The Best Tips for Encouraging Kids to Read
1/11/2012
The internet is full of blogs with ideas about reading with our young children, so how can we figure out which ones are worth a read? One recent post summarized some of Raising A Reader MA’s favorite points, such as integrating reading into real life, creating an intimate reading space, throwing a book party, and playing to your child’s interests. But what was missing?
- Start early! Parents ask us all the time when they should start reading with their children. Or they say, “he’s too young for me to start reading with him.” Actually, a child is never too young to share a book. We encourage parents to start from birth, modeling to their young children how to ask and answer questions. I like to tell parents that they might feel a little crazy talking to themselves, but soon enough their children will be answering questions themselves!
- Forget about the words! The most important part of sharing a book with a young child is exposing them to lots of rich vocabulary and engaging them in the story. Instead of simply reading the words on the page, ask your child what they see, and give them new words to describe the pictures. For example, “You’re right. That’s a bear! It’s actually a special kind of bear called a polar bear. Can you say polar bear?” Introducing new vocabulary and giving your child opportunities to practice will help improve their oral language now, which will make it easier for them to learn to read later.
- Books are still best! With so many e-readers out there, it’s attractive for parents to introduce their young children to new technology early on. But studies show that either listening to or reading from a device focused their conversations on how to use the device (Careful! Push here. Hold it this way) rather than on the story itself. There’s a time and place for these new tools, but don’t forget to snuggle up with a good (real) book as well.