How to Get Kids to Read - Part 2

Another way to get kids to read is to let them see you reading. I still remember watching my parents read. My dad sometimes read over my mom’s shoulder. We adopted my daughter from China when she was seven years old. She didn’t speak English, didn’t read or write Chinese or English. But from the time she met us, she watched us read newspapers, books, magazines, even cereal boxes. Young children want to be like their parents. They want to do what their parents do. Take advantage of that while they’re young. Let them see you read, so they will realize how important it is to you.

Does my daughter like to read? You bet! Give her a Goosebumps Series book or a Dear Dumb Diary book, and I have to force her to put it down and go to sleep at night. She loves comic books, and I encourage her to read them as well as the funnies in the paper. She’s reading, and that’s what’s important! I do the same with her assigned reading that I did with my son. I read with her to get started. I always finish the assigned reading, but she usually finishes before I do. Right now, she’s reading Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi. We started together, but she got tired of waiting for me to read with her, so she’s way ahead of me. But I’m going to finish it. It’s a great story.

Do I let my children read anything? No. It has to be age appropriate. Even so, it might not be right for them. In first grade, my son was determined to read a Goosebumps book. I finally broke down and let him read it, knowing it would be too scary for him. Sure enough, he read only one chapter before he got so scared he couldn’t read anymore. He hasn’t read a horror novel since then.

Tomorrow, suggestions on how to find a book your child will enjoy.