Ways parents can encourage children to read

How to turn a young reader’s reluctance into enthusiasm:

Look for things your children might like to read about. Use their interests and hobbies as starting points. Books bring information.
Leave all sorts of reading materials in conspicuous places around your home. This includes books, magazines, programmes and colourful catalogues.
Notice what attracts your children’s attention, even if they only look at the pictures. Then build on that interest. Read a short selection aloud, or simply bring home more information on the same subject.
Let your children see you reading for pleasure in your spare time. Kids copy their parents.
Take your children to the library regularly. Explore the children’s section together. Ask a librarian to suggest books and magazines your children might enjoy.
Use reading as an activity with a purpose; a way to gather useful information about, say, finding out about the country , or planning a family trip.
Encourage older children to read to their younger brothers and sisters. Older children enjoy showing off their skills to an admiring audience.
Play games that are reading-related. Look for spelling games played with letter tiles like Scrabble, or board games that require players to read spaces, cards, and game directions.
Over dinner or while you’re shopping, share your reactions to things you read about. Encourage your children to share their new ideas gained from the books they read.
Set aside a regular time for reading in your family, independent of school work. The 20 minutes before lights out, just after dinner, or whatever fits into your household schedule. Even ten minutes of free reading a day can help improve a child’s skills and habits.
Read aloud to your child, especially a child who is discouraged by his or her own poor reading skills. The pleasure of listening to you read, rather than struggling alone, may restore your child’s initial enthusiasm for books and reading.
Encourage your child to read aloud to you an exciting passage in a book, an interesting item in the newspaper, or a joke online. When children read aloud, don’t feel they have to get every word right. Even good readers mispronounce words now and then. Glide over it if the child doesn’t take criticism well. Correct it next time.
On gift-giving occasions, give books and magazines based on your child’s current interests.
Set aside a special place for children to keep their own books. A shelf is good.
Treat your children to an evening of laughter and entertainment featuring books. Many children (parents, too) regard reading as a serious activity. Whereas a joke online, a story told in riddles, or a funny passage read aloud can reveal another side of reading.
Extend your child’s positive reading experiences. For example, if your youngster enjoyed a book about dinosaurs, follow up with a visit to a natural history museum.
Offer other special incentives to encourage your child’s reading. Allow your youngster to stay up an extra 15 minutes to finish a chapter. Promise to take your child to see the movie on which it was based after he or she has finished the book. Relieve your child of a regular chore to free up time for reading. Consider reading as a reward.
Limit your children’s TV viewing in an effort to make time for reading. Never use TV as a reward for reading. There is no punishment for not reading. Let the child come to reading when they’re ready.
Not all reading takes place between the covers of a book. What about packets, food labels, road signs? Take advantage of spur-of-the-moment opportunities for reading during the course of your family’s normal day.