9 Ways to get your children into good reading habits

After a year of lockdowns, fake news, and alarming headlines, getting lost in a good book is a great way to take your mind off things. Whether it’s a fast-paced thriller or a serious drama, a fanciful story or fascinating facts, it can relax, inspire, and uplift you.KNOW YOUR MARKET
It can be hard to convince your console gamers or TV nuts that books are as much fun. You’ll have a better chance if you pick a topic or genre they’re into at the moment. Once they’re reading or listening to the story, see if there are real-life activities you can tie in with it. Harry Potter, anyone? Let’s see who can make the coolest wand. Reading about dinosaurs? Check out the local museum or, if it’s still closed, make a virtual trip. The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History is an impressive place to start. If there is one, watch the movie of the book together after reading it.

15 MINUTES OF FUN
Set aside at least 15 minutes each day to read aloud to your children. Most children enjoy a story at bedtime, but younger children might find it easier to concentrate at other times in the day, or if you have two shorter sessions. It really doesn’t matter when, or for how long – reading regularly is what counts. Don’t be shy to go all out with funny voices and sounds!

LOVE THE LIBRARY
Real-world libraries probably won’t open soon but you can have a virtual visit to the world of books with websites that offer free reads for kids. Oxford Owl has a solid selection and Storyline Online has videos of American celebs reading to kids.

BE ADVENTUROUS
Once in a while, try an author or a kind of genre you haven’t looked at before. Real-life adventures and biographies can be a new thrill. Just pick something they can relate to or perhaps someone they’ve heard of. Encourage older readers to try and impress you with a discovery of their own.

PRESS REPEAT
With young children, make a list of their favourite books and enjoy reading some of them again together.

BIRTH YEAR BOOKS
Find books written or published in the year of your child’s birth and read them together. Or celebrate writers on their birthdays. Dr. Seuss, for instance, had his on 2 March.

READ YOUR HEIGHT
Measure their height in centimetres and see if they can read at least that number of books in 2021. If that seems like a tall order, make it up to the knee or waist – you don’t want to discourage them.

DO AS YOU SAY
Set aside some time each day to enjoy reading a book of your own. If you read a fact or passage that might interest or amuse them, tell the kids about it. This shows that books add value to your life – as it will to theirs.

SOUNDS SILLY, BUT…
Buy older readers a headlamp so they can stay up “past bedtime.” It reminds them that reading is a treat and a privilege – and they’ll feel grown-up.

Some of these tips are from Nal’ibali, a South African non-profit that offers many free resources and literacy activities at their site. Most importantly, they have a selection of free stories to read or listen to in a number of languages. Visit www.nalibali.org or www.nalibali.mobi.

Sources: https://readingpartners.org, https://www.parents.com