{"id":391,"date":"2015-12-01T11:26:00","date_gmt":"2015-12-01T11:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/2015\/12\/01\/how-to-turn-your-child-into-reader\/"},"modified":"2020-10-28T17:17:51","modified_gmt":"2020-10-28T17:17:51","slug":"how-to-turn-your-child-into-reader","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/2015\/12\/01\/how-to-turn-your-child-into-reader\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Turn Your Child Into a Reader"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"children's<\/a><\/div>\n

I have always loved books and I have always wanted my children to love books as well. \u00a0Even before I seriously thought of having children I was saving books for them. \u00a0I still have most of my childhood books and I have eagerly waited for my kids to be ready to read the stories I loved when I was their age. I have even written before about how I enjoy recommending books<\/a> to my daughter.<\/p>\n

But how do you convince children that reading is fun and not a chore to be gotten through as quickly as possible? How do you make reading and books as automatic as breathing?<\/p>\n

First of all, and you would think this would be obvious, read to them. \u00a0I am amazed when I hear parents say that their child is too young to be read to or too young to appreciate books. \u00a0Your child is never too young to be read to. \u00a0Read to them when you are pregnant, read when they are newborn, read when all they want to do is chew on the pages. \u00a0If you start trying to read to a child when they are three it will be hard to keep their interest. They will wander away and get distracted. \u00a0If you read from infancy it will be a habit. \u00a0They will associate reading with you, with comfort, with something they enjoy.<\/p>\n

Read to them often. \u00a0One book read quickly at bedtime is not going to turn your child into a book lover.<\/p>\n

Read what they want, even if it means you read the same book 500 million times. \u00a0Children love repetition, parents not so much. \u00a0Do it anyway. \u00a0I still have The Going to Bed Book by Sandra Boynton completely memorized from years of reading it to both kids.<\/p>\n

Let your child see you reading. \u00a0It does no good to tell your child how awesome reading is if you never do it. \u00a0Children can smell a hypocrite a mile away.<\/p>\n

Books should be readily accessible. \u00a0Have a basket or a bookshelf where they can go and pull out the books they want to look at whenever they want to do so. \u00a0Books shouldn’t be put up as special and untouchable. \u00a0They should be everyday objects.<\/p>\n

Take them to the library. \u00a0Make it a fun excursion. \u00a0Let them pick their own books, even if it means they get the exact same books they got two weeks ago. \u00a0Remember, kids like repetition.<\/p>\n

Keep up with your child’s comprehension. \u00a0A 5-year-old may only be able to read a picture book by himself, but that doesn’t mean that is the only thing he can understand. \u00a0His comprehension is above his ability to read at that point. \u00a0Read the chapter books to him.<\/p>\n

Don’t try to turn every book into a learning experience. \u00a0Let your child just enjoy the story. \u00a0If they want to talk about it, that’s fine, but no one enjoys always being taught a lesson.<\/p>\n

I know teachers are very into reading at grade level but I don’t always agree. \u00a0Many kids want to try a book that is supposedly too hard for them. \u00a0If you let them try they might succeed beyond your wildest dreams. \u00a0If you talk them out of it they might not try again. \u00a0Do you want to stifle their initiative?<\/p>\n

By the same token, it isn’t going to hurt them to read books that are too young for them sometimes. \u00a0My son went through a stage when he was much younger when he read all his little sister’s picture books when we got home from the library. \u00a0They were way below his reading level but he enjoyed them. \u00a0That is what you are going for, enjoyment. \u00a0Do you always want to read a challenging book? \u00a0I didn’t think so. \u00a0Neither do our kids. \u00a0Sometimes they just want to read something easy and that is fine too.<\/p>\n

Remember that your kids are not you (this one is hard for me!) \u00a0They may not love the same books you did (Oh, the horror!) \u00a0Find the books they love. \u00a0My son developed a love affair with Star Wars books at a very early age. \u00a0That did not come from me \u00a0but that is fine. \u00a0It is really the love of books in general you are going for, not the love of a few specific books. \u00a0Besides, someday he will be desperately trying to convince his children that Timothy Zahn is the best science fiction author ever and I will get a lot of pleasure out of watching that.<\/p>\n

Don’t make reading a chore. \u00a0Being told you have to read a certain number of minutes or a certain number of chapters is a guaranteed way to destroy any desire to read.<\/p>\n

Buy books. \u00a0They don’t have to be expensive, thrift stores frequently have books for sale, but buy them. \u00a0The library is wonderful but sometimes you just need to own the book. \u00a0Kids understand the joy of possession.<\/p>\n

Teach them that books contain not only stories but knowledge as well. \u00a0The internet is all well and good and you can google almost anything but sometimes it is wonderful to give a child a book that tells them what they want to know. \u00a0Is your child interested in the solar system? \u00a0There is a book for that. \u00a0Maybe it is sharks or dinosaurs or how to crochet. \u00a0There is a book for that. \u00a0Children can really enjoy poring over a book that fits their interests. They might find their answer quickly online but they will find answers to many things they didn’t realize they wanted to know if they read a book.<\/p>\n

I firmly believe that one of the most important things you can give a child is a love of books and reading. \u00a0Worlds are opened for them. \u00a0Knowledge is at their fingertips. Tolerance and empathy are learned. Imagination is sparked. \u00a0Boredom is impossible. \u00a0All you need is a book.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have always loved books and I have always wanted my children to love books as well. \u00a0Even before I seriously thought of having children I was saving books for them. \u00a0I still have most of my childhood books and I have eagerly waited for my kids to be ready to read the stories I loved when I was their age. I have even written before about how I enjoy recommending books to my daughter. But how do you convince children that reading is fun and not a chore to be gotten through as quickly as possible? How do you make reading and books as automatic as breathing? First of all, and you would think this would be obvious, read to them. \u00a0I am amazed when I hear parents say that their child is too young to be read to or too young to appreciate books. \u00a0Your child is never too young to be read to. \u00a0Read to them when you are pregnant, read when they are newborn, read when all they want to do is chew on the pages. \u00a0If you start trying to read to a child when they are three it will be hard to keep their interest. They will wander away and get distracted. \u00a0If you read from infancy it will be a habit. \u00a0They will associate reading with you, with comfort, with something they enjoy. Read to them often. \u00a0One book read quickly at bedtime is not going to turn your child into a book lover. Read what they want, even if it means you read the same book 500 million times. \u00a0Children love repetition, parents not so much. \u00a0Do it anyway. \u00a0I still have The Going to Bed Book by Sandra Boynton completely memorized from years of reading it to both kids. Let your child see you reading. \u00a0It does no good to tell your child how awesome reading is if you never do it. \u00a0Children can smell a hypocrite a mile away. Books should be readily accessible. \u00a0Have a basket or a bookshelf where they can go and pull out the books they want to look at whenever they want to do so. \u00a0Books shouldn’t be put up as special and untouchable. \u00a0They should be everyday objects. Take them to the library. \u00a0Make it a fun excursion. \u00a0Let them pick their own books, even if it means they get the exact same books they got two weeks ago. \u00a0Remember, kids like repetition. Keep up with your child’s comprehension. \u00a0A 5-year-old may only be able to read a picture book by himself, but that doesn’t mean that is the only thing he can understand. \u00a0His comprehension is above his ability to read at that point. \u00a0Read the chapter books to him. Don’t try to turn every book into a learning experience. \u00a0Let your child just enjoy the story. \u00a0If they want to talk about it, that’s fine, but no one enjoys always being taught a lesson. I know teachers are very into reading at grade level but I don’t always agree. \u00a0Many kids want to try a book that is supposedly too hard for them. \u00a0If you let them try they might succeed beyond your wildest dreams. \u00a0If you talk them out of it they might not try again. \u00a0Do you want to stifle their initiative? By the same token, it isn’t going to hurt them to read books that are too young for them sometimes. \u00a0My son went through a stage when he was much younger when he read all his little sister’s picture books when we got home from the library. \u00a0They were way below his reading level but he enjoyed them. \u00a0That is what you are going for, enjoyment. \u00a0Do you always want to read a challenging book? \u00a0I didn’t think so. \u00a0Neither do our kids. \u00a0Sometimes they just want to read something easy and that is fine too. Remember that your kids are not you (this one is hard for me!) \u00a0They may not love the same books you did (Oh, the horror!) \u00a0Find the books they love. \u00a0My son developed a love affair with Star Wars books at a very early age. \u00a0That did not come from me \u00a0but that is fine. \u00a0It is really the love of books in general you are going for, not the love of a few specific books. \u00a0Besides, someday he will be desperately trying to convince his children that Timothy Zahn is the best science fiction author ever and I will get a lot of pleasure out of watching that. Don’t make reading a chore. \u00a0Being told you have to read a certain number of minutes or a certain number of chapters is a guaranteed way to destroy any desire to read. Buy books. \u00a0They don’t have to be expensive, thrift stores frequently have books for sale, but buy them. \u00a0The library is wonderful but sometimes you just need to own the book. \u00a0Kids understand the joy of possession. Teach them that books contain not only stories but knowledge as well. \u00a0The internet is all well and good and you can google almost anything but sometimes it is wonderful to give a child a book that tells them what they want to know. \u00a0Is your child interested in the solar system? \u00a0There is a book for that. \u00a0Maybe it is sharks or dinosaurs or how to crochet. \u00a0There is a book for that. \u00a0Children can really enjoy poring over a book that fits their interests. They might find their answer quickly online but they will find answers to many things they didn’t realize they wanted to know if they read a book. I firmly believe that one of the most important things you can give a child is a love of books and reading. \u00a0Worlds are opened for them. \u00a0Knowledge is at their fingertips. Tolerance and empathy are learned. Imagination is sparked. \u00a0Boredom is impossible. \u00a0All you need is a book.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":542,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,14,35,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-391","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books","category-children","category-featured","category-thoughts"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=391"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2905,"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391\/revisions\/2905"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}