When is it too early to have your kids read the best reading books? Well … never! Not that I know of any books that aren’t for reading. But somehow or other, “best reading books” is SEO-friendly! Can you imagine? 🙂
But who are you to believe me — the kid-less one!? 🙂
In any case, here’s part of a great article about raising kids who love to read books!
via Huffington Post
To wit:
“Mom! Dad! Can we go to the library to check out a big stack of books? After I do all of my chores, I would really like to spend the rest of the afternoon reading quietly!”
… said no child, ever.
That’s odd. I used to say that a lot as a kid. When I wasn’t watching TV, that is. 🙂
Just kidding. Some kids really do love to read! Actually, it’s natural for children to love to read. And that’s a wonderful thing. Research shows that kids who love to read often have bigger vocabularies, better problem solving abilities, and a higher degree of emotional intelligence, which is the ability to “identify, use, understand, and manage emotions in positive ways.”
If you’d like to see your child reading more — especially over the summer holidays, while school’s out of session — there are steps you can take to help that come about. (And no, bribing your child with a scoop of ice cream for finishing Anne of Green Gables is not one of them!)
If your child seems highly-resistant to reading — perhaps because of boring, unpleasant experiences in the past — try to figure out which kinds of books might spark excitement, and start there.
After all, if your child has at least one positive, engrossing, exciting experience with a book, he or she will be far more likely to want to read more!
Well … yay!
And even reading comic books is better than reading nothing. Right?
Ready to ignite a lifelong love affair with books?
Here are 5 questions that can help you to light the first spark:
1. Which movies, TV shows and video games does your child love?
Is your child glued to the Cinderella movie?
Constantly re-playing the soundtrack from Inside Out?
Begging to watch the next episode of the TV show Arthur?
If there’s a plot line that your child already loves, tell them, “How about reading the book version of that [show / film]? I bet it’s got even more details that aren’t in the movie about all the characters you love. Let’s head to the library and see if they have it…”
Someday (hopefully!) your child’s appetite for books will expand beyond the realm of film-and-TV-related titles, but this can be a good place to begin — especially if your child is super-resistant to reading.
Yeah. There are great books I loved as a child that weren’t about TV shows or movies. And we didn’t have video games then, because I’m really old experienced sage.
Oh, and here’s another good one!
2. What is your child passionate about?
Does your child enjoy watching endless YouTube clips of jaw-dropping surf competitions? You could recommend a memoir written by a young surfing champion who has succeeded despite incredible adversity.
Is your child a budding entrepreneur who’d love to make some extra cash over the summer holidays? A book on teen-entrepreneurship could be just the ticket.
Encourage your child to read books on topics that he or she already loves, especially over summer break when there’s less homework and “required reading” to do. This can spark a love of books that may eventually spread, like wildfire, into other topics too.
You mean, kids might learn something offline? OMG, OMG … I can see the YouTube video now.
“Teens React to Not Being Online!” Sounds like a winner to me.
There are more questions listed in the article, but I think that’s enough curation for one day!
So … in closing, here’s my video about my ereaders, why I like bookstores and film noir.
Kind of a mix of subjects, but there you go!
And while you’re at it, please check out my new Crime Cafe section! As well as my new online shop!
Check out all the stuff you can buy! 🙂
A woman’s Crime Cafe T-shirt!
And, of course, coffee mugs! 🙂
You have to go right to my Zazzle Store for this one!
