by Jude Tan

Created on: October 17, 2009   Last Updated: March 11, 2012

Teens today are spending more and more time online.  The rising popularity of social networking sites, like Facebook, and a plethora of online games are keeping them busy on the net. This shift of behaviour is a concern for many parents who fear that their teens are not reading enough and that reading is put in the back burner because of too many online options, all competing for their time and attention.  If you are one of those parents who are looking for ways to encourage your teens to develop good reading habits, here are some tips.

1.  Limit online time.  Limit the number of hours your teens can spend online. Explain the reason for this restriction and make sure they understand your concern and are committed to this rule. Let them know that you trust them to manage their time online.  If the trust is compromise, you will have no choice but to put in place a monitoring system.  Hence, they must be responsible for their action.

2.  Read daily yourself.  By reading daily, whether it’s a novel, a newspaper or a magazine,  you demonstrate to your teens how much you enjoy reading and how much knowledge you gain through this activity. Your daily action models good reading habits and your teens will notice it.

3.  Create a home library.  Set up a nice library, deck with a wide collection of good and interesting books. Categorise these books neatly on each shelf. Turn this into a favourite spot for reading by complementing it with colors, arts and furniture.  Make this cosy space easily accessible to your teens so that they know  where to go when they feel like reading a book.

4.  Set reading goals for them.  Start small.  Get them to read short stories or short essays, which you can purchase from bookstores.  Each story or essay is about  three to four pages long.  I have just purchased a book of 330 short stories for my son’s bedtime reading and got him  to read a  story each night.  By the end of a month, he would have read about 30 to 31 short stories and by the end of the year, he would have completed the book.  Through this daily ritual, good habits can develop.

5.  Set time to discuss what was read.  Encourage your teens to talk about the story which they had read the previous night.  Show interest by talking about the plot, discuss the theme, the characters and the moral values learnt from reading it. 

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