Reading
. . . one of THE most necessary skills. Reading affects almost every
aspect of our lives, and parents, as well as society as a whole,
desperately want children to learn the joy reading and the fulfillment
it can bring. But, how?
The joy of reading is typically acquired when children are very young.
By the time they enter elementary school they either love reading or
consider it a serious labor. Therefore, the time for enriching their
lives needs to start from birth. When children are young, they crave
time spent with their parents. They are willing to do almost anything,
including reading. Make reading a part of your daily life. Set aside a
half an hour, typically prior to bedtime, to dedicate to reading and
time spent with the children. Make them earn this as a reward.
The nightly routine can be something as simple as: "If you want to have
time to read, you must have your pajamas on and teeth brushed by
7:30pm." If they are delayed in getting ready for bed, cut short the
time of reading. The time they spend with you is more precious to them
than words can describe. If they lose some of that time, they will
prioritize their time allocations to avoid missing any of their reading
time! This sets up their frame of mind to make reading a high priority!
In their mind, reading is correlated to happy memories.
As the children get a little older and begin to read on their own, sit
together with the children while they read aloud or read a favorite
selection to them for part of the time. When they are reading to
themselves, read one of your books. Show them that reading is something
you do as well for enjoyment.
Sharing time together, reading a story together and showing them that
reading is a quiet activity that is filled with rewards will impart the
love of reading. Reading with your children is definitely quality
family time. Build that bond even stronger and enjoy your children
reading.
Chris
Lowrey lives with her husband and children in Madison, Wisconsin. A
mother of four sons and two step-children as well as Editor/Author of
Family Time Charm, she commits herself to improving the lives of
families and children. For more parent articles, free entertaining
stories for children and fun activities for all, visit:
www.familytimecharm.com
Family Time Charm is the website for the entire family!
Contact the Author
Chris Lowrey
Families
chris.lowrey@sbcglobal.net
