Keys to Raising a Reader
Raising readers has been one of the delights of my motherhood journey. I loved to read all throughout my childhood and into young adulthood. Then my love for reading perked up a little when I had my first baby, as I would read to her a few books before each nap and even read the Narnia series to her before and during her afternoon nap while she drank her milk. I enjoyed it so much that I did the same with both of my sons as well, so that series will always hold a special place in my heart.
Nowadays, I am more of a reader than ever before. When my youngest was about 2 years old, I discovered podcasts, specifically the What Should I Read Next? podcast with Anne Bogel. It reignited my love for stories and made me want to read the books they were discussing. Then we moved four years ago—within a mile of our new beautiful library that we pass each time we leave from or return to our house and can easily walk to on the trail from our house to downtown. That convenience has made my trips to the library much more frequent. Another thing that allowed me to read more books was diving into audiobooks which are also conveniently available from the library!
But how do you raise readers? First of all, the common phrase that each child is different is important to remember even within the same family. But I think early and frequent exposure is key to associating reading with pleasure. Reading to babies is a special bonding moment and such a learning experience for them whether they are infants, toddlers, early readers or middle grade readers. Books can teach young children so many new words and concepts in a safe place like your lap or in bed.
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Snuggling in and reading stories together can become a favorite part of their day, as well as yours. Kelly Stanczyk, mother of two, says, “We have 'book parties.' We gather a big stack of books and a yummy treat and read, read, read. Sometimes we bake something special together or pop popcorn. My son has known from an early age I'll drop most anything to read him a book. It's a priority to me to read and for him to love books. He's used and abused this knowledge on many occasions.”
Checking out story times offered at local libraries and bookstores can be a fun outing to meet others, hear other people read in various voices and make the library a fun place to go. The library is also a place where kids can choose books that interest them, and they can choose however many books they can carry home—within reason of course. Katie Lee, mom of five, advises, “Lots of library visits when they are little, sometimes multiple times a week, for story times and to bring home lots of different books. Books are always available at home, and they read a lot alone and together. If they want a book, I try to let them read what they want as they get older. My four older kids are avid readers, and our toddler is hopefully on the way to that as well.”
Reading increases vocabulary so much in these young kids. There are definitely differences in attention spans, however. You you may have a child that will sit in your lap all day listening to you read, or you may have a child you have to encourage or reward for listening to one book before you move on to the next activity. If your child is of the second variety, don’t be discouraged or give up. That five-minute story you insist on adds so much vocabulary to your child’s brain each time you read. Our library also offers a program you could treat like a challenge to complete together. It’s called 1000 Books Before Kindergarten, and you can check out the website to learn more at 1000BooksBeforeKindergarten.org.
When children move on to learning to read, patience is required! This can be a hard time for parents to remember not to rush reading and that each child has her own pace for when things to start to click. Children really do need to learn things in order, such as identifying letters, learning sounds and moving on to sounding out words and recognizing sight words. Beginning with simple challenges like BOB books boosts kids’ self-esteem. They know that they really can read a book—even if you are tired of hearing the same tiny book over and over. As they progress along their reading level, stay patient and engaged. Sometimes it’s nice to alternate pages of your reading to them and their reading to you to keep the story moving along. It’s also imperative during this stage that you’re still reading picture books and early chapter books to your kids like you did before they were learning to read. This keeps reading fun for them—not just work—because they get to listen to the stories they love.
As children become more advanced readers, continue to read to them. I still read bedtime stories to all of my children who are 6, 10 and 11. It’s just part of our evening routine we enjoy doing together before bed. I usually read one or two picture books for my youngest son’s sake (though most children still enjoy picture books even if they’re older), and then we read one or two chapters of a middle grade book they all can enjoy. This way my middle son still gets reading time in at night, even if it’s my reading aloud to him, because he doesn’t care to read on his own that much. I love when we have inside jokes from some of those books we’ve read! We also like to choose books that have a movie we can watch after we’re finished reading, like Charlotte’s Web, The BFG and Harry Potter.
Another way I promote reading with my kids is to let it be the only thing they can do before bed to help them wind down until lights are turned off. My oldest is then allowed to read for 30-60 minutes after our family reading time—it’s one of her favorite times of day because she adores reading. Stanczyk has a similar rule in her house: “We have a light in my son’s room that stays on for about an hour after bedtime, and he can look at books as long as he wants until the light goes out (he can turn it off early if he wants). This gives us the early bedtime we need as parents to have some kid-free time before bed, but the later bedtime he needs, as well as encouraging reading time.”
Another way to raise readers who relish reading is making sure you are open-minded about what they are reading. Comic books and graphic novels are still books that children are reading, even if you would love for them to read a favorite of yours that you read at their age. Find books with topics that interest your children, whether that be nonfiction books about dinosaurs, Lego books, a series on horses or a series on dragons.
Letting them read what interests them and trying various types of reading, picture books, chapter books, ebooks, audiobooks, read-alouds or even buddy reading a book together, allows reading to stay fresh. Take kids to author visits, let them get excited about their Scholastic book fair and orders, hunt for Little Free Libraries together, help them start their own book club and frequent your local library and indie bookstores together. The library has a variety of ways to listen to audiobooks these days, including playaways, CDs and apps for tablets and smartphones. Utilize your school and public librarians to assist you in finding titles to have your child try.
Modeling reading is another important aspect of raising readers. Show your children that you choose to spend time reading and enjoy doing so, and you show them they can choose to spend their time reading too. Discuss what you’re reading for some fun, too. As your children get a little older, listen to audiobooks together in the car or before bed for a fun way to bond, too. We have listened to a few on audio while running errands and traveling to and from their extracurricular activities. It’s always fun when they don’t want you to turn the car off so they can keep listening!
There are many ways to encourage your child’s love of reading, so just keep trying the tips mentioned above, sampling new genres or exploring different book formats until you find what sticks for your child. Gina Tireman, mother of two, has another fun way to invigorate her daughter’s interest in reading. She says, “My daughter was not a big reader, which I am, so it was disappointing. I found this monthly box subscription for tween girls at BetweenTheBookendsBox.com that has gotten her interested in reading.”
Cara Johnson, teacher and mother of three, shares these tips:
1. Read to and with your kids. We like to make it part of the bedtime routine.
2. Use graphic novels to kickstart reluctant readers or just as a good starting point for early readers. Dog Man was/is a favorite for my boys.
3. Read a book and then watch the movie together.
4. Get them their own library cards and let them choose what they think looks interesting.
5. Don’t forget about nonfiction reading. My boys loved to read about animals and their habitats.
Stephanie Loux is the mother of Layla, 11, Mason, 10, and Slade, 6, and enjoys reading every day with her kids. She also shares some favorite titles on her Bookstagram account @stephanielovesbooks on Instagram.