You’re a reader in every sense of the word. Your library is filled to the brim with books, your local librarian knows what new launch to recommend as soon as you walk in, and you don’t know what would happen if Goodreads went down. Ever since you can remember, books have been your best friends and not only did your parents not force you to read, but they sometimes had to check in on you at 3 am to make sure you weren’t reading under the covers with a flashlight.
Now you have a child and you’d like them to experience the magic of books just like you did. Not necessarily because they have to (although every parent wants to encourage early literacy skills), but because being a bookworm is awesome.
However, not all children are born readers and, as much as you wanted your son or daughter to love books, sometimes you have to guide your child on his or her reading adventure.
Easier said than done right? How can you raise your child to be a bookworm when kids tend to rebel and do the exact opposite of what you tell them?
Find out why your child doesn’t love reading
If you’ve been trying to increase your child’s reading time, but they seem to get no pleasure from it, it could one of these two issues:
- They’re struggling to read. Your child hasn’t developed full literacy yet and has trouble making out certain words. As a result, he believes that reading is hard, reading feels more like a chore than a fun activity, and they feel too tired afterward. To help a struggling reader, encourage them to read aloud and pay attention to the words they don’t understand. Clarify the meaning of these words and repeat them together until they slowly build their vocabulary. If the current book you’re reading has too many unknown words, maybe it’s too difficult for your child’s level, so try again with a simpler one and build your way up. Learning to read a couple of unknown words can feel very rewarding and motivate your child to read more, but if most words are unknown, the experience is too off-putting and intimidating.
- They think that books are boring. Let’s be honest, books weren’t cool when you were a kid either, but now we live in the age of screens and it’s even harder to make a case for books. If your child thinks that books aren’t cool, it may be because the books he read so far weren’t engaging enough. Maybe he only read the mandatory books from school and he associates them with homework and tests. In this case, you need to help them find an awesome book that can compete with YouTube and mobile games.
Create a reading-friendly environment
If your child had little to no interaction with books before going to school, they might not immediately fall in love with them as they get older. To grow fond of books, your child needs to associate them with a comfy, pleasant feeling. Playing around you as you read in your office helps too, but, for best results, why not create your child’s own reading corner?
Curate a small library of age-appropriate books that you can read together and that your child can start to skim through on their own. If you have time, you can even help them put up a fort or a nook and read some books inside. It doesn’t take a long time but for your child, it will be like a small adventure that can open their appetite for reading.
Introduce your child to various reading materials
Even if your ultimate goal is to encourage your child to read books, you should experiment with more types of reading materials to spark their curiosity.
Children’s magazines, cookbooks, picture books, comics, graphic novels, all of these improve literacy and will open your child’s appetite to explore more reading materials.
Don’t feel disappointed if your child shows an interest in eBooks and don’t forbid him from reading on a tablet. As long as the time spent in front of screens isn’t too long, eBooks won’t hurt. Besides, it will only be a matter of time until they’ll start to appreciate printed books, so don’t get stuck on the format.
You should be especially careful when your child makes the transition from picture books and fairy tales to more “grown-up” books such as novels and novellas. Because these reading materials lack pictures and have a different structure to what your child is used to, they might tend to abandon the book after a few pages. Help them overcome this challenge by reading together or recommending them an exciting children’s novel that has a gripping start, such as The Hobbit, The Wizard of Oz, Charlotte’s WebCharlotte’s Web, or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Is a reading routine a good idea?
In theory, establishing a reading routine is a great way to turn reading into a daily habit and develop a love of books.
HOWEVER, it’s very important how you build this routine and how you respond to your child’s preferences.
In the hope of passing on the bookworm gene to their children, many parents impose on them a reading routine that feels too restricting. For example, if you want to make a family reading time an evening tradition, pay attention to how your child is feeling. If they don’t seem to focus on the book and their eyes wander elsewhere, maybe they’re not comfortable reading around other people, or they would rather read at another time.
The daily 8 pm reading routine can either become a beautiful tradition that your child will remember fondly or a tedious chore that will make them hate books. It all depends on how you respond to their signals.
Let your child choose the books
You probably have a few favorite books that you adored as a child and you’d want your son or daughter to read them as well, and maybe take this opportunity to reread them.
However, you’re only the guide on your child’s reading journey, not their boss. The wonder and joy of discovery are some of the best parts about reading, and you don’t want to steal this from your child. While it’s alright to suggest a few books and buy a little bit of everything so your child has options, you shouldn’t try to force a certain genre on them.
Maybe the book you would want your child to read is too difficult for them, or maybe they don’t like the genre. If they clearly don’t like it and want to read something else, then let them be in charge and choose their own books.
If you’re a fantasy fan, your heart might sink a bit as you see your child develop an interest in sci-fi, but your preferences don’t always have to match.
When you go to the bookstore, let your child explore the various sections and choose some of the books they want to read. By picking the books themselves they’re likelier to read them compared to if you were to offer them as gifts.
Help your child find their favorite book series
Did you know the Harry Potter series made millions of children love to read and reignited the public’s interest in book series? J.K. Rowling’s formula was so masterful not only because the world she built was immersive and exciting, but also because every year, another book would come out, and fans could hardly wait to get their hands on it. And when it was launched, they’d simply devour it in days, and spend the entire summer re-reading it. Without a doubt, the Harry Potter effect gave birth to millions of readers. You may even be one of them!
It’s been twelve years since the last Harry Potter book, but you can still recommend it to your child. Or, if they don’t like it, another popular young adult series such as Divergent, The Maze Runner, The Narnia Chronicles, or Percy Jackson. Book series is a great way for your child to become immersed in a fantastic universe, develop his imagination and the fact that a new book will await them after they finish reading guarantees continuity and instills life-long reading habits.
Conclusion
Imagination, creative problem solving, critical thinking, these are all abilities that develop during childhood and that reading can boost. As an avid reader, it’s perfectly normal to want to instill the love of books to your child and to do that, you have to make reading a constant, enjoyable presence in their life.
Author’s bio.
Daniela McVicker is a contributor to TopWritersReview. She has a master’s degree in English Literature, and she is truly passionate about learning foreign languages and teaching. Daniela works with the students helping them to reveal the writing talent and find one true calling.
