Reading has long been heralded as one of the foundational skills children need for lasting success. Not only do strong reading skills benefit kids academically, but they’re also a skill required for success later in life. Reading develops vocabulary, improves attention span, and promotes analytical thinking. Share on X

How to Encourage Reading

The key to encouraging strong reading habits in kids is to prioritize reading at home from a young age. Reading together often teaches your child the joys that reading can bring, helping them develop a motivation to read.That said, every child learns and processes information differently. This means that while some children have a natural love of reading, others don’t. If your child seems to dread reading time, here are a few tips to encourage reading:

Create Personal Stories

Creating and reading stories is more fun and personal for a child when they’re about themselves, their family and their personal experiences. A fun activity consists of enlisting your child to help you write and illustrate a story about a special memory they have. There are book kits available for purchase that allow you to send in the pages you’ve created and receive a real hardbound book to treasure for years to come!

Visit the Library

A trip to your local library can inspire and delight your child. Summer reading programs can provide motivation, and the variety means your child is sure to find something they like. Browsing the shelves of the library and getting to bring new books home every time creates a fun, exciting experience. 

Integrate Technology

If your child is like most, they do many activities digitally, on a computer or tablet. Many schools have even shifted their curriculum to include more technology. This can make traditional reading less natural than reading a book digitally. Technology gives students who have grown up in an age of smartphones and computers another outlet with which they can grow and learn. Building self-esteem through increased reading and comprehension skills can have a positive effect on every aspect of a child’s life.

Let Them Choose

Maybe you bought all the books on the New York Times Best Sellers for kids list, but your child still isn’t interested. What’s the problem? To put it simply, your child might not be interested. Find a subject that interests your child. This might entail exploring several different genres, including mystery, science-fiction, comic books, and more.

Create Incentives

While this may seem counterintuitive, offering your child incentives can be an important part of getting your kid to read. Make it fun, and ensure that the reward is something you know your child will enjoy. If that means going to the local swimming pool, then that’s what you should offer. Make sure that you’re tracking their progress, and try to join them when you can.  This will also provide structure, which will further help them prepare for preschool and kindergarten.

Lifelong Readers

Encouraging reading in children has always been a challenge, especially in this age of instant entertainment at the touch of a button. Reading is essential in education but is also a necessary skill to have in the modern world, where most communication takes place digitally. The ability to read for comprehension and communicate effectively is crucial to the success of your child, and needs to be taught from a young age to create lifelong readers.

Contact Us to learn more about how to instill a love of reading and learning in your child.