The Joy of Reading

Reading… one of THE most necessary skills. Reading affects almost every aspect of our lives, and parents, as well as society as a whole, desperately want children to learn the joy reading and the fulfillment it can bring. But, how?

The joy of reading is typically acquired when children are very young. By the time they enter elementary school they either love reading or consider it a serious labor. Therefore, the time for enriching their lives needs to start from birth.

When children are young, they crave time spent with their parents. They are willing to do almost anything, including reading. Make reading a part of your daily life. Set aside a half an hour, typically prior to bedtime, to dedicate to reading and time spent with the children. Make them earn this as a reward.

The nightly routine can be something as simple as: "If you want to have time to read, you must have your pajamas on and teeth brushed by 7:30pm." If they are delayed in getting ready for bed, cut short the time of reading. The time they spend with you is more precious to them than words can describe. If they lose some of that time, they will prioritize their time allocations to avoid missing any of their reading time! This sets up their frame of mind to make reading a high priority! In their mind, reading is correlated to happy memories.

As the children get a little older and begin to read on their own, sit together with the children while they read aloud or read a favorite selection to them for part of the time. When they are reading to themselves, read one of your books. Show them that reading is something you do as well for enjoyment.

Sharing time together, reading a story together and showing them that reading is a quiet activity that is filled with rewards will impart the love of reading.  Reading with your children is definitely quality family time.  Build that bond even stronger and enjoy your children reading.