Books are one of the best tools for training and nurturing a child. A book enlarges a child’s world, beguile him and help in the overall development.
Reading enhances the creativity and imagination of a child. He begins to think out of the box and by just inculcating the habit, the child develops the jest to learn and discover new things.
Research has proved that reading habits can enrich a child’s life, sharpen their mind, and bring fulfillment. They have enough academic reading to do for school, apart from the other distractions such as television and computer, which leaves the child with no time, or patience, for reading. Despite all these, one must not forget the various benefits of the habit compared to how difficult it is to inculcate it.
The habit of reading must be inculcated at a very early stage, because it cannot be done overnight. Here are the ways in which one can inculcate reading habit among the kids. As a parent if you don’t have the habit of reading, well you need it too…
Make Your Home a Mini Library
The first step in habituating your kid and yourself is to stock your house with all kinds of books. But remember to sort the collection based on your child’s age. For example: Picture books for babies and toddlers. Stack in novels, books, magazines, comics and newspapers. If there are is no material around how is the kid supposed to read?
Short and Sweet
Begin the journey of your child’s reading with picturesque books that they will enjoy reading, or referring to. Make sure the books you get them keeps them engaged and can be finished in small reading sessions. Start with Tinkle, Pictionary, etc. Make baby steps but make sure, the steps are effective enough to attract the child’s focus to the magical world of reading.
Lead by Example
Children often tend to imitate their parents. If you’re glued to TV yourself, your child is hardly going to pay attention to books. But if they see you curled up on the sofa, absorbed in a book, often enough, they’re likely to try it themselves.
Indulge Together
Read the books along with them, by doing so, your child doesn’t feel left out and will enjoy doing it. The secret is to be patient. Pick a book with picture and text and discuss it with your child, the characters, the incidents and the take from the book. Take turns in reading and read aloud. This improves concentration, spoken language and the child is motivated. Let them know what you are reading, give them the information of the book, you will be surprised to know how well they remember such tiny things.
Adapt
What’s important is that your children read, not how they read. Focus on helping your child discover the joy of the written word. Falling in love with books will happen naturally once they develop the habit. Face it, no matter how much you want it, there’s a chance your kids might not care about your favorite authors or what you consider ‘good reading’. Accept their interests and get them books on subjects of their interests.
Buy and Gift Books
You can find the complete article here:Gift your kids the habit of reading