How to Encourage Children to Love Reading

We understand that reading is important for our children. It is an essential life skill. It enhances imagination, relieves stress, and can provide entertainment. But what happens when you have a reluctant reader? How do you make them excited about reading?

How to Encourage Kids to Love Reading

1.       Read Aloud to Them Daily: Children crave quality time with their parents, so what better way to spend time together than to pick up a good book. They can connect with books and connect with you at the same time.

2.       Read Aloud Enthusiastically: Children will enjoy story time with you more if you give the characters voices. Change your tone and pitch to make the story fun and exciting.

3.       Read Books About Things They Love: If you have a reluctant reader, it might because you haven’t found the right books yet. Take the time to figure out a few things your child loves and get some books about their interests. Have a variety of books available for your child to choose from because their interests change regularly. Or better yet…

4.       Let Your Child Pick the Books: Take your child to the library to search for books. It’s so fun to let them be in charge of picking their own books. They will be more likely to sit down and read a book with you if they picked it out, and it will help you figure out what they like and don’t like.

5.       Talk About the Books You Read Together: Book are a great opportunity to share in a conversation with your child. Talk about the characters, settings, why things happened in the story, etc. Ask questions that spark their imagination and get them thinking.

6.       Use Books to Create Play and Activities: After reading The Three Little Pigs you could build a house out of LEGOS. Or after reading The Rainbow Fish help your child create a rainbow fish of their own out of tissue paper.

7.       Be a Good Role Model: Your children look up to you. After all, you are their one of their favorite people, so let them see you reading. This is a positive example that will leave a big impact.

8.       Make Up Stories Together: You can ask your child to tell you a story about an adventure their favorite stuffed animal went on. Or you could create a story with your little one being the star character (my children love for my husband to tell them stories).

Take some time this week to figure out what your child loves so you can find some books to help encourage a love of reading. You can reserve books about their love at your local library, and then allow them the opportunity to pick some books on their own. What are your child’s current interests? Email me to share or ask for book recommendations.