Whetting the Literary Appetite
How to Inspire Your Kids to Love Reading
As technological advance throws thousands of movies, games, and gadgets into the entertainment world, books are tossed aside in lieu of quick and easy amusement. But quantity does not equal quality. Do you want to inspire your children to love great literature? Here are a few tips to sharpen their literary appetites:
Incorporate Daily Story Time
In many families, story time can be the hour or a half before bedtime when parents alternate reading aloud. Story time becomes family bonding time, a lull in the whirlwind of life. Variety is key. Read wide assortments, from biographies to novels to poetry. The literary appetizers that you offer in this way whet the palate for children to read more. Even older children who can read on their own relish this opportunity to take a break from the work of reading and spend quality time with you.
- Create atmosphere. Atmosphere plays a crucial role in job interviews or restaurant choice. Why not create an ambiance for reading? Set aside a special corner of your house and make it inviting. Include favorite recliners or a sofa or floor pillows on which the kids can flop. Position a bookshelf or book basket within easy reach and fill it with an assortment of favorite picture books or chapter books.
- Perhaps your children have a tree-house or backyard hideout. If so, help them make a reading nook in their own spot. If you create a reading “space” for your children they will gravitate towards it.
Discuss Books
If your family reads aloud, use the current book as a basis for discussions of what is personally meaningful in the story. If you and your child read side by side silently, pause for conversations about what each of you has encountered in your respective books and your thoughts on the story and characters.
Plan Excursions to Your Local Library or Bookstore
Most libraries have a story hour. Consider whether the selection of stories appeals to your child and act accordingly. For older children (eleven and up) a trip to the bookstore can be a thrill. The thick aroma of coffee from the enclosed café mingling with the fresh scent of crisp paper are subtle messages that the bookstore is an adult world. And most pre-teens desperately want to join that grown-up world. Take time to talk to your child about the genres that interest them. If feasible, allow your child to purchase a book.
- Tailor the books to your child’s passion. Every child has different interests. Talk to your children, discover what arouses your daughter or son’s curiosity and hunt for books on that subject. Your seven-year-old daughter’s interest in horses may vanish by age twelve, but cultivating her temporary interest will help reading for pleasure become a lifelong pursuit.
- Random House offers an excellent resource for age appropriate/themed books.
Inspire By Example
Your attitude towards books and reading will influence your children. It is a persuasive tool for even the most recalcitrant reader. Discuss your favorite books with your children. Mention titles that you enjoyed as a child to spark your son or daughter's curiosity. If you love Hawthorne, Austen, or Twain, introduce these friends to your children.
Cultivating a love of reading in your child is like showing a marooned man how to sustain himself on salt-water: you have given him an unending source of nourishment. By reading aloud, creating reading nooks, discussing wonderful literature, making special occasions out of bookstore visits, and meeting your children’s interests with appropriate books, you are providing them with perpetual satisfaction.
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