Title: Encourging Reading in Your Child
Category: Positive Parenting
There are several things we could do as parents to encourage our children
to become readers. First of all we should model habits of reading ourselves.
To do that we'll have to turn off the TV and make time for regular daily
reading. Children who see their
parents read a lot tend to naturally fall into the habit.
Even as an infant or toddler we can pick our child up as we are reading a
paper or magazine and point out pictures, comics or the main point of the story. Remember their attention span at that young age may be only a
few minutes so keep it brief.
We should begin to read picture books to our young children and expose
them to nursery rhymes and classic children's stories.
As the children grow older we can bring them to the library and let them
pick out books of their own interest. Even
at age three or four when they can't read they can begin to look at pictures and
develop an interest. As they enter
the reading age after starting school we can continue to bring them to the
library and also encourage them with their own magazine subscription to an
appropriate children's magazine. Several
of these include Sports Illustrated for Kids, which is my son's favorite, which
can be ordered at 1-800-632-1300; National Geographic World, 1-800-638-4077;
Zillions, Cricket, Stone Soup, Highlights, and dozens of other great children's
magazines available through your library or home subscriptions. Your librarian can be helpful in pointing out age appropriate
books and magazines for your child.
There is no substitute for reading to our children.
We must find time to sit and read stories to our children while they are
young. I have never met a child who didn't like to be read to. With
enthusiasm and the right choice of books we can easily start a wonderful habit
in our kids if we make the effort and continue encouraging it throughout their
lifetime.
Let your children read the stories they want.
In other words, let them have the freedom to pick their own books out at
the library or bookstore but also encourage them to read the classics
appropriate for their age level. When
your child begins to form early reading skills in the elementary grades you can
read books with them. You might let
them read every other paragraph. When
they do pick out, read and finish a substantial book, be sure to give them lots
of praise and let them know how proud you are of their accomplishment. Probably, no skill is more important in life than reading.
The more we can do to help our children in this area the more likely they
are to be successful in school and
throughout their life. If you run
into a specific problem with reading and your child, talk to your teacher,
pediatrician or family doctor. Also
check with your local school. Lots
of current research is showing that kids who grow up in homes with reading and
regular conversation and less TV watching do much