- Read books yourself. It doesn’t matter what they are; kids will think books are important if they see you reading them yourself.
- Have books around the house. We buy some books and borrow many more! We visit the library at least once a week.
- Read with them. I find that sitting down with a picture book is one of the easiest ways to get my kids to snap out of a bad mood!
- Have them tell you about the books they are reading. This tells kids that you are interested in the books they read. It also builds reading comprehension and narrative skills!
- Start young. It’s great bonding time!
- Don’t get frustrated if your child doesn’t automatically love books. Some of my kids loved being read to from an early age; others took time to really get into it. But they all love books now – even baby Anna, who was one of my kids who enjoyed books from the very beginning!
- If you have more than one child, encourage them to read to each other. Right now, six-year-old Emma is helping five-year-old Johnny learn how to read, and they both love it. It’s great bonding time, and an excellent chance for readers to practice reading out loud. Three-year-old Lily often “reads” books to baby Anna, by describing the pictures or reciting memorized text from her favorite books.
- Find books that interest them. We borrow Star Wars books and superhero books from the library every single week for five-year-old Johnny – and American Girl books for my six-year-old Emma.
How do you encourage your kids to love books?