12 easy ways to develop Reading habit in Kids

12 Tips to develop reading in kids

Reading is the backbone of education, but sadly, many of today’s kids prefer to watch TV or play a video game rather than read a book. The reason – modern parents don’t focus much on how to encourage “Good reads” in kids daily routine. Nurturing a love of reading in children can be an insurmountable task for anyone, but with the proper use of right techniques, one can easily turn their reluctant child into a little bookworm. Inculcating reading habit in kids is of utmost importance & should not be missed from the early stage. Here is how you can inspire your little one to be a lifelong rampant reader!

Tips to develop reading habit in kids & help them fall in love with books:

Reading habit in kids1. Read to Your Child Early and Often:

To help your child understand the real importance of reading, start reading stories, bedtime stories from an early age (by 1 year). Start the routine with some short stories or Good reads. This will foster a love of new words and ideas & help develop reading habit in kids in near future. Invest in some board books and cloth books and read them to your child whenever you both have quality free time.

2. Read What Interests Your Child:

Instead of forcing your little one to read what you like, encourage him to read something he has keen interest in. No matter if it is newspaper, poetry, fiction, comic book, non-fiction, or another great reading material, let your child read what he wants. However, you should always make sure that your little one is reading age-appropriate material.

3. Surround Your Child with Books:

Leave books lying around the house in every room so they soon become a crucial part of your kids lives. Children who grow up with reading material all around them learn to love reading earlier than those who grow up in absence of essential reading resources. Filling your home with lots of books, you make your child ready to get reading – even if it’s only for a few minutes. And later you’ll be happy to see reading habit in kids.

4. Set a Daily Reading Time:

If you really want to develop a love for reading in your children, it’s important that you encourage them to read at a specific time of day – every day. Be it late afternoon, half an hour before bedtime, just after dinner, or whatever works best for you, set up a cozy reading time for your little one and follow it strictly. That way your child will treat reading as an important everyday task.

5. Ask Questions:

To keep your little one hooked in the book he is reading, ask him some relevant questions and also encourage him to ask the same from you. Ask what’s happened so far, what he thinks will happen next, and how he would tackle a particular situation. Remember, the more questions you ask to your kid, the more his love for reading will grow.

6. Let Your Children Select Their Favorite Books and Authors:

Whenever you visit a library or book store, encourage your toddler to select new books on his own to read. Also, ask the shopkeeper or librarian to recommend authors based on your child’s interests and hobbies. By letting your little one choose his favorite reading material, you not only boost his level of interest in reading but also help him develop a sense of independence.

7. Demonstrate Your Love of Reading to Your Kids:

Talk to your child about your favorite books and explain him why you love them. As children love to imitate parents, showing your toddler your own love of reading will help him better understand why books are essential to the daily life. Make it a habit to always have a good book going and share what you gained by reading a certain book with your child.

8. Read Their Favorites Again and Again:

If your child loves to read a particular book over and over again, don’t be upset. It’s actually a good sign that he is taking interest in reading and thereby getting attached to that story. Continue this practice and let your child re-read the books he loves. Re-reading not only helps a child build fluency and confidence but also lets him master the whole story over time.

9. Set Challenges and Rewards:

Set a reading goal for your little one and if he achieves the goal, reward him with something that he really wants. It could be anything, like his favorite snack, money, a new toy, an outdoor trip or whatever motivates your child to read more. For example, if your little one reads for half an hour every day, offer to give him his favorite delicacy.

10. Be a Good Role Model:

To instil a love of reading in your kids, be an avid reader yourself and read in front of them as much as you can. Read whatever you like – a magazine, a novel, a cookbook, or a newspaper – but make your child realize that you love reading and learning new things. Keep in mind; children learn best from their parents – especially when it’s about reading. Hence, try to be a good reading “role model” for your kids.

11. Gift them Books:

Reading habit in kids
Reading for kids

If you want to gift your little one something really special that could foster a love of reading in him, there is nothing better than a book. Give books as gifts because it is the best way to develop reading habit in kids. Also, ask your relatives to give your child books as birthday presents and suggest the same to your little munchkin’s friends.

12. Make Full Use of Creative Reading Apps:

In this era of technology, you can also take advantage of smart phones, tablets, and e-readers to make your kids fall in love with reading. Where e-readers can be easily adapted to every child’s specific needs, on the other hand, smart phones and tablets allow you to install a variety of handy reading apps which make the entire process of reading a fun for your children. Let these technological advances help develop the reading habit in kids & turn reluctant child into an avid reader.

Book reading

Thanking Nishant, for this informative post!

Meet Nishant – Nishant Gupta is the founder of WobblyWalk and he loves to read and write about parenting, pregnancy, motherhood, baby & moms care. He feels the difficulty of his wife as a mother and tries to share tips for all mothers to overcome these difficulties.

Jhilmil

Quest to live the life surrounded with the charming little bundle's of joy. When they speak, I sing, When they smile, I rejoice , When they hug, I hold them never to lose, Such is my passion for these Gifts of God.This love urged me to navigate separately from my Travel Blog & establish an "All-In-One" Blog for budding mothers. Mum's have multi-tasked this world ,with all her professional commitments , she still makes an extra effort to be a loving, caring and be an intellectual mommy! Cheers, for me too come from the same fraternity, post having a superb academics & close to 8 years of professional experience and blessed with a little one "who has indeed changed my life from Autumn to Spring";)

This Post Has 48 Comments

  1. Chemady

    Well stated! I love those tips. Will make use of those tips when I start having my kids. Thanks for sharing.

  2. Anosa

    These are ready great and handy tips I know my nephew enjoys reading books they really started early with him

  3. Akamatra

    Great tips! Our 11 month old daughter drops everything as soon as she hears a book opened. Her daddy and I joke about our little bookworm!

  4. Amber

    I love to read, so I expected that my kids would love to read too. I always read to them. They always got new books. But they really aren’t readers like I am. They’ll do it sometimes, but not as often as I’d like!

  5. wildandfreeoutdoors

    Yes and yes!! Reading is so important and kids will learn to love it if parents are consistent with reading to them from a young age!!

  6. Chanel

    Great article. My little girl has struggled with dyslexia but as I have always read to her she still has a love of books and reading 🙂

    1. Jhilmil

      wow that’s great! Hope her dyslexia has improved!

  7. shopgirlanonymous

    Love these tips! I live for reading to my kids, and bringing the books to life, but of course I have a degree in education and literature.

    Every summer we try to have a reading focus. Last summer, with the release of BFG in August, we read everything to do with giants, including BFG. With all these stories and books were activities that were hand on, to really bring the stories to life for them. We had a blast, and my step-sons reading level jumped from pre-kindergarten to third grade in one summer.

    1. Jhilmil

      oh that was great.. see continuous reading did so great to kids..you are a live example for this:). Keep reading

  8. Jenn

    I couldn’t agree more! I learned to read at a very young age, and we are instilling the love of books with my son now. We do many of the things you mention here. He loves to look at them, and even reaches for books from time to time!

    1. Jhilmil

      wow, that’s really great! M sute he’ll turn out to be a great reader:)

  9. chelf

    great points! and also creating a safe reading environment, a comfort zone with lots of books and blankets and tea and snacks 🙂

    1. Jhilmil

      Tea, snacks n books..deadly combo.. Then I’ll read for those yummy snacks;)

  10. audriaallred

    Great tips, I love books for my kids! They are truly the best. Hoping to implement some of these strategies next time we read. thanks.

  11. Love all these tips! I have done all of this with my boy and he seems to love books. I also think it’s important to help them make connections of what they’re reading to the world around them.

    1. Jhilmil

      Wow that’s great to know! Yes its must to let them have reading with practical learning

  12. Kelsee

    I was introduced to reading when I was very young and I still have quite the love of reading to this day. These are great strategies to share with the youngsters in our lives!

    1. Jhilmil

      Great, we must strategize reading for younger ones for sure!

  13. Jill

    This is so great! I think in today’s society it’s so important to teach kids real values and the importance of reading!

    Jill
    http://www.jilldap.com

    1. Jhilmil

      Yea Jill, I personally feel so.. It’s so much of digitization around that I want to instill a good reading habit in kids!

  14. Dee

    Reading was my favorite hobby growing up and I still love it to this day. I think it helped me a lot later on in life, and even as a blogger because it taught me to visualize things in my mind instead of being spoonfed them on tv.

    -Dee
    http://www.everybodygirl.com

    1. Jhilmil

      that was same here.. I used to read books, novels till late night. It gave me so much of practical learnings!

  15. Purchasing books that of interest to my son has been wonderful with his reading habits. I’ve learned that if they don’t seem interesting to him that he’s not really interested in reading them.

    1. Jhilmil

      Ya we have to cater to kids interest to help them engage in reading

  16. Ellie Chan

    Great advice! I don’t have kids but these are useful tips for parents. It’s always good to get kids in to reading early.

  17. toastycritic

    I have definitely tried many of these things. As a librarian I was always trying to keep my daughter reading. I haven’t had good luck with the apps though. I tried a few and my daughter didn’t respond to it very well.

    1. Jhilmil

      wow, so happy to hear you were librarian! Your daughter would have had access to so many books! I try to limit the apps & want kids to go via book reading. Apps is the last way to engage them & instil love for reading

  18. elenasts

    These are all great tips. Everyone is constantly online so books are kinda being forgotten. Still there is no better story than the one hidden among the book covers.

    1. Jhilmil

      That’s really true.. Stores as crosswords don’t let me forget books & I love buying 2 books a month for myself too..

  19. Nida

    This really interesting to read! My son is 2 he loves reading!! And his more interest in animal books ! Will develop more habbit of reading by your article!

    1. Jhilmil

      wow that’s great! All the best for more reads!

    1. Jhilmil

      Great to know Jasmine! Thanks for coming & reading:)

  20. Mae

    I did a similar post on my blog last month with tips on how to help kids become better readers. I agree with letting them pick the books they love to read, but we also go to the library often and created a reading nook for our little one.

    Mae | http://wwwthegospelofbeauty.org

    1. Jhilmil

      Library is a must once kids reach that age! We need to promote library culture..My kid is in play school -2.5years & I really love that they have library culture even now!

  21. courtneyrandrews

    These are all great tips! My dad started reading with me from a very young age so I’ve always loved it!

    1. Jhilmil

      Great to know, so you would still love reading I believe:)

  22. Ana Ojha

    These are all great tips for developing reading habits in kids! As early as you start, it is always better for your kids!

  23. Gina

    I really love reading thanks for the tips when I have my own child one day I definitely show him/her what I’ve learnt from you

  24. moscatoismymantra

    Interesting thoughts! I don’t have kids, but I’m sure these tips would come in handy thank you for sharing

  25. These are a great selection of tips and are absolutely on the money. I think the biggest part of it is that you develop a routine around reading! Kids love to stoke their imagination before bed 🙂

  26. Summer Mitch Ryan

    I’m totally quilty, although growing up I had been exposed to books and had been a fan of authors like Sidney Sheldon and Michael Crichton; I have not modeled this to my children. Thanks to this post, I got some idea how to work things up amidst hectic schedule.

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