Fostering a love of reading in your children is one of the most important things that you can do as a parent. Reading provides innumerable benefits: it opens up doorways to entirely new worlds; it helps to develop imagination; teaches invaluable knowledge and life lessons, and encourages higher-level thinking skills (just to name a few.)
Given all of the wonderful advantages that reading offers children, how do parents help their children develop a love of reading? Here are some creative ideas that will help you turn your children into passionate bookworms.
Make It Fun
For some children, simply opening up a book and reading isn’t enough to spark their interest. It may seem boring, especially for kids who are super active. Don’t make reading a chore; make it fun! Create voices. Act out the stories you read together. Use props, such as puppets or stuffed animals. Make it a family event.
When you make reading fun, your children will look at it as more than just words on a page; you’ll make them come to life!
Make it a Priority
Instead of making reading a mundane task (only reserved for homework, for example,) make it a priority. Make reading an important part of each and every day. Read a story with your child when he/she gets up from his/her sleep mattress first thing in the morning, after lunch, or together as a family after dinner. Don’t put reading on the backburner; make it a priority to read to your children each and every day. Reserve a specific time to read with your children during the day and don’t let that reserved time slip by the wayside so that you – and they – can attend to other activities and tasks.If you are using a babysitting agency during the week you can request babysitter with better experience and skills for your child.
When kids see that reading is a priority, it will truly help them develop their love for it.
Get them Involved
Sure, as a parent, there are going to be specific books that you want to read with your children; however, make sure that you let involve your kids with book selections.
Take them to the library and encourage them to select genres and subjects that interest them.
Allow them to peruse through the books you have at home and choose those that grab their attention. When you involve your kids in selecting their reading materials, their interests will be piqued and they will truly get excited about reading – and develop a love for it.
Set the Example
One of the easiest ways to help foster a love of reading in your child doesn’t involve being creative; it involves setting an example.
Kids mirror their parents. It’s not what you say, but it’s what you do that will influence the decisions that they make. When it comes to reading, if your children see that you love reading yourself, they are far more likely to want to read themselves, and the more they want to read, the greater the chances are that they will love it.
When you have free time, instead of putting on the TV, pull out a book and read! If your children see that you are a reader, they will be more inclined to become readers themselves.
Teaching your children to love reading will help them become free-thinking, open-minded, imaginative and independent. Follow these tips and there’s no doubt that reading will be one of your children’s greatest loves.
2 comments
As soon as my son learned to read (and it was at age 5), we introduced the following rule: at first he had to read one page a day, with time the amount of reading increased. He chose what he was interested in, but reading was compulsory. I think it is important to be systematic. And also sometimes, it is important to give the child a break from assignments, for example, by ordering an essay. Thanks, great article!
I try to get my child interested in reading by my example. We sit down with our spouse with a new book and read. But sometimes they try to outwit me and start studying using the notebooks that I ordered on the site – http://bkpublication.com/. I could not even imagine that these notebooks would be so interesting to my son. But there is also a huge plus, when they are engaged, I can take care of myself! Note to moms 🙂