Reading is a rewarding hobby. Research has proved that children who start reading at an early age are able to excel in class as well as social setting compared to their peers who don’t read. As a parent, it is important to ensure that your child has an interest in reading books. So how do you do that? The following are some basic tip which would help you enable your child to become an eager reader.
- For a parent it is easy to hand their child a tablet or a phone to keep them busy and engaged. We often forget to hold a conversation with our child. The first step parent can do is make sure they talk to their child and talk often. If you are doing the laundry talk to your child. Cooking food? Talk to your child. The more you talk to your child the more they would be receptive to words. Children are intuitive. They see what their parents are up to, so they learn by observing. A vocal parent has a vocal child.
- Make sure your child is surrounded with reading matter which is age appropriate. Make sure you have a separate corner in the nursery which is dedicated for books only. Even if those are just picture books. Make sure you talk to your child about hats happening in the story and what could happen next. Try to sound interesting. You can make up voices for different character. Children love that. When they see you trying to emanate sounds and perform a role play, they would take an avid interest in reading.
- The key is to ensure that your child is interested to read. Don’t make it into a chore. Instead try to make it as interesting as possible.
- Also try to make reading into a habit. You must make an effort to read at least ten minutes a day. No matter how busy you are, dedicate some of your time to reading.
- Encourage your child to read. You can start by praising them on their effort. Children love to have an audience. When your child is reading make sure you provide them with your complete attention. Instead of tapping away on the phone, keep everything aside and dedicate those few minutes to spending quality time with your child. The results would be amazing and you would be surprised on actually how fluent your child is at reading.
- Get a membership at the local library. Make the visits fun and interesting. Your child should understand the importance of silence while they sit and read in a quiet corner. It can be a rewarding experience for your child and it would help instil a habit which would give them a great deal of comfort and happiness in the future.
At kindergartens in Nerang, special attention is paid to instilling the love of reading in children. There is a whole section dedicated to children’s books which are fun and interesting to read.
