Teach Mom Learn

I’m going to come right out and say it -no one actually hates reading.  People only think they do because they haven’t found the right material yet.

Reading is one of the most important skills you will teach your child.  It’s something they will use every single day of their lives, whether they are reading for fun, for work, or for their daily life. 

Reading is magic.  It can transport you to other worlds or make you feel like you’re right with characters hundreds of years in the past.  It will make you laugh so hard you cry or sob because you grow to love the characters in the pages.

Reading not only builds literacy skills, it helps children develop empathy.  It helps them to understand other people, cultures, and perspectives on a deep level. 

Here are some strategies to help you teach your child to read because they love it, not because they feel like they have to.

1. All reading is good reading

It’s been proven that every single time you read, you become a better reader.  Reading skills build throughout our lives, so the more your kids read, the better!

A lot of time, parents get caught up in the quality of what their children are reading.  In reality, it doesn’t matter if they read a classic novel, a comic book, a magazine article, or even their box of Cheez-its.  All reading is good reading.

By letting your child read what they want to, you’re making what can be a challenging or stressful activity more fun and engaging for them. 

When they read because they want to, because they’re genuinely interested in what they’re reading, they’re going to enjoy it more.  They’re also going to push through even if it gets hard because they want to read the content.

For some children, finding books they love is easy. For others, it’s much more of a challenge. In those cases, you can get really creative. If you have a child who loves cars, read car magazines and brochures with them. Your miniature foodie can enjoy looking through recipe magazines and cookbooks. Your future engineer can read manuals to help assemble their toys.

Playing to your child’s interests is the perfect way to motivate them to read more.

2. Read early and read often

Normalize reading early in your child’s life.  Make it part of their bedtime routine as soon as you have the energy, and then continue it forward.  Point out sight words as they get a little older and have them chime in with you for their favorite parts.

When your child comes to you with a book, drop anything you can to reinforce this and read with them.  Tell them how excited you are to share the story they chose. 

As they get older, have reading time together.  You can have them read to you, switch off by page, or just read your own books curled up on the same couch. 

3. Don’t force it

There are some nights where your child won’t feel like reading.  And on those nights, don’t make them.  You don’t want to take what should be a positive experience and infuse it with feelings of dread and obligation.

We want our kids to read because they love it, not because they feel like they have to.  But if there are multiple nights in a row where your child is resistant to reading and they’re not showing any interest during other parts of the day, it might be time to try a new approach. 

Bring your child to your local library and let them pick out a new book to read.  Giving them some control may help them to get back into their reading routine again.

4. Make reading a game

There are so many ways to build reading into fun activities.  Your child won’t even realize they’re getting a reading lesson!

Here are some easy and fun reading games you can play with your child:

• Create a scavenger hunt where your child has to read clues to find the prize
• Have them build sentences with blocks by writing words on each side of the blocks.  Check out the Fry Lists for hundreds of common sight words you can use
  • Teacher hack: If you don’t want to actually write on the blocks, use a notecard and packing tape!
• Turn Jenga into a social skills and reading game by writing questions or dares on each block
•  Play Scattergories! It’s such a great game for building vocabulary and critical thinking skills.  Just don’t set a timer, you don’t want your child to feel stressed!
• Bananagrams, Scrabble, and other crossword games are great for manipulating letters!  Apps like Wordscapes are fun too!

5. Let them earn reading

When something is made into a reward, children inherently want it more.  So if you want them to view reading as a positive thing, build it into your household reward system. 

Offer a trip to your local bookstore as a reward for a good grade, or put reading on your screen-free rewards menu.  Make Saturday morning trips to the library a fun treat after a long week of hard work.

By making reading into something that is earned rather than required, you’re making it a much more desirable activity!

6. Be mindful of how you talk about reading

Your children quickly pick up on your attitude toward everything and everyone in your life.  If you don’t like something, they know, and for the most part, they won’t like it either.

If you love reading, it will be easy for you to get excited about story time with your child and to share your passion for reading.  If you’re not much of a reader, or if you truly hate reading, things may be a bit more challenging.

The key is to find a way to get excited about reading even if you’re not usually a fan.  Find something you love to read, then talk to your child about it and share your enthusiasm with them.  Pick out a special book for just the two of you at story time. 

7. Use props

Bring your child’s books to life with some props!

Have your child play with a rubber ducky when you read about ducks (Rae actually has a bath book that came with tiny rubber ducks that she loves).  Let them hug their favorite bunny while they read a book about bunnies. Bring in toy cars when you read about cars. 

Use stuffed animals and dolls to act out scenes from their favorite books.  Do whatever you can to bring their stories to life. 

You can even have them continue the story with their dolls and stuffed animals by acting out what they think happens next.  You’ll be so impressed with their creativity, and they’ll have so much fun building on a story they already love!

8. Try audiobooks

What’s better than listening to someone read you a story?

Even kids who hate reading will get pulled into a good audiobook.  Play it in your car while you drive them to school, or have it on in the background while they have coloring time. 

Many libraries now have apps like Overdrive or Libby where you can borrow audiobooks for free and download them directly to your phone.  It’s so convenient, and there are so many choices that you will definitely be able to find something your child loves.

Try having them listen to the first book in a series.  Once they get hooked in, they’ll want to find out what happens to the characters.  They’ll want to get the books (or other audiobooks) as fast as they can!

While audiobooks don’t develop all of the same skills reading does, there are still valuable skills your children can learn.  Audiobooks build listening comprehension skills and vocabulary. 

By talking to your child about what they’re hearing, you can work with them as they develop skills in summarizing, characterization, and identifying literary elements.

Another option is to have your child follow along in the text version of a book while they listen to the audiobook.  This is an especially great strategy for students with reading disabilities or slow processing speed, but all children can benefit from it!

I hope these strategies help you raise a lifelong reader! For more ways to engage your child in reading, check out these 10 tips to make story time even more fun for your toddler!

What made you fall in love with reading? Which books did you love most as a child? Please share in the comments below!