Inculcating the Reading Habit In Children

When I was a kid my parents knew the best gift I loved was a book. But those of my generation were lucky not to be distracted with things like video games and TV and easily took to reading like a fish takes to water! It's a tougher task these days for parents to inculcate the reading habit in their child, especially in a world where mindless distractions are limitless.

Reading aloud to kids beginning even at so young an age as two plus is a good idea and one that works! Children love to hear stories and what could be a better than a parent's or a grandparent's lap to snuggle into and hear stories. Hearing a story being read aloud is one way that a child picks up vocubulary and enjoys the closeness with the parent that the exercise offers. It may take just about 10-15 minutes of your time before the child gets into bed and is a nice way to spend quality time with a kid. Each parent can take their turn at it. Most children a quick learners. They never mind a story being repeated to them and soon you will be surprised how they can effectively relate it in their own words using words and phrases from the book! Restrict yourself to not more than a tale or at the most two each night. Dramatising the words in the story through facial expressions or with the right intonations of speech will make things more interesting and fun-filled. It will help understand concepts too. Soon they may want to do the dramatising themselves.

It is a fine idea to pick up small books that cost about Rs.50/- (roughly a dollar) , with animal stories or bed time stories or Aesop's Fables, as these make good bedtime reading for young children. You are sure to find not less than 40-50 short tales in a book and this is enough fodder to last quite a while!

As they grow they will learn to read themselves and before long it can become a hobby. Buy a good stock of such story books and hide them away in place inaccessible to your youngster. Dole them out one at a time when the situation calls for one, like a task done well or good performance in school or having taken care of the kid brother or sister or running an errand for you. Such incentives work well in a parent-child relationship.

As they mature into adults and shoulder responsibilities as parents themselves, cherished childhood memories will help them pass on the habit to their own children!