Encourage Your Children To Read

In childhood, developing into an avid reader helps children increase their linguistic and intellectual abilities. In this way, they are able to laugh, dream, play with reality, encourage their own curiosity and also share more things with the people around them. The book is the key to another world through which they are able to explore new countries, personalities, travel through space and time. And no doubt they will want it more and more every time.

Because maybe when they close Lewis Caroll ’s novel, they get an encouragement to get to know Jules Verne. And after Verne, they may want to knock out Robert Louis Stevenson’s work. And who knows if they would then go out to explore the universe written by Conan Doyle. Classics are always a good mainstay from which to start.

But this is not always easy, we know. Children today are guided by comfort, convenience and speed. New technology gives them access to a wider and more visual world  where everything, just about everything, seems easier. They see less effort. There is no more room for imagination, because everything is already so diverse and precise.

Where does this place mystery, subtlety, nuance and discovery? These buttons on their Xbox, or whatever console they use to control them, create an amazing world created by incredibly large video game companies. Electronics  that has slowly but surely taken power and overshadowed the world of books.

As fathers, mothers, grandparents, and educators, we should not allow this.  We need to encourage children to set aside time to read. But  how can we get them interested in books and read with passion? 

Strategies for planting children in books of passion

1. Control by example 

You can’t convince anyone of anything if you don’t set an example for them.  There is no point in forcing a child to read if a child sees you sitting in front of a computer or television screen.  If they see adults at a very young age with a book in their hand, it is more likely that they are interested in them, that they will ask you about it… That they are imitating you.

2. Early exposure 

Believe it or not, children understand much more than you think.  Even before they start speaking, they are able to understand countless words. Before they start reading, they are able to acquire many other types of information: poetic language, playing with words and rhymes, listening to oral stories…  Basically, they need encouragement and stimulation.

Sitting down with the children with a storybook and reading aloud to them is a clear stimulus for them.  Listening to your voice and speech melody, story plot… These are small steps that their brains take until they are mature enough to begin their own reading and writing process.

All of this happens before the age of three, when they are more interested in the voices formed than in the content of the stories themselves. But it is still really helpful that they internalize all this heard linguistic information. For children, reading before they can even walk is incredibly helpful.

3. Structure

You need to create a schedule. Children need certain guidelines and rules. They need to know when they should do certain things : chores, snacks, meals, bath time, reading a fairy tale before going to bed, video games only on weekends…

These are just examples, but what we are trying to emphasize is that guidelines and guidelines are essential for children to learn to manage and use their own time, and for them to feel safe knowing what we expect from them at all times.  And remember, persistence is vital.  When they relax, there should always be an opportunity to “crunch time” for one more piece of the book.

4. Offer them freedom

Don’t force certain books on them. Serve them with their preference in mind and make suggestions.  Also, don’t worry if they’re on an adventure, for example, getting lost in the world of comics. Comics are a great springboard and an awesome universe that they can combine with books playing on the same themes: fantasy, adventure, sci-fi literature…

Act as a guide, but don’t overwhelm them with your own preferences. Always consider their developmental process. Children are growing fast and they will have new needs before you know it. And there is always an ideal book for every age group and every personal moment.  Make suggestions, teach, comment…

Also, keep in mind that you can stimulate the enjoyment of reading them in other ways as well. Explain to them, for example, that a vampire in a movie they saw in a movie theater that they loved is actually based on a book. That Disney movies are also good Evening Tales that they could read every single night…

5. Always answer their questions and pay attention to what they say

Listen to what your children have to say. Always. Sometimes we barely have any free time at all in the afternoons when they return home from school. But keep something clear in your mind;  if you don’t answer their questions or listen to their thoughts and comments now that they are young, the day will finally come when they will stop seeking your attention and turn to you.  So always try to find time for them.

Comment on the latest song in the book they are reading, listen to their thoughts, suggest more things, and sharpen their imaginations. You are their greatest incentive.