For Parents

Smart ways for Parents to Encourage Their Child to Read

Develop children’s verbal skills by having them read out loud.  Depending on the child’s language skill level, give him a story to read or have a story read to them. When the story is finished, ask your about their favorite parts of the story.

Read every day:  The more children are exposed to literature, the more reading will become part of their daily life. A child is introduced to new information, concepts, and phonemic awareness with every story.

Surround your children with reading material: Children with reading material in their homes score higher and perform better on standardized tests. Your child will be more inclined to read if there is an array of interesting books and magazines at her reading level.

Encourage a wide variety of reading activities:  Make reading an everyday part of your children’s lives. Let them read menus, cereal boxes, roadside signs, game guides, weather reports, and other practical everyday information.

Let them choose what they read:  Reading for pleasure is one of the best ways for a child to improve his performance at school, but teaching a child to love reading involves a lot more than simply handing him a book. Letting children have choices in their reading material goes a long way in raising life-long readers. Kids who choose what they read, regardless of whether it’s a novel, a comic book, or a magazine, are more engaged with what they are reading and more likely to retain the information.

Help them choose age-appropriate books: Help your kids choose age-appropriate books on topics that interest them to spark a love of reading. Take them to the library and get them their own card and let them choose their own books.

Show interest in your child’s reading.  Let your children know that you are happy to see them read.  Children respond to your interest in them and accept praise as a sign of your love.