Cultivating Good Reading habits in Children

Reading is an important skill every child should have. It is needed not just academically, but for the child’s day to day existence. It helps in the development of their minds and exposes them to unlimited opportunities they would never have imagined. Good reading habits encourages a child to thirst for knowledge and bridges the gaps between different cultures for the child. It helps improve their vocabulary as well as communication skills. Research shows that children who read at or above grade level are more likely to do better in other subjects and go on to do better in life than children with poor reading skills/habits. According to statistics carried out by Thomas Corley:

86% of the wealthy loved reading as opposed to 26% for the poor

63% of the wealthy listened to audio books during their commute to work as opposed to 5% for the poor

85% of the wealthy read two or more self-improvement books every month as opposed to 15% for the poor.

88% of the wealthy read 30 minutes or more each day as opposed to 2% for the poor.

94% of the wealthy read newspapers, newsletters, magazines, blogs and other digital media daily as opposed to 11% of the poor.

With the above data, we can argue that one’s chances of becoming wealthy increases with more exposure to reading. So how do we ensure our children develop good reading habits?

1. Be a role model – children have the tendency to emulate what they see the adults in their lives do. Parents are the most important educators in children’s lives and should play a major role in inculcating great reading habits to their children. This can be achieved by reading in the presence of your children. While reading, encourage your children to join you on the couch or table with their own books.

2. Make books accessible - ensure your children have access to books and other materials that are age appropriate. Register them in your local library and spend time there with them reading.

3. Help them make real life connections to the books – review the books they read with them and help them draw meaningful connections with real life situations to the stories they read.

4. Create a cozy area for reading – children tend to develop interest in things when there is something fun attached to it. Creating a cozy area to read is more than likely to encourage your little ones to want to read.

5. Read every night – reading bedtime stories with children help them relate reading to relaxation and that improves their love for reading.

6. Make reading fun – expose your child to different genres and see what they love to read. For younger children, ensure they have colorful books. The colors keep them attracted to the book and encourage them to read more.

7. Read to each other – while you read to your children, also encourage them to read to you. Initially, it may seem like it takes too long as they make mistakes but be patient with them and encourage them by commending their efforts after each read. Reference for Statistics: http://richhabits.net/is-there-a-correlation-between-being-rich-and-reading-habits/