by Barbara Nuzum

Created on: January 28, 2010

Love of reading needs to be nurtured, and it begins in the home at a very early age. Parents are the most influential adults in any child’s life. So the task of introducing kids to reading and developing enthusiasm for reading begins with the parents in the home.

 Turn off that TV!

Research has shown that young children should not be exposed to constant TV, including some of the more popular videos that claim to make geniuses out of your children. A moving and flickering TV screen is not soothing to your baby and may inhibit learning later on. In fact, too early and too much TV viewing has been linked to

ADHD. Many pediatricians advocate that children under the age of two should watch no TV, and after the age of 2 the time spent watching TV should be limited to no more than 2 hours daily and should include quality children’s shows only. The first 3 years of your child are considered critical for brain development and learning. Parking your child in front of the TV may be tempting at times, but will interfere with other activities such as reading, playing and interacting with you and other children. 

Start with yourself

Be an example. Read yourself and let your kids see you read. It can be the newspaper, magazine or a good book.  Don’t send your child  to his or her room to read, only to plop on the couch and watch TV yourself, without ever picking up any reading material. “Do as I say and not as I do” has never worked very well.

Start at an Early Age

Even a 6-month-old is capable of looking at picture books. You and the child can share some quiet time by looking at picture books together. There are many books on the market suitable for that age group, some of them offering the added sensation of touching and feeling. You can choose a cloth or cardboard book that will allow the baby to touch and handle them. Or choose a book that has texture, imitating fur, feathers or skin on animals. You’ll give the baby a chance to be part of the reading experience. 

 Don’t expect your baby to have a long attention span, so keep it short, but do “read” together on a daily basis, before naptime, during quiet time in the afternoon, or right before bedtime. Your soothing voice will make this a calming and happy experience for your child that you will share together.

Choose simple books, perhaps a rhyming book such as Mother Goose, or “Ten Little Monkeys”, or “Brown Bear,

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