Teaching A Child to Read With Parents
Inculcating a love for reading in children is a parent’s responsibility and should be started at an early age. Parents can do this by helping their children find the desire to read books and listen to stories while having fun at the same time. In the present age when most of the kids are busy engaging themselves with their PlayStations and various computer games, it is quite a task to instill the habit of reading among them.
When parents themselves get involved with their children with the same activity, the smaller kids also are bound to get interested. Reading with parents helps children pick up new vocabulary, which makes their communication skills stronger. Parents should encourage children to build up their own small library with the books they love to read.
Parents have to note that they need to use different skills to help children of different ages pick up a love for reading. For example, the approach that is used to read to toddlers won’t work with first graders. The reading skill that develops in children due to such a process helps them greatly in their academic environment later on. Reading with parents gives unlimited enjoyment to the little ones and also fosters a healthy bond between the child and parents through this activity.
When children see their parents reading, they tend to do the same to replicate them or ask their parents to read aloud to them. This should always be encouraged by parents. Also, carrying along some books while on a family trip is a great idea.
If the kid is a preschooler, parents should encourage the child to prepare books by using various colorful pictures. This will boost a child’s imagination as well. For example, parents can ask their kids what would happen next in the midst of reading a story; this move will prompt the kid to think for him/herself and use his/her imagination. This is where a child can play an active role during the reading process. Parents can also use tongue twisters, recite short poems from books, etc. to develop a love for reading in the child.
Reading with parents also fosters the skill of better expression in kids. While reading out stories to children, parents can use methods such as voice modulation for the different characters so as to bring to life to the incidents mentioned in the story. This will go a long way in helping the child express his/her feelings and likes and dislikes to those around, whether at home or in the outside world.
When you read with your children, make sure that they are exposed to a wide variety of books. Reading only fairy tales or sticking to one particular genre will rob the child of the fun associated with various genres of fiction. Once the child is a bit older, fiction and nonfiction books such as biographies and history books, can become a part of reading sessions. Reading with parents before bedtime is another great way in which kids can end their fun-filled day. Visiting a neighborhood library with children can also serve as an excellent method through which an interest for books can be developed in a child.
Reading with parents is indeed one of the best things that can happen in a child’s life.
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