How I’m Raising Readers
I’ve only been a mom for three years, so there’s a lot I still haven’t experienced. But one thing I’m really working hard on is raising children who read. One thing I know for sure is that it doesn’t matter how old the child is, there is so much you can do to encourage your children to love books! A lot will change as they get older, I’m sure, but I’m laying the foundation with these five principles:
Be the example
Every single weekday morning, after we’ve cleaned up from breakfast, my two toddlers and I head into the living room where I sit on my big, fluffy love seat and pull out a book to read. Sometimes it’s my Bible, unless I got to my Bible reading time before the kids got up. If I did get to my Bible time, then I grab whatever book I’m in the middle of. I started doing this when my first-born was less than a year old. I’d sit him in his highchair with a stack of board books and/or toys and tell him that it was time to read for a few minutes. As he got older, I increased the time I spent reading. Today, I typically read for about 30 minutes while the kids read next to me or play on the rug.
They still interrupt me and ask me to play, but I’m persistent about teaching them that this is mommy’s reading time and I will play with you/read to you shortly. These days, I don’t even have to hand them a book. When they see me crack open a book, they run to a shelf to grab a book for themselves and flip through the pages. I love watching them read while I read. Not only am I teaching them that it is important to give me time to do something for myself, but I’m also teaching them that it’s important to make time to read every single day.
Make time to read to them
While I want my kids to know it’s important to give me time to read, I also want them to know it’s important to me that I also make time to read to them. This often happens right after my own reading time and after dinner as well. I really aim to spend at least five minutes a day intentionally reading books to my kids without any distractions.
One other time I find intentional time to read to my kids is at bedtime. This is usually in addition to our morning reading time, but it’s also nice to know that if we don’t get to our daytime reading time, we always have bedtime where my son gets three books read aloud and my daughter one to two. This time of reading is especially sweet because we’re typically cuddled closely together, and while I’m utterly exhausted at this point in the day, it helps me to remember the nights my mom cuddled up in my own bed to read me books—still one of my core memories to this day.
Give them books in the car
It’s so tempting to give kids a phone or ipad in the car, but I have found that it is rarely needed if you teach them to love books! I keep a big stack of books in the car (including this awesome Leap Frog interactive bilingual book) and the first thing I do after I buckle them in is hand them each one or two books they can look at while we get to our destination. It’s yet another opportunity to encourage them to get excited about flipping through the pages of a book.
Choose beautiful books
I love letting my toddlers choose their own books if they’re with me, but I almost always choose a few myself. I look for diverse books: some with realistic images so that they can connect the images to real life, some with bright, vibrant colors that will draw them in, and some with imagery that looks hand painted so they can learn to appreciate art and beauty all around them. My son is always going to gravitate toward books on Paw Patrol and Mickey Mouse, and that’s okay! I want them to have books they’re excited about, but I also want to carefully curate books that will expand their little minds in more ways than one.
Take them to the library often
Finally, you can’t raise a reader without raising a child who loves the library. Not only do libraries usually have fun, educational experiences for our young kids, but they also take great effort to make their shelves of books look attractive—like an adventure you can’t resist. Show enthusiasm when you’re getting ready to go to the library—the energy will rub off on them. And never leave the library without giving them a chance to browse the shelves and pick out as many books as they want—it’s free after all!
I’m sure I have to learn about raising readers, but so far, these five principals have helped me raise kids who love their books as much as they love their toys. What have you done to encourage your kids to love reading? Comment below. I’d love to know, especially if you’re beyond the toddler years!
