3 Simple Ways To Engage Your Kids With Reading

With the emergence of all things technological for kids in the twenty first century, from social media to Minecraft and from online gaming to smartphones, it can be hard to convince your little darlings to give the humble book a try. Reading has been a stalwart of hobbies for centuries. From the tales of Dickens, the novella of the Bronte sisters and the horror yarns of Shelley, reading has been a source of pleasure for children and adults since the invention of the printing press. Now with the high definition competition staking a claim for kids attention spans, it can be trickier than ever to enthuse your children about reading.

Stick To Their Hobbies

If your ten year old son loves nothing more than playing sports, watching blockbuster movies about dinosaurs and playing with lego, don’t try and get him to read a book about the kings and queens of England. You need to engage your little cherub with his own passions. Ask him to make a list of his hobbies and head out to purchase some exciting books all about his passions. Stereotypically boys are seen as being switched off by reading, but this is becoming increasingly common for girls too. Forget about novels and world class writing for the time being and encourage them to pick up a non-fiction book about their love of horses, trees or their favourite cartoon character or even allow them to sit on the sofa reading a comic. Engagement begins with tapping into what they love.

Self Esteem

Sometimes kids feel like they might be rubbish at reading or they might struggle to understand the words on the page in front of them. This can cause low self esteem and totally disengage them from a worthwhile hobby. Sit down with your child and ask them why they don’t like reading. They may struggle with breaking down words or comprehension. If this is the case, investigate securing the services of some private one on one home tutoring. With a more nuanced and bespoke learning method, your child will receive a personalised plan to help them not only read well but also engage them with books.

The Library

Nowadays libraries are no longer archaic institutions where everyone is told to stay silent, and books fill untold numbers of shelves hooked onto beige walls. Libraries are colourful, dynamic and engaging places to spend a couple of hours each week. Most will run specialised kids workshops with the goal of engaging kids with reading. You could even partake in a readathon as a whole family over the summer break, competing to see who can read the most books. The more your child reads, the better they will become at it.

Reading for pleasure is seemingly dying out. Nevertheless, all is not lost with companies like Amazon bringing out Kindles, little tablets complete with book ink effect print to ensure eyes are not strained. Technology is attempting to encourage an upsurge in reading once again. By following these three simple steps, you will be able to enthuse your child with a love of reading.