With laptops, TV’s, tablets and smartphones so easily accessible, parents are in a constant everyday battle to pry their kids away from their screens and swap them for other activities instead, such as reading. And the fight is well worth it – reading increases your child’s vocabulary and develops their language skills as well as sparking the imagination and teaching them the value of stories. Reading also helps to develop the brain, as well as communication, and even social skills, showing just how important and powerful a book can be!
If you find that your kid doesn’t want to swap the tablet for a beautifully illustrated and written book, here are some tips to encourage them and show that reading can be just as fun and exhilarating as watching their favourite cartoons.
Start early
The earlier that you start introducing your child to books, the better! This way, books are familiar to them and are seen as something fun, comforting and to look forward to. Buy new and wonderful books as presents, set up a reading corner in their room and make reading a routine – this is also a great way to spend some special one-on-one time with the kids. Make sure to choose a specific time of day when you can sit and read together like in the afternoon or perhaps before bed and discuss the book after.
Make it fun
Get rid of the unfair stigma that can often be associated with reading (that it is boring) and make it as fun possible. By making it fun, you show that it doesn’t have to be difficult or a chore, with books for kids with dyslexia also widely available, ensuring that reading is accessible to everyone.
Read out loud together and bring the characters to life with different voices and mannerisms, act out favourite scenes while reading or do a craft activity once you’ve finished a chapter such as drawing or painting the characters and scenery. This will not only get your child to look forward to reading but will also help to expand their creativity and imaginations.
Let them see you reading
After all, kids generally want to copy the adults around them, and particularly their parents. So if they see you reading, they are much more likely to want to pick up that book and read as well! Show them that reading is something that you enjoy and is part of your life as well. Talk to them about a book that you are really enjoying, or interesting facts that you discovered in a magazine to garner interesting discussions and encourage them to read on their own.
Don’t force them
By forcing your child to read, you are ultimately going against what you set out to do in the first place – to help discover and fall in love with books and reading. Whenever anyone is forced to do something they don’t want, they will ultimately hate it, and children will especially remember it as an activity that they dreaded instead. While traumatising is a bit OTT, by forcing your child to read, they might then later associate it with unpleasant childhood memories. Reading is a fun activity and should never be forced, or they may never want to pick up another book again.
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