So yesterday was world book day and as usual, kids dressed up in the costume of their favourite book characters. I saw a picture of a child that dressed in a zombie costume and I can tell he must have read that Zombie in Love book by Kelly DiPucchio or something similar. I thought it was scary until i saw pictures of other kids in their costumes. It was a race of who has the best costume and of course fun. Every year, World Book Day is celebrated to help kids develop reading habit and show off their love of their favourite characters.
Does your child have a favourite book character?
If the answer is negative, then your child has not been reading and you probably need to up your parenting skills in this area. Reading is the best way to enlarge your child’s world, improve their knowledge and critical thinking ability. If your child can’t travel around the world yet, books can take them around the globe now.
Here are some tips for parents to encourage their kids to develop interest in reading
Reading develops your child’s oral language: Reading develops your child’s oral language. Every time your child reads, there is a chance of discovering new words. Give them story to read and ask them to pen down their favourite part of the story when they are done. This way, they can have fun picking out words and develop an interest to move to the next page.
Surround your children with reading materials; One of the best ways to encourage reading habit in your child is by having a large array of interesting children books and magazines. The presence of large collection of reading materials in your home improves your child’s chances of scoring high and performing better at school.
Encourage reading for pleasure by letting them choose what to read; There is no such thing as a child who hates to read, there are only children who haven’t found the right book. You don’t necessarily have to force a book on your child but letting them have choices goes a long way in raising life-long readers. It has been said that Kids who choose what they read either a novel or comic book are more engaged with what they are reading and more likely to retain the information.
Help them choose age-appropriate books; While you can’t force a book on them you can help them choose age appropriate books especially on topics that interest them.
Read in front of your child; You also need to model the habit you want to see in your child. There are chances that your child would exude similar energy you exude too. If you’re excited about reading, your child is likely to catch your enthusiasm. Whether you love books, magazines, or aproko gist and ovation, let your child see you reading.
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