Do you want your child to be an avid reader? Want them to have the same passion as you do over books? While reading is an important and must have life skill there are tremendous benefits of being a great reader especially through adulthood. Adults who read a lot have less stress, have better memory, stronger analytical thinking skills as well as many other benefits. It is our job as parents to inspire the magic and love for books. Here are some great ways you can set up your toddler to be a great reader.
Surround them in books.
Always have a book within their fingertips. Keep them in their room, their play room, keep them in your car and just about anywhere else you can think of. This is how you can ensure that you are raising a child who is a book lover. Kids love books, even if they can’t read them yet. Young children love to look at the pictures.
Choose books that are interactive.
While it may be tempting to want to read your toddler the Harry Potter series, you want to choose books that are engaging your toddler. Interactive books keep little ones interested in the book physically. Anything that they can touch, feel or pull on is a great choice of books. These types of books also help with their physical development by helping them practice their fine motor skills. They are able to practice their pincher skills and how to maneuver their hands and fingers.
Be a good example.
When your child sees you reading they will want to imitate their most favorite person. Children love to follow your lead. Make sure that you are always reading around them and show them the books that you love. If you are not an avid reader now, it is never too late to start and fall in love. Join a book club or seek out friends who can give you great suggestions of books you may love to read.
Read to them every day, any moment you can.
It is important to be consistent and make sure you taking them time to read to them every day. Not only is this great bonding time but doing this consistently allows your child to commit sight words, learn the sounds and letters into their long term memory. Be sure to read to them every opportunity that you get. Even if it just for 10 minutes here and there. A story before bedtime shouldn’t be the only time they get read to. Read to them when you need them to calm down or have some quiet time. Always look for opportunities where you can read to them. Even reading the signs while shopping is a great exercise to do with your little one.
Take reading field trips.
Trips to the library or even to story time with a play group are a great way to get children excited about reading. They are able to discover all the great things a library has to offer. They can choose as many books as they like and get a kick out of getting to bring them home. A Story time group is not only a great way to make reading exciting but they also get to meet and socialize with children their age. Many times at a story time group, they will have a craft to go along with the book. This helps reinforce and continue learning about the book they just read.