by Maria C Collins

Created on: May 02, 2008   Last Updated: November 25, 2010

I have enjoyed reading for as long as I can remember. When I was young, the family joked, that if the bomb dropped I would be found, amongst the ruins, oblivious to the destruction, still reading my book. I have endeavoured to pass my own love of reading and passion for words on, to as many of my young friends and relations as possible. Here are some of the ways I have discovered to foster a love of reading amongst the very young which will last all their lives.

The first, and most important, tip is to start young. Talk to them, tell them what you are doing or where you are going. A young relative was born with a condition which could cause speech difficulties in later life. A wise doctor told his mother to talk to him at every opportunity, because he said babies absorb words and, when the time comes for talking, it makes it easier and faster for them to talk, if they are used to hearing lots of words.

Read to babies almost from birth, begin with picture books, and progress to books with little stories, nothing too long at first. Even babies can recognise picturesof familiar things, one little boy loved bananas, and, at six months old, tried to pick the picture of a banana out of his favourite picture book. As the child gets older, see if s/he can tell you the story from the pictures, little ones enjoy being the storyteller for a change. Read to the child regularly, daily if possible. Encourage other family members and friends to read to the child too.

There's a very good reason for nursery rhymes, babies enjoy poetry if it rhymes and has a good strong rhythm, a young relative, rather surprizingly, adored "Father William" and Longfellow's "Hiawatha".

If your child seems not to pick up reading very quickly, sometimes it is a case of finding the right series of books. Go to a good bookshop, and browse in the children's section. A young friend of mine, loved being read to, but was a little slow to read for himself. I managed to find a series of stories, about a bus that had all sorts of different tops, which made him into different vehicles to do different jobs. The little boy's imagination was sparked by these books, and reading suddenly clicked. He is in his thirties now and still a great reader.

Sometimes children, boys especially, enjoy reading at first and then, as they get a little older and learn more about the World, they seem to find reading a little tame in comparison to riding bicycles, football, television, computers and the like. It is a case of finding the right books, I found that the kind of books, where the child controls how the story progresses can be very good in these cases. There are several different series of these. Sometimes trying a completely different genre of book to what the child has read before can reignite interest, maybe a mystery or a thriller (yes there are mysteries and thrillers written especially for youngsters).

The most important tips of all are to make a friend of a good and knowledgeable bookseller, who stocks a good selection of children's books, and enjoy passing the love of reading and books on to all the small people in your life.

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