Hacks to get your kids to read more this new year

Getting Kids to Read More

With the holidays festive cheer coming to an end, and the new year starting, its time for a new us. New resolutions to make us a better version of our old selves. This new year I have resolved to start writing about books that I stumble on and love and hopefully get other parents and kids to read more.

We may not all live up to our resolutions, but at least we try to start. So lets start by getting our kids to enjoy books first.

Choose your child's age and use the steps mentioned as guides. Use your imagination and creatively come up with more to get them hooked on books!

Baby/Toddler (0 – 2 years)

• Read aloud - Start by reading aloud simple baby books. Babies love the sound of your voice. Though they may not respond much, they are listening and taking in every word. Its a sure shot way to get them to build better vocabulary and communication.

• Interactive books are great - Touch and feel, lift-the-flaps, black and white first books, books that you can sing along to and the loved classics are great to have fun together while reading. See our blog on Our Top 10 baby Books for 2019 to get started on must haves for your babies first library.

Little Kids (3 -5 years)

• Create a bed time story routine - Every night before they sleep, read to them. They will look forward to story time and it also gets them into the routine of sleeping on time. Develop this as a habit, and it could last a lifetime.

• Read the title and author - Talk to them about who an author and illustrator is. Show them where the title of the book comes. Make them guess the story based on the title. Soon they learn never to judge a book based on its cover.

• Use your fingers - Read slowly and use your fingers as guides. Kids soon learn the concept of reading left to right and line by line.

• Play guess where or spy games - This is a great way to get your children excited about a book. Play an easy I-spy game about finding/ recognizing a letter/small word. E.g : I-spy with with my big big eyes a word beginning with the letter A.

• Books that rhyme - Kids love stories that have a beat and rhyme. Read them stories of sentences that rhyme. Cat in the Hat and Julia Donaldson do a great job at that!

• Storytelling sessions - Introduce them to storytelling and theatre sessions. Each storyteller is so different and there are multiple ways of telling a story. Make time and take them, they are sure to love it.

Bigger Kids (6-8 years)

• Continue the bed time routine - Make sure that nothing comes in the way of the bed time routine. Continue to read to them if they are reluctant readers or encourage them to read age appropriate books if they are willing.

• Give them time to read - This is probably the time when your kid wants to learn to swim, football, music, karate and dance. With so many activities and homework, there is so little time. What ever the reason, make sure you leave some time everyday where they have enough time to read.

• Read a range of books - Read books on mystery, humour, history, narratives, fantasy. Read a wide range and see what they enjoy.

• Get them hooked on series book - Introduce them to series books like Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Secret Seven, Famous Five, Judy Moody, Geronimo Stilton etc.

• Author addiction - If your child is obsessed with an author, let them read them all the books. Join a library or swap books with friends.

Tween (9-12 years)

• Discuss books together - Talk about the books your reading and have a dialog with your kids about theirs. Make sure its part of your everyday conversation. Its amazing how much you can learn from each other.

• Start a book club -Pick a book based on your child's interest and schedule half an hour a week to discuss it. You could do this in your own family or with friends.

Teen (13+)

• Ebooks - Get the kindle app on your kids tablet or phone. Since this generation spends so much time on their tablet, give them the flexibility to download and read books of their choice. If your kids aren't using any devices then have no fear- there is nothing better than the smell of an old good book.

• Share your favourite books - Talk about the different types of books you have read that they may not be interested in reading on their own. It could be auto biographies, memoirs, anything really. This way they learn more about things they don't already know and have an open mind.