HOW TO GET CHILDREN TO READ

Here are some of the things you can try to mindfully get your child to experience the alchemy of reading: 

• Reading books aloud to your children at a suitable time can generate a spark and the repetition of this pattern will lead to an eventual in-built desire to receive stories and create a wholesome connection point with parents.
• Always remember that, reading cannot become a task, because once it is a task for them, it is a task for you. The idea is to encourage and inspire and not to have a consequential based learning. Those would mean fear-based learning and fear is never a helpful motivator.
• Create a comfy reading nook with your child/children anywhere that is possible and hassle free in the house, this would empower them to want to revisit the reading nook more often.
• Distractions in the house cannot be avoided, especially now with the increase of work from home scenarios, but we can be mindful and practise a respectful atmosphere when anyone in the house is working or reading.
• Encourage story telling. Really TELL the story like it were a play on a Broadway show. The story can be told with props from home, different voices for different characters, background sounds. All of these would elevate the experience of the child and even become a family time activity!
• Do not dwell in the academic worth, but rather the foundational building of imagination building aspect of the magical world of stories.
• Reward your child with something wholesome like a paper made bookmark or stickers, a good job token if you may. Remember not to indulge in very hefty bribes or the purpose and motivation to read will be completely different.

Time for some self-disclosure! What worked for me was my mother reading out stories to me at night, a lot of added drama with voices, sound’s, and gestures. I often tried to pick up her style, and I think that is really what created my love for reading and stories, it also has become a huge collection of memories in my pandora box, which I never want to let go of. Let us know in the comments below, what is something that worked in your experience! Wish you a beautiful journey filled with joyous reading.