Editor Does your child run away from books? Are you looking for ways to making reading time more fun and less boring? Are you tired of extended screen time for your child? If you answered yes to any of these questions then this useful article is exactly what you need, trust us!
This week we partnered with the amazing Mom Blogger @Vandita.momandmore who spends dedicated time reading different types of books to her 2.8 year old son Viaan. When it came to helping fellow parents, she was more than happy to share her personal tips on raising a budding bookworm.
Here are 10 super useful, realistic, tried & tested tricks penned by her!
“I don’t consider myself an expert, just a fellow parent trying her best to inculcate a love for reading in my little guy. Whether my son will continue to love books or not, I don’t know! But for now, I’m doing my bit!
Here are my top 10 tips to raise a reader:
- START EARLY – If possible, start when the child is in the womb. I know not everyone is comfortable with it. So you determine what’s early enough for you. I started reading to my son when he was 3 months old.
2. TRY PERSONALIZED STORYBOOKS! – Try personalized books to engage your kid. Reading his name in his storybook was a big excitement factor for my kiddo! I tried Zooboo’s ‘What’s behind the door Viaan?’ and he was thrilled to read his name in the storybook. His interest in reading definitely went up after that.
3. CONSISTENT ROUTINE – Schedule reading time in a day – it may be before each bedtime and make this consistent. But don’t watch the clock, watch only your child. Watch which parts they laugh at, what they ask for repeats of, which pages they like to linger on.
4. HAVE BOOKS EASILY ACCESSIBLE – Place books in different areas of the house – for eg, a small bookshelf in the dining area, a basket of books on the play mat, some books by the bedside table, and some in the child’s closet. The books should be easily accessible to the child without any adult help.
5. READ EVEN WHEN YOU DON’T HAVE AN ACTIVE AUDIENCE – Don’t expect little ones to sit through a book with rapt attention each time or even sometimes. I have often read to my son even when he’s roaming around the room and playing with something else. But he’s still receiving the language input and picking up on my tone, fluency, expression and body language.
6. MAKE IT INTERACTIVE – Have fun with role-playing – try out different accents and voices for characters. Have your children point to pictures and words and repeat them.
7. RE-READ FAVOURITES – It will give kids the opportunity to hear or see something that may have been missed the first time and provides another chance to hear a favourite part
8. CREATE BUZZ AND EXCITEMENT AROUND BOOKS – Gift books to your kids every chance you get. Gift books to other kids on occasions or have them donate a book to someone in need. Involve them in the gift buying, wrapping and giving process.
9. TALK, TALK, TALK! – A child’s vocabulary grows through rich conversations. No matter your child’s age, narrate what you’re doing, talk in full sentences, and sprinkle your conversations with interesting words.
10. BE A READER YOURSELF – Monkey see, monkey do! Model the right behaviour, let the child see you enjoy books.
Remember, you get to decide if you make reading aloud taste like medicine or chocolate!”
Try a mix of these tips with your own parenting styles to encourage the habit of reading in your kids.
Research has shown that personalizing a child’s books makes them more curious to read. Try it out yourself with Zooboo’s books that allow you to customize your child’s name on the cover page and throughout the storybooks!
Did you know that Zooboo books have been penned by some of India’s award-winning authors? Click here to read more about the amazing panel of Zooboo’s authors.
