Parents’ Page
How Do I Get My Child to Read?
Well first off, please don’t make your child read. You want to encourage a lifelong love of reading and frankly you would be much more likely to succeed by banning reading in your house then by turning reading into yet another chore that needs to be done.
Secondly, make sure that your child doesn’t have some learning disability that makes reading hard or uncomfortable. Your child could have some undetected condition that makes reading difficult. Check with your child’s teacher and/or have him tested if necessary. If there is a learning disability present, experts can help your child with strategies that will make reading easier and more enjoyable.
The best time to instill a love of reading in your child is before they can read. Read to them at bed time. Please don’t play a bedtime video. Make sure that reading is part of a bedtime ritual that is comfortable and pleasant.
The easiest way to instill a love of reading in your child is to be an avid reader yourself. When your little girl comes to you wanting to play Barbies, you can say “One moment sweetie, I want to finish this chapter”. You will be showing her by example that reading is even more fun than Barbies!
If you hate to read then have yourself tested for a disability. Again you will be demonstrating how important reading is. Also think about instituting a “quiet” time during the day when you read and must not be disturbed. It would be a perfect time for your son or daughter to read too. Talk about the books you are reading while at dinner.
You also need to make sure that there are plenty of books in the house. The library is great, but you must also own books. They need to be available. Having no money is no excuse. There are plenty of used bookstores and flea markets with cheap books for sale. Libraries often sell books and sometimes even give them away. When I started an on-line used book store, I was immediately inundated with truckloads of books from friends who needed to make room for more books. Just let people know you want books and they will start to appear. Believe me! Also, make sure there is a wide variety of subjects and titles. You never know what will spark your child’s interest.
Copyright 2008 Jeanne Russell
(Please feel free to reprint this article on the condition that you include a link to http://www.kidsrecommendbooks.com. Thank You)
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