by Jo Ann Wentzel

Created on: March 13, 2011

Since reading is one of the most important childhood skills to develop, we as parents must supplement the school teachings in this area of curriculum. Reading should be a favorite subject, but it can be difficult if kids were never taught a love of books and the exciting discovery of reading. Schools work on this subject from the very lowest of grades, but learning in school is not enough if your child is to excel in reading skills.

As with most things taught small children, the best way to pass on this interest is by example. If parents read, most times kids will be readers as well. Parents, themselves, should set some time apart for enjoying books. They can show how much knowledge or enjoyment they obtained from the books they read by sharing this information with their children. If the house is filled with books, most children will be tempted to open them.

When children are young, the parents organize their day. When they set a schedule for meals, play, baths and bedtime, why not add a time daily for reading. When the child is very young, this time will be spent reading to the child. As the child matures, this time is set aside for the child to read aloud to you and eventually just read on their own. Thus, the habit is established early on.

A child needs a balanced life which includes outdoor and indoor activities. A child must have fresh air and exercise to keep his body fit, but also mental exercise to keep his mind active and help his knowledge grow. Reading answers this last need.

As a parent, we encourage the child with good nutrition to feed their bodies, but we are also in charge of our kid’s minds. The total body must be helped to grow and to be maintained so we must encourage reading as we do exercise or getting enough sleep. We must build up the mind as we do the body. Parents must encourage reading since this is an important element of their children’s maturation.

The minute a child is old enough to get a library card, let them have one. Start making weekly trips to the library so they can be exposed to a large number of books. Even if your budget is tight, the library can keep your children in wonderful books and encourage their reading. Teaching them how to find a book and use all the resources of a library is another tool for encouraging their reading.

Books make wonderful gifts and avid readers will love having another new adventure from time to time. Include gifts of books for birthdays and for Christmas. If your budget allows when going out shopping pick up one of the bargain books that kids will love regardless of its low price.

They say if you don’t like to read, you just have not found the right book so keep looking for new topics that coincide with the current interests of your kids. If they have discovered fire trucks, there is a book about that. If they have begun to collect stamps, there are books to tell them what stamps to look for and how to carefully preserve them. Even if the current topic is about becoming a princess when they grow up or being a cowboy, there will be volumes that speak to that ambition. Don’t forget to let kids pick their own books most of the time and listen to all their interests to give you a clue as to what might tempt them to read.

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