When you are handling a child or a baby, people or yourself take note of the importance of reading on the baby’s life. There are many benefits reading can give your children, and they greatly benefit your kids at every stage of their growth and development. Having a child who enjoys reading is so rewarding.
It is easy to develop a child’s reading skills, especially when they enjoy and love reading. These kids tend to practice reading more even without their parents’ orders. Reading is an amazing hobby, and it is good for one’s mental health, so it may help in improving a student’s positive attitude. Aside from that, kids who love to read may also be more intelligent and be more advanced in learning.
However, how do you teach good reading habits to children who do not like to read books? It is not easy to motivate kids to read, especially when they do not have any interest in books. The good news is that you may motivate your child to read more books and help them develop their love for reading.
But before anything else, it is essential to know and understand why your child doesn’t like reading books. Knowing this will make you understand the reason behind their dislike of reading and will help you know what things you may do to change their perspective about reading.
1. For some kids, reading seems so hard
If an activity appears to be hard for your child, then your child won’t probably pose any interest in that certain activity. So if a kid is struggling with reading, they won’t find this activity fun and enjoyable.
So if your child struggles with reading, you might want to check for several issues they encounter. Is your child not fluent enough? Don’t they have strong vocabulary skills? Or is it likely that the child has dyslexia?
There are many possible reasons behind your child being a struggling reader. Still, whatever the reason is, it is important to identify them and address these issues as soon as possible. It will help your child physically and mentally and help them enjoy reading better.
2. Reading can be boring for some kids
Even though they don’t find reading hard, some children may think reading is boring. It’s true for some kids, but they still might not have found the perfect reading material for them.
To address this issue, you must first identify your child’s interests. Think of the things they love to do. Do planets and other celestial bodies interest them? Do they find dinosaurs interesting?
After knowing your child’s interest, find books and other reading materials, such as children’s board books, relating to their likes, which may motivate them to get the hang of reading gradually.
So how do you encourage kids who don’t like reading to enjoy reading books?
Always allow some time for reading
Even if your child is busy and has a tight schedule, it is important to make even a short time for reading. Let your child read even a short story and let them feel that reading is one way of relaxing after a long day. Never pressure your child to read because they may treat reading as a hard chore. Instead, motivate them.
Readout loud for your child
Pick a reading material with a topic that interests your child, then read it aloud. Reading aloud is essential even though your child is still a newborn. It helps them adapt to your reading and makes them like reading more.
When you have a newborn, reading any book is acceptable. You may read any book you like – it may be a cookbook, a manual, your favorite novel, anything. What’s important is that your baby can hear your voice, the text, and the words themselves.
According to research, the number of words an infant encounters may affect their language development and literacy. The more you read to them as babies, the better their development will be.
Read again and again
If you want to build your child’s interest in reading books, it is important to read the same book repeatedly. Re-reading books may help enhance your child’s reading abilities and help them with their development skills.
Being literate and having good reading skills may help your child’s confidence. When your child is confident, it will motivate them to read more and learn more from reading books.
Ensure that what they read is not beyond their abilities
It is hard to read something that you do not understand – it will only make your child less motivated and make it harder for your child to enjoy reading. Ensure that your child’s reading material is within their reading capability. The books must be easy-to-read and in line with their interests.
Connect the books in real-life
Relating the stories your child reads in real life may help them build their interest in reading. For example, when they are reading about animals, you may ask them about their favorite animal. You may even relate the storybook animal to a real-life animal if you’d like.
You may also relate your life experiences to the characters’ experiences in the story. Aside from making reading interesting, this will help your child grow as a more aware citizen of society.
Ask several questions as this will help them engage in the subject more. You may also do fun follow-up activities that will make stories that your child read come to life.
Create a reading nook
What makes reading more fun other than a cozy reading nook? Let’s be honest; even adults love to have their own reading space. A cozy reading nook is something your child looks forward to. Having a special space for reading will motivate your child to read more and may help them enjoy reading ten times better.
Do not rush
It is important to take your time teaching your kids how to read. Since they are still young, they will always encounter words far from their vocabulary – words that they find difficult to read and understand. When you encounter these words, it is crucial to take your time and be patient.
When your child makes mistakes, help them improve. Re-read the lines together and help him point out where he went wrong and how to correct these mistakes.
Most importantly, always praise your child’s efforts. Let them know that you acknowledge their efforts. It will motivate them to read more and encourage them to be better next time.