Cotton Sinclair loves to read.

When I was a child, I found reading to be boring.  Yes, boring.  It wasn’t because I had trouble reading.  I just couldn’t find the right books that kept my interest.

I remember my elementary school teacher giving me an adventure book to read, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, after reading the book, I was hooked. From that point on, I loved adventure books.   Of course, now I read all book genres. But as child, I only wanted to read adventure books.  Maybe, that is why I love to write adventure stories.

I also thought reading was a chore.  It  was something that I was required to do in school whether I liked it or not. My teacher choose the books for me to read. I had no motivation to read books on my own.  My teacher tried to support and motivate me but I never took the initiative to learn to love reading. My parents were there for me to help me with my homework and academics. But, I only read books that were assigned by the teacher.

It’s easy to give a child a book to read, but to motivate a child to read is another story. Teachers do their best to support and motivate children to read. But, parents need to do more. They need to be proactive in motivating their children to read.  How can you get your child to love reading? Parents, here’s what you can do to motivate your child.

• Take your child to the bookstore, introduce them to all book genres, don’t get them stuck on one book or book series. Motivate them to read other books besides their favorite.
• Buddy read with your kids.   Buddy reading is a paired reading strategy used in help students work together and encourages support peer-assisted learning.  Why not parental buddy reading? Your child needs your support,  so take turns reading aloud to each other.  Buddy reading with your child will show your support and help them to enjoy and love reading.
• Help them to feel good about reading.  Ask questions about the book they’re reading.  Make them know that you are interested in what they are reading
• For parents,  show your child that you love reading too.  Designate time in your schedule to read.  When your child sees you’re interested and love reading, it might spark interest and motivate him or her to read too.

Start motivating your child to read at an early age.  This will help them develop good reading habits and skills and help them perform well in school.

Interested to know your thoughts. How can we do more to motivate our children to read?

Janet Homes