9 Tips to Encourage a Love of Reading

Instilling a love of reading at a young age will plant the seeds for your child to grow into a lifelong reader. And who doesn’t love escaping to another world with a good book?

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), when books are part of the family routine, kids’ language skills grow. Books can also help parents teach their children important values and understand difficult events in real life. 

Here are nine tips from the APP on how to bring a love of reading into your child's life.

1. Be a good role model. If your children see you reading, they will be more likely to pick up a book themselves.
2. Create a routine and read before bedtime. Set aside 20 to 30 minutes with the TV off for sharing books as part of your regular bedtime routine. Reading out loud helps kids bring the words to life. You can switch things up some nights and ask your school-age child to read a book to you.
3. Read what they read. Follow their interests by keeping up with what your kids read. It makes it more fun and gives you something enjoyable to talk about.
4. Find activities that involve reading. Find an online kid-focused book club or virtual storytimes.
5. There’s no such thing as lousy reading material. Let kids know that reading is great no matter what they are interested in – fiction, biographies, graphic novels, kids' magazines, or comic books.
6. Create a cozy reading area. A snuggle-friendly area with blankets, pillows and comfy chairs in your home can be turned into the family reading room.
   
   Travel with books. Instead of packing the tablet or taking out the smartphone, bring books for car rides or when waiting to see a doctor.
7. A gift that keeps giving. Ask friends and family to give books for a birthday or holiday gift. Have them make it extra special by asking them to write a message to your child inside the book cover.
8. A love of reading doesn’t have to break the bank. Besides visiting your local library to check out books, there are great resources that offer free books delivered to your doorstep. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library gifts free books to any child from birth to age five. If you have a budding environmentalist in your house, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) offers free activity books to promote environmental awareness.  Or for the future New York Times book reviewer, Enchanted Book Review sends free books in exchange for reviews. 

Happy Reading!