‘A child who reads will be an adult who thinks’
A love of reading opens the door to new experiences, new knowledge, and a slew of important language skills like speech development and vocabulary expansion.
There are few gifts that can be given to a child that is more valuable than encouraging them to become voracious readers as adults.
Spending time together with books allows you to bond with your child while also allowing you to enjoy each other’s company.
Just 10 to 15 minutes a day with a book is all it takes to pique your child’s curiosity. A love of reading brings so much delight, and nurturing a reader is enjoyable, fulfilling, and relatively simple.
Every parent’s objective should be to make reading and books a part of their children’s lives.
As parents what can we do to nurture our child’s love of reading?
The following are a few simple tips to encourage your child to develop a love for reading from a young age:
Be a Role Model:
It is necessary that children regard reading as an enjoyable activity. What better way to show them the ropes than to do it yourself? Young children love to copy their parents and seeing you with a book means they are more likely to develop an interest in books too.
Read to them every day:
Include reading time in your child’s day. It can be a bonding time for parents and children.
Books can open up so many conversations.
After you close the book, talk to your child about the story and the characters in it. Ask them questions to ignite their imagination and get them thinking about the story and the characters in it.
Take turns reading:
As your child gets older and can start reading on his own, take turns reading aloud to each other.
Make it interesting by asking questions like, “What is going to happen next?” or “Why do you think that boy did that?”
When you read aloud to each other, you will help your child develop confidence in speaking out loud and reinforce what he has learned.
Make it a routine:
Making reading fun for your child starts with incorporating books into your daily routine. Set aside a dedicated reading time whenever convenient, before bedtime or when taking public transportation. When you’re together, limit distractions, such as smartphones and television.
Books and more books:
Make sure your child has plenty of books to look at and read. Try starting a book collection for your children from their early years.
Place them in locations where they can easily access them, and keep adding new books all the time.
Place them at the child’s height, and make sure they’re easy for your child to access when seeking some quiet time.
Respect your child’s preferences:
Encourage children to express what books they would like to read and find more books like those. Try not to force your preferences on them.
Let them be authors:
Children have vivid imaginations. Encourage them to write stories on their own. Stories are not just in books, writing stories on their own will encourage them to read more.
Choose a variety of books:
We need to expose children to books that show the diversity of cultural traditions and family structures within our communities in order to prepare them for living in such a diverse world. Expose them to different varieties of books and encourage them to make informed choices.
If you can instill a love of books, words, rhymes, and stories into your child at a young age, they will grow up to become little bookworms. Surround them with books, involve them in storytelling, and make reading a fun part of their lives, and you have made a good start!