For Parents
Encourage Reading to Raise Successful Kids and Adults
Encouraging reading is one of the most important things you can do as a parent. Strong readers are more successful in school, life, and work. Strong readers are exposed to a variety of information from a variety of sources and are used to accessing, evaluating, and using information that are key college and career readiness skill.
In our tech-heavy world, kids are bombarded with information. They need to know how to manage and process this information accurately. Strong reading skills will help them do exactly that.
What are some ways to encourage young readers?
The most important thing to remember is that reading should be an enjoyable experience. The following activities can help you stimulate your child's interest in reading.
- Talk with your young child before he learns to read.
Talking with your child before he even speaks will help him learn important language skills. Most children need strong oral language skills if they are to develop as readers and writers. Using short, simple sentences, you can talk about your daily activities, what he is seeing and doing, his environment, sizes of objects, the shapes of signs, and so forth.
- Read to and with your child at least 30 minutes each day
Your child will gain awareness of the conventions of reading (left to right, top to bottom), and even the very young will gain vocabulary. Running your index finger under the print as you read will help your child notice that printed words have meaning. Gradually you can ask her to identify letters and sounds.
- Sing songs and recite poems and rhymes that have repetitive sounds
Repetition makes it easier for your child to pick up on the patterns in the sounds you make.
- Model good reading habits
Help your child understand that reading is important by letting him see you reading maps, books, recipes, and directions. Suggest reading as a free-time activity. Keep books that are of interest to your child in an easy place for him to reach.
- Purchase books and curate a home library
Choose books that you love and that you love reading together. Let your child see that you value books and the written word. This allows you to introduce them to high quality literature and stories that will spark their imagination.
