Tips for Motivating Children to Read

(501 Words)
It is vital for children to read. It can help them develop the skills they will need for the rest of their lives, as well as open up many worlds to them. Unfortunately, many kids are resistant to reading. Try the following strategies to motivate them.
Obtain books, magazines and other literature that they would like to read
Sometimes it is not that children do not like to read but that they do not want to read what is being pushed upon them. Many kids are not interested in textbooks or some of the other books commonly touted by parents and teachers. You may want to talk to your child about what he or she would like. You could go with them to the bookstore and let them pick out things that they would enjoy reading. You can also consider educational magazines as well.
Read yourself
Many children learn more by emulating their parents than by listening to them lecture. If you show that reading is important even to adults, then they may take this behavior as their own.
Make special time for reading
Your children may not want to read because they may rather be doing something else instead such as playing video games, watching television, playing on the computer, etc. You can take away the competition by making a special time for them to read. It can be a time that the entire family sits down to read together. You can even make your own family book club and discuss the books afterwards.
Do library programs
Many library programs may be motivational to children. For instance, many libraries hold storybook festivals, which feature characters from popular books. There are many story times. They may be more interested in reading after attending one of these.
Utilize the computer or television
Although the television and computer may seem like the last thing to motivate your child to read, certain programs can be helpful. For instance, the educational program Super Why discusses reading with a fun theme of superheroes and princesses. There are many websites that focus on books and reading as well.
Reward your child
Many libraries and schools have programs in which you can win something if you read a certain amount of books. You can also make your own program in your house. Give your child little prizes for finishing books. He or she may start to enjoy reading so much that they no longer require them.
Read to your children
It is important to read to your children on a daily basis. The more you read to them, the more they may become interested in reading themselves. You can share all of the wonderful worlds there is to explore in books. They may be interested in reading more than you can to them and may continue themselves to find out what happened in books or read similar works.
The more you can motivate your children to read, the better. The above strategies may help you in this quest.