What can you do to motivate your children to read more regularly?
We all know that reading is important, and I'm sure that you feel frustrated if your child doesn't like to read. Children are easily pulled away from reading by so many things in their everyday lives — television, video games, and after-school activities — it's important to find ways to make reading and writing a part of your child's daily routine, and it may not be as difficult as you may think.
Here are a few tips that may help:
Find out what your child's interests are and suggest books, magazines, and articles that relate to those topics.
Let them choose. A study by Scholastic found that 89% of kids say their favorite books are the ones they pick. Kids also say a big reason they don’t read is that they don’t like what we selected for them. So get your child involved in the selection.
Kids love to watch movies, so this is a great way to introduce kids to reading. Read a book, and then watch the movie together. (Harry Potter, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Twilight, How to Train Your Dragon etc). Become movie critics. Discuss which was better, book or movie/
Are you going on a vacation? Finding books that relate to a place you plan to visit on a family vacation can get a child hooked.
Read books with your children! Children of any age can appreciate being read to.
Make reading material available. Stash books in backpacks, bathrooms, and cars.
Having books in your home will greatly increase the chance your kid will become a reader. So grab your library card and head to library sales, stop at those garage sales, subscribe your kid to a magazine.
