Beyond educational toys and learning activities, teaching a child to love reading can be an effective brain booster, as previously reported on Parent Herald. With so many distractions around kids, forming the habit of reading poses a challenge for parents. How can you raise a child who loves to read books in the midst of all the distractions? Below are some suggestions:
1) Have story times
Incorporate story time before the children sleep or during Sunday afternoons when everyone is winding down after a bustling weekend. Work out a good schedule and make sure to deliver on this each time. Develop a ritual with your kids, with parents also turning off their gadgets to fully focus on the activity. Take time to enjoy a silly and short nursery rhyme or an elaborate and fantastic story about a magical land.
Sometimes, it's more fun to have parents and children act out the stories from the books. The kids can even tell it as they understand it to hone their imagination and creativity. These are cherished moments that will leave a lasting impression with your children, according to Modern Mom.
2) Visit the local library often.
Do this while the child is still very young, so that library habits are instilled and learned earlier and they will learn to love books, according to Aha! Parenting. From the library, you can browse bookshelves together and become familiar with its authors. Depending on the child's age, you could also start charting a list of authors whose book you could check out later.
3) Don't ever mind the repetition.
When it comes to toddlers, it's all about the repetition. If they would like you to read a certain book with them for the nth time, indulge this. "The reason children love to read the same stories over and over and over again is that they're so thirsty to learn," said associate dean Roni Liederman. "You'll soon find that your toddler has memorized his favorite passages and is eager to supply key phrases himself - both signs of increasing reading readiness."
4) Keep track of the children's interest.
It's the best way to feed the habit because knowing what they like will give you ideas on what type of books to buy, according to Growing Rich Kids. Mixing different genres of books is good as a couple of non-fiction, poem or science books might spark their interest. But for the most part, have plenty of the types of books they like to keep them interested with reading.
