Walt Disney once said, “There is more treasure in books than in the pirate loot on Treasure Island.” If your kid is not in love with reading, and even worse, will do anything to avoid it, don’t lose hope. There are ways to bring out the inner bookworm in your reluctant reader.
Start early. Reading books to your baby as soon as they arrive in this world or even when they are still in-vitro is a great way to instill the love of reading. Pick any form of printed matter – magazine, picture book, or comic. The message is: don’t underestimate the power of your voice and a story, and you’ll be on the right track.
Model reading. If you love to read, make time to do so. Reading books is not only great for your kids, but for you as well. Like anything else you do, kids are influenced by your interests. The more they see you engrossed in a book, the more they will be inclined to do the same.
Visit your local library. A trip to your local library is one of the best ways to inspire your kid to read. Allow your kid to explore each section at their leisure and get to know the lay of the land. A conversation with the children’s books librarian can help with recommendations for classics, new arrivals, and popular series. The idea behind a visit to the library is to have your kid feel inspired by the cover, spine, or title of even just one book.
Book club. Book clubs are not reserved for adults only! Check-in with parents of your kid’s friends and form a youth book club. Try monthly meetings by Zoom or socially distanced meetings and get together to share all things bookish. And there’s nothing like accountability when it comes to group activity. Kids can make recommendations for each other and do a book swap to keep it easy and affordable.
Book store field trip. To encourage your kid to read, spend time perusing books at stores such as Barnes & Noble, Maui Friends of the Library, or a book section of a large store like Target. Many stores have sales, discounts on holidays, and even in-store incentives for books and magazines. Consider picking up several copies for your kid’s book club.
Introducing books and reading to your kid from a young age can help foster a love of reading. Allow your kid freedom of book format, genre, even reading level if it helps. You never know where or when they’ll find a treasure, so keep gently supporting and encouraging them.—RG
