Get Your Child into Reading As Early As Possible

As moms we want our children to grow intellectually and one of the best ways to do this is by reading to them and letting them have quiet time for reading by themselves. We live in a heavily saturated digital world filled with blogs, apps and ebooks, and more children are turning to these devices for stimulation. We can be proactive by getting our children excited about books while educating them at the same time. When I was a kid in the 80s, I always went to the library and I was part of summer reading programs. Those programs prepared me well for the upcoming school year. Here are ways we can get our kids into reading.

Practice Reading on Road Trips

Bring some age-appropriate picture books and dictionaries on the road trip and have the kids read them aloud in the car. If they come across words they cannot pronounce or understand, gently explain the words to them and use them in sentences. Another thing you can do is point out words on billboards and buildings to the kids as this helps them associate words with certain objects and places.

Give the Kids Choices of Books

It also helps to offer a variety of options to the kids. If your eight-year-old loves to read comic books, get a few of them and let him read these books. Or if your ten-year-old loves to cook at home, you can visit the library and let her check out a few cookbooks. Then let her pick out which recipes she wants to make and set aside a weekend for preparation of the meals.

Let the Kids See You Read

Parents should lead by example and this is especially the case when instilling a love of books in children. Read your favorite books and the newspaper in front of them and explain to them what the stories are about. This might get them curious and they will probably ask more questions. If they ask questions, tell them the materials where they can get the information from.. This teaches them good research skills.

Set Up a Reading Space for Them

Another idea is to set up a room in the house that is designated for quiet reading time. In the room place a bookcase along with your child's favorite books and healthy snacks. Then for at least 30 minutes each day have your child read one of his books. Once his time ends, ask him questions about what he read and what he learned from it. This builds his critical thinking skills.

Consider Word Search Puzzles

I was introduced to word search puzzles at a young age and even today I find them entertaining. The good thing about these puzzles is that they are each centered around a certain category, and you are learning about new things while finding words. Buy some word search puzzles and let them work on a few each day. After they finish the puzzles, look up those same words in a dictionary with them.

These strategies can boost your child's interest in reading and improve his literacy skills.