Getting Children Interested In Reading

[Lilapo9]

Reading was always important in the home when I was raising the children. I had two customs that seemed to help with reading. For starters each night the kids were to be in bed a half hour before their bedtime. That was quality reading time. They could read in their beds until bedtime. It was a great help for them to quiet their minds so that they could sleep. I still like to read before sleeping myself. The other custom was that for Christmastime we didn't watch a lot of television. I read "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens to them every year before they went to bed. My daughter was just telling me the other day how she missed that I would read this story to them. We basically read a chapter a night. Some nights we read more other nights less. It just depended on how much time we had and how tired everyone was. Those were good memories of reading with the children.

[Syntheticaudio]

I would die if my kids didnt like reading.

Okay slightly over dramatic, but I would be devastated. But all your points are right, you can definitely help a child along the way into becoming a bookworm. But I suppose it has to be in your nature as well. I just have to hope my kids don't take after my fiancé.

[reader50]

BJ Novak "A Book Without Pictures" is a great example of getting preschool-Year 1 (4-6 year olds) interested in listening and interacting with a book.

[librarydancer]

Books without words --such as Ball for Daisy -- allows the kids to use the pictures to make up the words themselves. This would be appropriate for pre & early readers.

[elak02]

My 2-year-old already liked reading, but I found that taking her to story time at our local library helped encourage her to read even more. There she sees other kids enjoying books, and she can pick out books she is interested in to check out each week. Giving children ownership of the situation allows them to follow their own interests so you don't have to force them to read.

[ctravis01]

Reading was always important in the home when I was raising the children. I had two customs that seemed to help with reading. For starters each night the kids were to be in bed a half hour before their bedtime. That was quality reading time. They could read in their beds until bedtime. It was a great help for them to quiet their minds so that they could sleep. I still like to read before sleeping myself. The other custom was that for Christmastime we didn't watch a lot of television. I read "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens to them every year before they went to bed. My daughter was just telling me the other day how she missed that I would read this story to them. We basically read a chapter a night. Some nights we read more other nights less. It just depended on how much time we had and how tired everyone was. Those were good memories of reading with the children.

The rule here is the same for bedtime. Truth be told, they know bedtime can be stretched a bit if they're in bed reading.

[Rabi A]

That's a good article..

[jgreen11]

I grew up with books and could read before I went to preschool. Also have loved reading since before I can remember. That being said, I think a lot of it stemmed from growing up with my parents constantly reading to me. There's nothing like a good role model to make a child interested in something.

[lorenicole]

My 2.5 year old girl adores books. Even though she doesn't read on her own yet I will find her in her room "reading" to herself! It is so cute. She learns from me I guess since she sees me reading quite a bit for pleasure and for school. She likes books where she has seen the stories as cartoons on tv. I think this is because when she reads to herself she knows what she's talking about haha.

[ESQNYC]

I have a 2.5 year old and we have purchased books for him since he was 6 months old (Indestructibles). I wanted him to be able to explore the books inside and out. Now he has an impressive collection of books and enjoys flipping the pages and " reading" them. I notice that when his books are displayed and readily available he is more inclined to pick one up. Also, taking the time to sit and read with them and maybe not read the actual words but let them tell you the story that they see.

[Robee]

I remember as a child I started off with comic books and colorful childrens' encyclopedias. We had a TV but I was a very selective watcher and didn't watch TV that often, I still don't to this day. I do say though, interactive books are really helpful in engaging with children.

I remember my mom bought these expensive kits for younger brother that had both DVD's, audio CD's and books. As much as my younger brother enjoyed learning how to count through the DVD's he was also addicted to reading the colorful books by playing the audio CD that goes along with the books and reading by following the audio CD.

[BookMonkey]

It is neat reading this because I know it is normal for kids to not be as interested in books as some of us may be! I have a younger sister who is 8 years old and i truly hope she grows up to love books and reading. However she watches A LOT of TV. I'm slowly working on reading with her each night in place of watching TV in order to fall asleep. I appreciate the tip of not pushing them too much because I wasn't sure if I was right in thinking that or not. Thanks for posting!

[Hawa]

This is a subject close to my heart but as I'm new to the forum and this thread has been ongoing for a number of years I haven't been able to read all the posts...but I will try! My eldest 3 children are all avid readers, but my youngest two have lost out as we moved to a non-English speaking country when they were small and so they've lost out not having any English libraries and English bookshops. But I'm hoping to use these two weeks winter holidays to spend some time reading with them. I think it's going to have to be a combination of me reading to them, and them reading to me as I don't want to make it into a chore for them....I want them to love reading as much as I do.

[GKCfan]

If you want to get kids interested in reading, read to them. I think that kids need to find books that are fun to them. Too many books for kids are a slog to get through, and it puts kids off reading for life.

[cabralesleo55]

Children will naturally be exposed to whatever it is the parents do. If I knew how to ice skate, I would teach them myself. If I had piles of gold, I'd hire teachers and experts from every discipline and keep my kids busy and learning from the masters (to a limit). Since all I have to give them is my love to them and my time, reading together is what we do. SO I have no doubt, that if you love something and know how to do it, your children, at least at first, will be a part of your love and doing. In this case; reading . Together.

-- 20 Dec 2014, 18:07 --

Also, read quality books together. Classics that withstood the test of time. At least at the start. Time together is precious and would be a shame to waste it on bad low grade literature.