I have been reading to the Kiddies since they were tiny babies. I enjoyed reading as a child and I carried my love for reading and writing to adulthood. My kids have tapped into that. They enjoy reading and writing, and now the tables have sort of turned since they now read to me now. I get them to read at least 1 book (most times 2) everyday to me, and I read a book each day with them. The importance of reading to children cannot be overemphasised but yet it is amazing how many parents hardly ever read to their kids.
I know how tricky it can be to fit it all in. As a work from home mum, I have to be very organised to get anything done with my twins. So I know all about how tiring it can be to get hone and open books with kids, but it is something we have to do if we want them to excel in their day to day life. Reading and writing is something we do everyday. We can’t take a day off reading especially, so it is best to develop that skill as early as possible.
How to get your kids to enjoy reading
Luckily I don’t struggle in this department as my kids are natural lovers of books but I helped them develop their love for reading. Here are some of the things you can do to help your kids fall in love with reading –
Buy them books
The twins have bookshelves each filled with books, and they get regular books every week from school, so they read a lot of different books. I made sure they got age appropriate books from when they were born. This has helped because they discovered books from a very young age. The fact that they read books appropriate ages as also helped their reading.
Read to them
Buying books is a waste if you don’t read to your kids, Reading to them on a daily basis helps their development. Putting on different voices also helps capture their attention. My daughter started reading for herself from the age of 3 and has improved over the years, so as my son.
Get them involved
Before my kids could read, I got them involved by asking them to pick the books they wanted me to read to them. I also get them involved by asking questions about whatever book we were reading. Now that they read, I get them to pick the books they want to read and I listen while they read.
Reward good reading
If your kids are anything like my twins then they would love rewards. I got my kids potty trained with the help of a sticker charts and Underpants book. I got them to feed themselves with rewards. Anything worth doing, I get them to doing it by rewarding good behaviour. If you struggle to get your kids to read, having a reward chart may help. For every book they read (or attempt to read since looking at picture books does help), you reward. A reward could be big or small, from a new top to a trip to the park.
How often do you read to your kids? Do they enjoy reading?
Great tips! We started reading when the kids were babies so they know no different!
Same here. Best to catch them young.
My older ones love reading but Sebby is struggling a bit – I did find it didn’t really stick until they were about 6-7 though
Oh ok. Good your older ones love reading. I think they keep improving as they grow older.
Kids reading is super important. Getting them involved and being interactive is the main thing xx
Yes it is xx
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My daughter (12) reads, reads, reads all the time … book WAY too complicated for me to understand! My 10 year old son, though, doesn’t like reading. We buy him books all the time, and try to encourage him, but it causes stress. His school are encouraging him though and his reading is getting a lot better, so we’re pacing ourselves in the hope he’ll chose to pick up a book on his own soon!
Good to know the school is encouraging him as well. I am sure he will pick up a book on his own soon.
It really is so important to get kids to read and if you can get them into good habits, it will really help with their literacy skills too
Yes it is super important. Thanks Nikki.
We’ve read to our boys from a young age and now my youngest has started school is now reading himself. It’s amazing how much he’s progressed in just these few weeks, and I’m sure it’s all from nurturing a love of reading from a young age.
Yes it is. We need to catch them young 😊
We need to reward good reading more! But we do enjoy bedtime reading each night 🙂 good tips x
Yes we should x
Yess a good way to encourage
Bed time reading is the best because that’s only time I feel I can get their full attention lol
I can relate. It is like that with my twins sometimes.
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Great post keep up the great work
Thank you.
I really enjoyed your post. My daughter will be 5 next month and we started taking her on visits to the library and she literally looks forward to waking up on Saturday morning so mommy and daddy can take her. Throughout the week I read to her the books she picks out and she helps identify the sight words. Each week we have a discussion about what type of book she wants to read or what she would like to learn about. I really enjoy these moments.
Oh lovely. Glad you enjoyed the post. I hope she continues to love reading. Thanks for stopping by.
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