson the values of life when I read to him another time.
 

A nook is a small, quiet, or sheltered space, such as a cozy corner in a room or a secluded spot in nature. It is often used to create a dedicated area for a specific activity, such as a reading nook or a breakfast nook. 

Earl Carle's "Head To Toe" book 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpCebCxrPVk. A footage of the donkey kicking with his back legs.

Blog: Script for creation of this video by Dr Sing Kong Yuen:
https://2010vets.blogspot.com/2026/07/6019-reading-to-4-year-old-grandson.html

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SCRIPT FOR VIDEO:

"I can do it!". The 4-year-old boy adopted an illustration of the boy doing a back kick in Earl Carle’s “FROM HEAD TO TOE” book.   

A space of 2 feet x 4 feet in his congested bedroom, between his first bed and bookshelf was insufficient space for his back legs to extend fully. His right knee hit the hard floor. He winced in pain, tear drops flowed down his round eyes. 

He looked for his nanny in the partitioned room for comfort. His 2-year-old brother had fever and was sleeping soundly hugging his bolster. 

 

 

I decided to get up and got him to Grandma's bedroom where he could exercise on the big king-sized mattress. However, my 76-year-old legs were weak. I could not stand up from such a low position, above a very soft sinking mattress at one corner of his bed. 

"HOW HOW," I whispered so as not to wake up his younger brother. "Ask your Daddy to help pull me up as he is strong." His nanny wanted to help me but she was a petite woman around 5 feet 3 inches tall. She could hurt her back! Daddy came with a stern face. He pulled me up with both hands easily. 

I decided to get up and got him to Grandma's bedroom where he could exercise on the big king-sized mattress. However, my 76-year-old legs were weak. I could not stand up from a low position above a very soft mattress at one corner of his bed. 

"HOW HOW," I whispered so as not to wake up his younger brother. "Ask your Daddy to help pull me up as he is strong." His nanny wanted to help me but she was a petite woman around 5 feet 3 inches tall. She could hurt her back! Daddy came with a stern face. He pulled me up with both hands easily. 

In Grandma's room, HOW HOW had lots of space and safety for his back kicks on the king-sized mattress.Grandma welcomed him. She focused on her smartphone game while I had a lovely time reading to HOW HOW. 

He did his back kicks, thumbed his chest, arched his back and did the exercises I read the book.   

Time flew like a tornado and it was  nearly 10pm. He said: "I am going to sleep." He opened the door and went downstairs to his room. He left suddenly. He didn’t say "Good night Grandpa, Good night Grandma. Grandpa, Thank you for reading to me!".
I will teach this mischievious grandson the values of life when I read to him again.

 A nook is a small, quiet, or sheltered space, such as a cozy corner in a room or a secluded spot in nature. It is often used to create a dedicated area for a specific activity, such as a reading nook or a breakfast nook. 

Earl Carle's "Head To Toe" book 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpCebCxrPVk. A footage of the donkey kicking with his back legs.


Blog: Script for creation of this video by Dr Sing Kong Yuen:
https://2010vets.blogspot.com/2026/07/6019-reading-to-4-year-old-grandson.html

 

DEDICATION

On 1 July 2026, this video was created for my 3.5-year-old grandson, How How.

He told me he cannot read. He loves all his “one hundred books”
in his bookshelf in his room. Most books were bought by his Daddy.If someone can read to him every night, he may be able to read by himself. I know he can count though!Recently, he counted 
from 1 to 100 in Mandarin to me!