How to encourage your child to read more

  Some children love reading, others dread it. There’s no magical trick to getting your child to love reading, but there are habits that you can pick up to help them understand the importance and value in reading.

1. Create a cosy corner in your house for reading (or a little cushion area in their room if possible). Every time they read a book, it will be a relaxing experience.
2. ‘Monkey sees, Monkey does‘ philosophy, try to have books around the house that are easily accessible to them. There’s no point in building a beautiful and fancy library for your children if they don’t get the opportunity to read them whenever they please.
3. Don’t punish them by forcing them to read books they don’t like. There’s no point in forcing them to read something just for the sake of it — they will not only see reading as a chore, but as something dreadful.
4. Go book shopping with your child, and let them pick. As an avid reader, I naturally love shoppoing for books, but I completly neglected that perhaps my son has his own ideas about what books he would like to read. Recently, I have changed my attitude as my son’s appetite for reading is slowly emerging. I’m reading more with him, and letting him pick some books (including books that are adaptations from disney films).
5. Understand that each child is different. One thing that I find distasteful among some parents, is the competitive tone they take with children. Every child has his and her own personality, intelligence and abilities. They should never be compared or weighed against each other.