Encouraging Children To Read

One of the most important skills a young child can learn is the ability to read and read well with accurate spelling abilities and good comprehension. Unfortunately in this day and age with video games, tv shows, plenty of social media sites, and lots of random junk on the internet there are more than enough ways the youth of this generation can waste their time and avoid reading if they so choose. What most children don’t know is that ready can truly be a fun and exciting experience especially once you find a genre that they really enjoy. Many children grow up thinking that reading is boring and mostly related to homework and of course, not all reading they are asked to do will be fun but it’s still very important that young readers are encourage to seek out books they like on a regular basis and take time out of their homework and other activities to have some regular reading.

For children that refuse to read and say they don’t like it - it can be helpful to begin reading with them. Many children struggle with comprehension or larger words and by reading with them, taking turns, and slowly encouraging them to read more and more on their own they can learn to enjoy their reading and to have fun with stories and characters. This is also a great way to have some quality bonding time with your children while also helping them further their education.

It may be tempting to force children to read things that you think are good for them or appropriate but in an age where children can easily opt out of reading and spend their time staring at their phones or a computer screen it’s wise to, at least at first, let them read whatever they want and then slowly encourage them to move to more quality literature. Many young boys start out reading comic books and young girls enjoy picture books. This is perfectly find and makes for an easy transition into larger and more dedicated types of fiction. Slowly work them up to short stories, and then small books that come in a series. After that try a decent sized novel with big text and a few illustrations. If you can get them there make a point of encouraging them to read at least one new book a month (preferably more) and let them pick it out at the bookstore. Sooner or later they’ll be choosing books that you would have picked for them in the first place.

This doesn’t mean that they can’t still enjoy comic books or magazines but that they should also develop a love for slightly heavier works of fiction. Continue to cultivate these habits by having a family reading night and playing fun games with the books they read like asking them to draw pictures illustrating the story or put on plays with costumes of their favorite characters. You could even start a children's book club where they all take turns reading aloud and talking about their favorite parts of the store. The ideas are endless here. Get creative and you won’t have any problems getting your children to read.