Boost Kids’ Reading Habits: Top 10 Strategies

Books are truly a man’s most loyal friend. Reading is also the best medium to increase one’s knowledge.

An ardent reader has far a better attention span and greater analytical qualities than a non-reader. Moreover, a dedicated reader is always in the company of a book and thus, never feels alone. It is one of the most constructive hobbies that shape the opinions of a person from his/her childhood. At an overwhelmingly Internet-dependent time like this, a well-wishing parent will score brownie points for adhering to the steps below to inculcate reading habits among children.

1. Give them pictorial books
Children love pictorial elements as they bring a lot of joy. As they grow, they find interest in text which has to be read, understood and then enjoyed. Thus, you should give your 1-year-olds pictorial books with 3D cut-outs unfolding from the pages to surprise and delight children. As they grow, comic books and short anthologies with a lot of illustrations will sustain their interest in reading.

2. Ask kids about favourite fiction characters
Every story book has a character that the child gets attracted to. Make it a point to frequently ask your child about that fairy that made her smile, that funny clown or the huge monster. This helps the child recall the character and love books even more.

3. Encourage loud narration
The essence of storytelling to kids lies not in bland reading but in loud and clear narration. The more involved you are in following the mood of the story in your narration, the more appealing your children find them to be.

4. Encourage reading at home or on the go
There is no dearth of short, fantastic stories that your child will like. If she is involved in a book so much that she can’t wait to complete it, allow her to read it during a safe commute. The excitement will remain and the child will move on to a similar book after completing this one.

5. Attract kids with your bookish persona
Children imitate elders. If you are able to sport a long-term attitude that focuses on the merits of reading a book, there is a high chance that the child will want to become like you and turn into a bibliophile in future.

6. Compare bookish and real lives
Playfully show a child how the life of a character is written so beautifully in a book and compare the possibilities of a fantasy story with that of real life. This will make children fond of fantasies, supernatural events and pure joy found in books.

7. Discuss with kids after they’ve read the book
Reading a good book is followed by thinking about the storyline. Ask the child what part of the story s/he liked the most. This tests the comprehension and summarization skills of the child. You can also understand how involved the child was in the story.

8. Take book lovers to libraries
Has your child completed reading all the books in your shelves? A monthly library subscription will allow the bright kid to read to his/her heart’s content.

9. Urge to read more than syllabi for better perspective
Often, school curricula select particular chapters from textbooks. But that shouldn’t stop a book lover from finding out if other stories in their textbooks are better.

10. Reward kids for reading from multiple genres
As formal education demands a child study different subjects, the child will benefit a lot if s/he reads multiple genres to expand perspective and intelligence.

Reading takes cultivation. It doesn’t happen so quickly. Have you tried any of these ways? If not, where would you like to start?