How To Get Your Child to Love Reading

Few habits are more important than reading. If you instill in your child a love of reading, you not only enrich their lives, but you'll also make your own life easier. You won't have to worry about your kids' grades, because your child naturally will be more interested in learning and study.

Reading is the key to the educational kingdom. It is the single elementary skill which makes all other fields of study simpler and more natural. It builds the vocabulary and gets your child to think, analyze and imagine. So it is important to get your child to love reading. When the activity becomes something more than a chore or a homework assignment, then your child is on the way to a larger world.

The earlier you introduce reading into your child's life, the better. Many parents make the mistake of focusing on the reading skill too early, though. It isn't enough to teach them to read a year earlier than their peers and then hand them a book. Reading to your child is how you will teach them reading is fun.

Daily Routine

You should make reading a part of the household experience. Find a time almost every day to read. You might make it after dinner or just before bedtime. Read a book or two to your child. This makes reading a family experience where the two of you bond. It also teaches the child that reading is an everyday part of life in your household.

But Daddy Reads

Young children mimic their parents. They look up to them as the standard of what is right and wrong and, perhaps more important to a child, what is fun. So don't wait until your child goes to bed for your own reading time.

If all your child sees you do is watch television, that child will learn that is the normal activity for a person. But if your child sees you reading, it is natural for your child to want to be like Mommy or Daddy and give reading a try, too.

Variety

Make sure that your children have access to a wide variety of books. Don't keep only a small number of books they have read before. Try to stock their room with a variety of books they will have access to. Furthermore, make certain the books are in their room. This associates books with other fun activities, like games and toys. It also assures they might any given minute pick up a book to look at it.

If this sounds expensive, it doesn't have to be. There are plenty of half-price book stores where you can buy childrens' books for a little bit of nothing. Take a few trips to these used book places and help your child pick out a variety of books which seem interesting to them.

Use Your Local Library

Half-price books still might be too pricey. In that case, make weekly trips to the library and keep those books around the house.

In fact, you should make use of your local library in either case. The library will have plenty of books, enough that some should rouse your kid's interest. Get your child a personal library card. It will look like a badge or a driver's license and your child will feel like part of something larger.

Your library will have periodic activities which also encourage your child to read. This might be a weekend reading forum or a children's book club. Participation in a reading group is a great way to teach your child that reading can be fun and interactive.

Challenge Your Child

Eventually, your child will exhaust all of the books in the child section of the local library. When this happens, the child will start to look at more challenging books. Don't be concerned if you think your child is in over his or her head. The challenge will be good for the child. Also, you might be able to help your child through these subjects, which once again reinforces to your child that you have an interest in books.

Of course, make sure these books are appropriate for your child. You should remain involved in your child's reading even after your child has full command of the reading skills. You'll probably find your child's reading list interesting, because your kid will pick out subjects you never knew they found interesting.

Encourage the Habit

Finally, do not discourage your child from reading, even if your kid only shows an interest in comic books and other less literary forms of reading. Certainly continue to encourage your child to read other materials, but do not prohibit the reading of something your child finds interesting.

As long as reading material is appropriate for the age of your child, reading of any kind is a good thing. It will continue to build your child's vocabulary and probably introduce him or her to new concepts. This might lead them to learn more about these concepts by reading other materials.

Summary

Reading is a habit like any other. If your child learns good reading habits early in life, this will last a lifetime. If your child never gets in the habit of reading, that child will never learn about its rewards.

Every word or action you take regarding the subject is important. So encourage reading in consistent and various ways and your child is more likely to learn to love reading literature.