This is not a ‘pose for camera’ shot but a pic I took when my toddler and I hang out at the skateboarding park during the evenings.

Frankly, getting a child to read is a no problem if the parents lead the way. It comes naturally. However, it is another thing whether the child will grow up and continue to love reading. My younger children all love books when they were smaller and by the time they are in their teenage years, they lost the interest. My son’s reason? “Awww..mom, why do I have to read through Narnia seven books when I can watch the DVD for just two hours?” But it is not a big deal anymore as the foundation is there.

Moreover, I find it absolutely annoying to have tween who hang on to a book while the mom fed the tween (read as 11-12 years old girl) during our family gatherings. I find this rude.  So a by becoming a bookworm does not necessary means a good thing, eh?

Getting a toddler to be interested in books start from the baby stage. I started with those colourful, cloth book with different textures. Later, it advance to touch & feel hard cardboard books. I do not impose a fix time to get him to read but books are within our arms reach. So, whenever we are bored with other things, I would suggest looking up the colourful pictures  in books.

Of course, we have to be really animated when reading to our little toddler by using different  tones and expressions. I don’t see reading as a way of learning but more as  recreation activities.

In short simple steps, a parent can get a child to be interested in books by:

1)  being  ardent reader with books/magazines in   hand whenever they have the free time. I always carry a book with me in my bag. This leads to my toddler insisting to have his own book in his own bag.
2)providing  lots of different types of books and colourful magazines. Cost is a not a factor because even cheap, 2nd hand books are attractive to a child.
3)  not imposing a ‘must do activity’ on the child but rather, let him have his own space and time to do so. Curiosity in a child will always lead him/her to want to grab a book and find out its content. A strict regimen will cause the child to shun reading altogether.
4) being  a child again to be able to enjoy the session. Don’t just try to ‘teach’ a child but rather, enjoy the illustrations and all its silly stories with no hang-ups.

MyMomsBest has on its website several local moms who have excellent books recommendations for parents. There is even one who can personalise a book for your child too.

Have fun reading with your child!

Originally posted 2006-06-23 13:09:24.