Reading is the foundation for EV-ER-Y-THING.

But you’d be surprised to find out just how many kids think of it more as a chore rather than something fun to do.

As a teacher, I often had parents ask me how to help motivate their children to read. How do you get them excited? How do you get them to want to do it without having to tell them to do it?

So here are some ideas that I often gave parents to help their children!  If you want success, start with these suggestions at the earliest age possible and BE CONSISTENT!

1. Make Sure Your Child Reads Every.Single.Day.

Reading is a skill that gets better with practice.  It’s the same as if you’re learning how to ride a bike, play a sport, or play a musical instrument.  The more your child does it, the better that he/she will get at it. As the skill improves, it’ll become more and more natural for your child.  

There are so many studies that prove reading every day will help students become better readers at school which will ultimately set them up for success in their future.  

“Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.”  –Margaret Fuller

How often does your child watch TV? Make it a family expectation that your child reads more than they are on electronic devices. Does your child watch TV every day? How is it different that we would expect them to read every day?  If we raise them with this as the family expectation, it will become a way of life.

If reading every single day doesn’t seem realistic for your family, simply have them read as much as they can.  Make reading a priority.

2. Find a Routine That Works.

Most children do well with routine. Figure out what routine will work for you and your family in regards to reading every day. Would it work to read as soon as your child gets home from school each day? Can they read on the way to baseball practices? Can they read on the bus ride home from school every afternoon? Would it work if they read before bedtime each night? So many parents let their children fall asleep with the TV on… what if we got them trained to read a book instead?

“So please, oh please, we beg, we pray, go throw your TV set away, and in its place you can install a lovely bookshelf on the wall.”  –Roald Dahl

3. Make sure your child is reading books at their level. 

For children to read independently, they should be reading fluently (smoothly and with little to no errors) and understanding what they’re reading. Many teachers teach the “Five Finger Rule” where a student should choose a random page in the book and while reading it, hold up a finger for each word they don’t know. If there are five or more words that they do not know, then they should probably choose an easier book.

4. Set Aside A Special Reading Place For Your Child.  

A special chair. A special corner of their room. The hidey-hole space under the stairs. A special reading lamp. A special bookshelf to hold all their books. Add importance to reading by letting them have an important spot to do their reading or an important item to do their reading with.

Shop Fun Reading Chairs!

5. Model The Behaviors and the Actions That You Want Them To Follow.  

Let your child see you reading! This is soooo important in proving to children that reading is actually a real-life skill that you will need for the rest of your life. Keep magazines and books in your home, spend time reading on a Kindle, and let them see you modeling that reading is an enjoyable experience, and not just something you “have to” do at school.

Children often learn by watching what their parents do, not what they say. Telling your child they should read is one thing, but showing them that you do it too… that’s powerful.

Show them (and read them!) some of the books that you used to read as a kid. Showing them that reading was enjoyable for you as a child could make it more relatable as to why they should be reading as a child also.

Be excited about reading! If you’re excited about it, they’ll be more excited about it.

“If you can give your child only one gift, let it be enthusiasm.”  –Bruce Barton

6. Visit your local library often.

I know of no better way to encourage the love of reading than to let children choose their own books! Find the things that your child is interested in, and then help them find books about these topics!

7. Electronic Reading.

Reading on an electronic device is absolutely OK as long as it’s not your child’s only form of reading.

There are tons of websites and apps out there that will read the book to your child while also showing the words on the screen. This method can be incredibly beneficial with beginner readers and/or struggling readers since they can hear the words being read correctly and not have to be so focused on phonics and struggling to sound out the words. This will help sustain their love of reading.

Another option is to put on the closed captioning while they watch TV. Naturally, they’ll find themselves reading while they’re enjoying their favorite show.

www.epic.com is a great website for online books!

8. Let It Be A Shared Experience.

Yes, the goal is that your child will be able to read independently.  But in order to help them love reading, you should switch up who’s reading from time to time.

Sometimes, simply read to them.  Let them just back and enjoy the story.  Kids love being read to, and listening to someone else read a story fluently will still help improve their fluency.

Sometimes, take turns reading.  Let them read all the pages on the left hand side while you read all the pages on the right hand side.

Let it be a shared experience.  Your child will enjoy reading more, and as an added bonus, they’ll enjoy the extra time that they get to spend with you.

9. Make It Fun.

Children should not grow up thinking that reading is an obligation.  Please do not let homework be the only time your child reads. This is not the best way to instill the love of reading.  

Daily reading doesn’t have to look like reading.  Instead of the “you must sit at the dinner table for twenty minutes every night before you can get up and play” approach… think outside of the box for how you can get your child reading.

• Every Day Reading → Have them read you the instructions of how to put their Lego set together, look up an article on how to do something on the video game that they’re playing, read the dinner recipe out loud, read the restaurant menu out loud, read the grocery list while you shop, etc.

• Read Ins → Once a month, have a family Read-In where all members of the family get to participate!  Here are a few theme ideas to get you started:

• Car Games → Have your child find a word on a road sign that starts with the letter A… and then challenge them to go through the entire alphabet!  This game will get kids reading and they won’t even realize it!

• Outings → Take your child to zoos, art museums, and science museums where they can read the information that accompanies all of the exhibits!

• Magazine Subscriptions → Get your child a subscription to a kids magazine such as Highlights, National Geographic for Kids/Little Kids, Sports Illustrated for Kids, Lego Life, etc.  These magazines are filled with high interest articles and activities. Plus how cool is it for your child to receive actual mail?!?

• Book vs. Movie → Is there a movie version of a book coming out soon?  Read the book together first, then go watch the movie together!  Then discuss and decide which one was better!

• Encourage Your Child To Write →   Writing activities are a great way to get your child reading!  Try these! 

• Start a “Mommy And Me Journal!”  This can be a simple spiral notebook OR you can buy one online.
• Have your child write thank-you notes, letters, lists, or sign your child up for a penpal.
• Fun activity books.

Shop Writing and Activity Books For Kids:

The bottom line is this:

If you don’t see value in reading, neither will they.

You must have patience.  Kids learn at different speeds.  If your children struggle with the phonics of reading, it will lower their self confidence if they see you wincing at the words as they struggle to read them or if they see that you’re getting frustrated with them.  These actions could cause serious side effects of them never feeling comfortable reading in front of others.

Be a guide.  Be an encourager.  Be their personal cheerleader who gets enthusiastic and cheers them on when they read a tricky site word correctly, when they read the entire page fluently, or when they read dialogue with expression.

Model what it means to love reading, and hopefully your child will willingly follow.

Every day their goal should be to improve on the reader that they were yesterday.

“The more that you read, the more things you’ll know.  The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
–Dr. Seuss

My Favorite High-Interest Books for Younger Kids:

My Favorite High-Interest Books for Older Kids:

Are there any tips that I left off this list?  Please comment below!

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