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Boost Your Child’s Interest in Reading
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Research has shown that reading skills are one of the most important predictors of future success. Children who regularly read a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction are likely to outperform their peers. Additionally – regardless of the connection with overall achievement – reading is truly one of life’s greatest pleasures. The most well-read people in this world read because they have a deep and abiding love of reading, not because they seek a specific “achievement” target.
So how can parents inculcate a passion for reading in their children? |
| Be a Role Model |
| Children follow by example. Consequently, parents can help children become good readers by simply being diligent readers themselves. When children see their parents spending a lot of time reading newspapers, magazines, or books, their innate curiosity combined with their desire to imitate adults prompts them to become eager readers themselves. |
| Sharing a Book Can Help in Comprehension |
Parents can encourage reading by making reading a shareable activity. Children always love activities that parents do with them – whether watching a movie, playing a game, or reading a book. When parents read to their children, they send a signal that reading is important, fun, and something to enjoy together. |
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Sharing a book, talking about characters, and discussing the main ideas with children encourages them to think about the story. It enables them to not only read the book, but to also comprehend it. Quickly comprehending and absorbing information is a skill that your child will benefit a lot from as he or she grows older. Reading requirements never stop – in fact, the amount one has to read and absorb keeps growing with each passing year. |
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| Reading aloud to children can help improve their pronunciation, help them place the right emphasis on full stops and commas, and teach them how to read a dialogue. Getting into the character of the story can also make reading fun. |
| As children grow, their need to share stories decreases since they can now independently read books. But sometimes discussing an author, the main character, or writing style ensures that your child knows you are still interested and involved in his or her stories. |
| Regular Library Visits Can Enhance Reading Interest |
| Children love libraries! It is perhaps the only place where children can literally take whatever they want, in unlimited quantities. Spending just 30 minutes per month in your local library can make a tremendous difference in your child’s reading habits. Have them borrow any books they want, and supplement their choices with some of yours. Make sure to pick different authors, different genres, as well as non-fiction books. The more variety in the books that children read, the broader their horizon becomes and the better their vocabulary. They will start noticing differences the writing styles of different authors – an understanding that of tremendous benefit when writing stories or essays themselves. |
| Nothing Compares to Owning Your Own Library |
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Owning a library of books is a treasure that your child will cherish and be proud of for years to come. Very often the same books will go on for the next couple of generations. You don’t have to spend a lot to buy books to stock your home library – between garage sales, school book fairs, public library used book sales, secondhand book stores, and online booksellers there is an abundance of low-cost options. One of the biggest advantages of having a constantly growing library is that your child will never feel bored at home – he or she will always have something new to browse. |
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| A Quick Checklist |
| Here’s a handy list of things to do that can boost your child’s interest in reading: |
- Read to your child
- Read a lot yourself in front of your child
- Share reading books
- Take turns reading aloud
- Discuss the main characters in a book or the writing style of an author
- Go to your local library periodically and borrow a variety of books
- Build a home library for your child
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