Help Your Children to Love Reading

• The most important thing a parent can do to teach a child to love reading is for the parent to let the children see how much you love reading. You need to set the example.
  

• Set aside a time each day when everyone in the family reads. Perhaps it is for half an hour after school or before bed every day. Be consistent.
  

• Read to your children. Even after they are old enough to read themselves, it is still a treat to have a parent read to them.
  

• Never punish your child by taking away books.
  

• Share books you loved growing up.
  

• Create a tradition of reading one chapter from a book each night before bed. I remember a teacher in the fifth grade would read a chapter each day from “Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh” by Zena Bernstein (Illustrator) and Robert C. O'Brien (Author). I looked forward to class every day so I could find out what happened next!
  

• Start a family book club. Everyone reads the same book and pick a night to discuss it. I suggest checking out copies from the library, I wouldn’t want to buy several copies of the same book. Or you can take turns reading from the same book.
  

• Every child should have a reading nook in his or her bedroom. A simple beanbag chair or other cozy chair, a small table with a reading lamp and a small bookcase are all that is needed. If space is especially limited, just a comfy chair and reading lamp will suffice.
  

• Creating a - continued below ...