How to Grow a Reader

I love Jim Trelease’s book The Read-Aloud Handbook.  As the title suggests, the book is about the importance of reading aloud to your child.  I’ll give you the most important parts of the book (doing the book little justice, because it really is a great book that will help every parent).

Q:  When should you start reading to your child?  When should you stop?  What if you don’t have time to read?

You should start reading to your baby from day one.  Don’t worry if you haven’t been reading, you can always start today.  When a child is very young, the main goal is to show that reading is fun.  If they want to hear the same book over and over again for a month, read it to them.  Don’t pressure a child to memorize words or to start reading before they are ready.  Remember, this should be fun for both of you.

Just because your child can read, doesn’t mean that you should stop reading to them.  If your child is in middle school (or even high school) you should still read to them.  Children and teens’ reading skills are still usually lower than their understanding skills so they are getting access to stories that they can’t read themselves.

Reading to a child doesn’t have to be before bedtime, it can be any time of the day.  You can always combine reading and chores.  For example, while an older child is dusting the living room or cleaning their room, you could be reading to him or her.  The rule of thumb is that kids should be read to at least 20 minutes a day. 

Q:  What if my kid doesn’t like to read?

The Read-Aloud Handbook stresses three things.  The first is that reading is a skill and that it does take practice.  The second point is that children can learn to love reading even later in life.  What usually changes those teens who aren’t readers is a special book.  Keep recommending books (or getting recommendations from librarians, teachers and friends) even if they claim that they hate to read.  Finally, children and teens who love to read are usually those who have been read to, so keep reading.  

Q:  What if you can’t read or if you aren’t a good reader yourself?

In the past, this was a bigger problem than it is now.  Now, there is technology to help parents.  Liberal Memorial Library has a subscription to TumbleBooks, which is a collection of e-books for children.  Parents can either read to the child or turn the sound on and have the story read to them.  When each word is spoken, it’s highlighted to try to reinforce the connection between the words and sounds.  For parents that don’t have Internet access, check out a kit from the library that contains a CD and a story book.   Of course, don’t forget about story time and other activities at the library!

The main reason that I like The Read-Aloud Handbook is that it stresses the joy of reading.  Talk to your children and teens about your favorite books that you read when you were their age, let them read magazines and choose what they want to read, and most importantly, make reading to your child or teen a priority by making it part of your whole family’s lifestyle.