As a kid, I consumed books like I consumed ice cream – fast and furious!
I loved a few book series and as soon as a new release was available I’d race to the bookstore with my allowance. I’d get home and immerse myself into the life of the so many book characters and imagine I lived in a far-off place full of excitement and opportunities. This enabled me to dream that all things were possible.
Today’s reality… Reading books is competing with YouTube, Netflix, iPads and video games – and unfortunately, this goes for adults as well as children. Sure, people still read, so SO MANY don’t. Having so many ways to have fun as a kid these days means that reading can sometimes be a last resort.
As parents – we can all agree that we want our children to enjoy books and have them as a part of their life as we know this allows them to be more creative, become better writers, learn about the world and the best part yet, escape into great storytelling.
Today's reality... Reading books is competing with YouTube, Netflix, iPads and video games - and unfortunately, this goes for adults as well as children. Let's get our kids to read more! #literacy #ChildrensBooks #Booksforkids Click To TweetThis post contains affiliate links. Disclosure here.
So, let’s focus on getting our kids to read more with these 8 tips:
(Adults – some of these will work for you too)!
1. Family Reading Time
We recently started doing this after dinner. As soon as all dishes were put away we’d all grab our books, set the kitchen timer and read for at least 30 minutes Note: We read our own books.
How this started: My son had to be encouraged to read more regularly and since I love reading and I also wanted my husband to read more this was a great plan.
The result: My son would actually read for at least 45 minutes to an hour and we’d all have some quiet time to enjoy our own books. Win win!
2. Make a Reading Bucket List
This is another great tip that works for kids and adults. Create a list of the books you want to read this year and start marking them off your list.
How to get started:
- For kids, let them do the research – either on the internet or going to the bookstore or library. Next, they can create their list on paper and post it to the fridge. Once they’ve completed they can tick the list and move to the next book.
- For adults, we all know how popular bullet journals have become – so get your favourite journal and create your book bucket list there. If you don’t have one yet, here’s how to get started.
Feel free to make the bucket list challenge competitive with your child to see who reads the most books. A reward can be something small each time they get to a certain milestone – i.e a bookmark, a new book.
Want your child to read more? Tip: Make a reading bucket list... plus try these other 7 tricks. #literacy #ChildrensBooks #Booksforkids Click To Tweet3. Read Together
Reading the same book together can work for different age groups, but the goal is to have the child read one page and then the parent reads one page.
For the younger child, this helps them get in the habit of reading. It also gives you the ability to ask them questions about the book to ensure their reading comprehension is where it needs to be. Make sure to ask specific questions.
For the slightly older child, you can share in the reading, but make sure it’s a harder novel for them that is enjoyable for the two of you – think The Hobbit or Percy Jackson.
4. Let Your Child Select Their Books
This tip is especially important if your child is having a hard time reading or isn’t as interested as you’d like. If you allow them to choose the books they are going to read (even if you’d rather they read something different), it will simply get them in the habit of reading and fingers crossed will get them more interested in books.
An example of this is books that have some graphics or cartoons in them. I have always tried to steer clear of these but since both my stepsons have enjoyed reading them in the past I have encouraged it – just to make sure they are reading something!
Some of their favs: Big Nate and Captain Underpants.
You can still balance this with other books you’d prefer they read which can still be fun for them.
One book series that I love to recommend is: And Then It Happened. It includes fun stories of 3 boys in school that get up to go good – but always learn a lesson!
5. Let Them See You Reading
This one is pretty self-explanatory 🙂 If I child sees you reading they will be inquisitive about the story. Children also tend to copy some of their parent’s habits, even if they don’t realize it!
The biggest reason to let your children see you read: If you’re asking them to read and they never see you – expect them to notice and ask why!
6. Talk About Books
This is especially easy if you enjoy books, but if not ask your child about their books. Ask about the books they’re reading at school. In general conversation talk about a book you loved or book that’s being made into a movie. Tell them how reading the book before the movie is always the most interesting.
The goal here is to reference books in your daily conversation the same way you would a new movie or TV show. How you reference them is up to you 🙂
7. Introduce Your Child To New Book Series
A great way to get your child to try new book series is to get them researching. Many schools have book fairs or programs to purchase books through the school.
Get your child to decide what new series they want to start. They can attend book fairs to learn about new book series but also do some research online or at a local library.
Book series are a great way to get your child to fall in love with the characters and storylines and read one book after another in the series.
8. Add Reading to the Chores List
Now, I do not want your children to think of reading as a specific chore, but adding reading as an extra bonus point for the chores list is a helpful reminder to make reading a daily habit.
This is ideal for children who have a hard time reading or forget to pick up a book. It’s also a great way to get your child to read if they are competitive and like to earn an allowance 🙂
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I hope the above tips and tricks help you and your children get more involved in reading!
I’d love to know from you… How do you encourage reading in your household? Are there any tips that have worked for you?
Make sure to share in the comments below!
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Want Your Child to Read More? Give these 8 tips a try. #Literacy #Childrensbooks #Booksforkids Click To Tweet
Love this! Our kids are still pretty small, but we do read with them, and let them pick out what books to read every night.
Hey Emily! It’s so good to get them into reading young so it’s a regular activity 🙂
These are great ideas! I remember doing alot of these as a kid, and I now live reading
Thanks Jo! Exactly – you do these things when you’re young and you’ll become a book lover as an adult 🙂 Win win!
Family Reading Time is a part of our routine, and it’s helped a lot. Most of my kids love reading, but one does not. This dedicated time has helped, as he learned its better to actually look at and read the book than sit there bored!
I also think changing your definition of what “counts” as reading can help, especially for struggling readers. Comics, magazines, and song books have all interested my kids at one point or another. So they read those things instead of books some days.
Great list of ideas!
This had some great ideas! I have one who is a reader and one who is not. I just implemented putting on their Chore List. Thank you
Some great ideas! I think I might have to try the Reading Bucket List idea, sounds like fun. As a kid, I used to spend a lot of time reading, it was always time well spent. It’s just a shame a lot of kids don’t like to read these days. Both my kids are still little, but they absolutely love books.
These are great tips!! I love reading and we do some reading together time but not enough! Great post I love seeing others encouraging reading. One thing I would add is to join or start a book club! We started one three years ago and it’s still going strong <3 Jamie
Love these! I am such a book lover and my husband is not. I so badly want our kids to love reading, so some of these are definitely things I can implement in the next few years 🙂
You gave such great suggestions! I need to implement the family reading time, as well as adding reading to the chores list! I remember loving books so much throughout my childhood and I hope my son loves reading just as much as I did! As I grew up, I definitely noticed how much reading books increased the span of my vocabulary.
I think one of the greatest tips is “let them see you reading” – nothing instills a habit like watching someone else do it – whether it is a good or a bad habit. I know that I got away from reading but have picked it back up a few years ago. We have also had our teen start keeping track of books on Goodreads and is our friend on their so he can see our reading progress, too.
All of these are great ideas! I really love the idea of a reading bucket list. That would be a nice challenge for the summer!
Great tips. I’ve always loved reading, but I know not every kid enjoys it. I think letting them pick their own books is a good one because sometimes they think they don’t like reading, but they just haven’t found the books THEY like.
-Lauren
Absolutely adore this! Reading is so important, both as a form of self care and for your cognitive health. My mom always read to me growing up. And we would go to the library together and have fun picking out books. To this day I’m a huge reader, and I’m so grateful for everything she did to make reading fun growing up.
Thanks a ton for sharing these wonderful tips. They definitely worked well for me and I would do the same if I had little ones too ^^. Happy reading!
I love your suggestion to add 30 minutes of reading time after dinner. I signed my kids up for every reading club the library has to offer. We end up at the library at least twice per week for storytime and pre-school time. We also created book corners in every room. So whether the kids are in their bedroom, playroom or living room there is a designated space with several books waiting to be read.
All great tips! I loved reading as a child. I still love reading, but don’t do it nearly as much. I’m thankful that my kids like to read as much as I did.
These are wonderful suggestions thank you! I’m going to try the reading bucket list with my son over the summer. Should be lots of fun. Thanks again.
Reading can be such an excellent way to enrich our lives. Most of my five kids were avid readers as children, but now that they are teens and older, only two of them still read a lot of books. Sadly, I’ve also moved away from books and tend just to read blogs and articles on the computer. However, I am trying to get back to reading books this summer.
That’s great that 2 of them still read a lot. You never know – the others may get into it more when they’re older. I love reading and used to read a lot more too – books are competing with blogs, Netflix and life so I too have started reading more as it’s such a good way to enjoy me time 🙂
Thanks for theses tips! I love to read and my son can’t really be bothered. I’ve been wondering how I could encourage him to read more often. I’m definitely going to try number 1!
Hi Latrelle! It can be frustrating when you love reading and when your child doesn’t and honestly family reading time has been so good for us. The best part is that we all get to read! My son is a little competitive with it too which is great. He wants to compare the # of pages read. If you try it let me know how it goes 🙂
I loved this post. I have 8 kids one of those reads all day all night. He does nothing else at all. Never turns on the tv whatsoever. Then I have one who despises everything about reading completely. He gets easily frustrated. I have a study time on my chore list but I never thought to make a reading time so that I could get the one reading more! That is a wonderful suggestion. Thanks so much for your tips.
Give it a try. I think it’s fun and the kids may get a little competitive about seeing who can read most or the longest 🙂 And yes, the best part is you can read too! Let me know how that goes – might be a little more challenging with 8 kids!!
Great article! It’s like pulling my teeth getting my son to read & I’m definitely going to implement some of these tactics in my routine. Thanks so much for something that is much needed! I’ve been looking for ways to get my son to not only read more but also enjoy it!
I was in the same boat as you, hence why I’ve been coming up with a load of new ways for kids to get excited (or at least more interested) in reading. I hope some of this little tricks help you Sharla 🙂