By Gavin Mackintosh-
A five-year-old Indian-American Kiara Kaur has set a world record for reading 36 books nonstop for over two hours.
There are doubts as to the accuracy of the report, in particular, how many pages each book contained.
The Eye Of Media.Com has requested copies of the book the young child is said to have read, in order to assess the contents and the standard of the books. It is to be followed up for factual examination.
However, Kiara who lives in the UAE has entered the World Book of Records in London, and the Asia Book of Records for her achievement.
Born in the US to Chennai-based parents, Kiara is a US citizen, the young kids mother said Kiara’s grandfather, Lt Colonel MP Singh, played a large role in inspiring her interest in reading. “He used to listen to her stories on WhatsApp calls for hours together. He has had a great impact on Kiara’s upbringing,” she said.
The World Book of Records in London has referred to her a ‘child prodigy’ and certified her “for having specific ability to read non-stop 36 books in 105 minutes at the age of 4 years on 13th February.”
The Asian Book of Records has stated that she “set a record for reading the maximum number of books nonstop”, but did not say how many pages the books contained.
Kiara’s interest in reading was discovered by one of her teachers at a nursery school in Abu Dhabi she attended for a few months last year before the coronavirus-induced lockdown shut it down. Her teacher apparently spotted Kiara reading books at the school’s small library.
“I love to read because I like to see the colourful pictures in the book. And they are written big so I can read the words easily (sic),” Kiara was quoted as saying by NDTV.
She also said that her favourite books are Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, and Shooting Star.
A lot of children from Asian backgrounds are pushed to develop their reading from an early age, but the child prodigy’s reading ability is extremely remarkable.
They respond at different rates, but researchers believe that children of highly educated parents who were active readers themselves, could develop a very high aptitude for learning and motivation for reading.
Indians, like many African parents, apply enormous pressure on their children from a young age to be educated, leading to many of their children to either do very well academically, or do very badly due to the high volume of academic material and extreme pressure.
The financial resources of parents is often a factor that influences the enthusiasm and dedication of children
Children who succeed under such intense pressure usually develop a strong intellectual acumen that genetically benefit their children, especially under supervision in developed countries.