Hooking today's kids on reading is a difficult task because so many more exciting and active options are available to children, like video games and television shows. But here are some tips to help an adult guide a child towards a love of reading.

Children learn what they are taught. Yes, that is a very pat thing to say, but it's true. If a child is taught to spend most of his or her waking hours in front of a TV, that's what they will learn to value.

However, if the reading of books is made a regular activity in a child's life, that child will learn to appreciate reading. But the activity must start as early as possible.

Here are some tips to help your child develop an interest in reading:

1. Begin reading to your child right from birth. Babies love the sound of a human voice, and that inborn interest sets the basis for a later love of reading.

2. Introduce books to your child as soon as they can hold a book; there are plastic and cloth books for babies allowing them to get into the habit of handling a book.

3. Take your child on outings to libraries and book stores. These pleasant environments have gone to great lengths to ensure that a child will enjoy the experience. Borrow books or set a budget and buy books, on a regular basis.

4. When reading to your child, be emphatic! Read with great expression in your voice and on your face. This active approach to reading is very memorable and enticing to a child; they will beg for you to repeat your sounds, your actions.

5. Stock up on Dr. Seuss books. This author, while not a real doctor, figured out how to make kids love the written word with his wild rhyming nonsense words and his even wilder story lines. No need to buy new; there are lots of used Dr. Seuss books at garage sales.

6. For the child who may already be hooked on computer games, the best tip is to allow only those games which involve reading as part of the game play. Many game sites, such as, "Big Fish" offer oodles of search-and-find games that force a player into reading in order to solve the puzzles.

7. As the child grows, set time before lights-out at bedtime for reading or just looking at picture books. The child who does this regularly will find reading a natural extension of merely perusing a book's pictures.

8. Some children are tactile learners; they must "feel" words in order to establish an appreciation for reading. This can be achieved by holding the child's hand, and using his or her finger to trace the lines of letters. This has phenomenal success even among children with special needs.

9. Read to your child as you go down the street, as you walk through the grocery store, or as you walk down a hallway in church or school. Roadway signs, advertisements, food labels and public notices are great sources for inspiring your child towards a love of reading. When they see that reading can actually help them to better understand their world, they will want to read.

10. Above all, encourage your child to try. Many children feel incapable of learning to read. And they may tell you that they can't learn to read. But steady encouragement, steady positive feedback will go far in changing that attitude.

How do I know all this? I taught special needs children how to read, I taught remedial learners how to read, I taught all 3 of my children how to read, and I am now teaching my grandchildren to read, too.

The parent, the grandparent, or the teacher, who invests him or herself in a commitment to introduce a child to the wonderful world of books, will succeed in hooking even the most reluctant kid on reading.

Learn more about this author, Sheree Zielke.
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