How to get kids to love reading?

How to instill a love of reading in a child

The younger the child, the brighter and more colorful the illustrations and cover design should be, the larger the letters should be. Such a book will not only attract the child's attention but will also form artistic taste.

A motivated child wants to learn to read on his own, he has the desire and interest. Learning to read is a difficult and continuous process, and passion for books helps a child cope with the difficulties that arise. Motivation for reading in children is important when school begins. If a schoolchild does not develop an internal desire to read, learning to read and write will be problematic.

Reasons why children do not like reading

There are many reasons why a child does not want to read, and in certain cases, parents are to blame:

1. Too early an age to get acquainted with books. At 3-4 years old, a child wants to play with toys, and not study letters and turn the pages of a book. Even the brightest picture book will attract his attention for only a few minutes.
2. Parental pressure, punishment. A child will be interested in reading only if it is associated with a pleasant pastime. Coercion will provoke the opposite reaction: books will evoke negative emotions and memories in the schoolchild.
3. Alternative exciting ways to spend time. We are talking about smartphones and similar gadgets that all children have today.
4. Wide opportunities for obtaining information. Previously, a schoolchild or student had to sit for hours in libraries, study literature in order to prepare a term paper or an essay. Now there are many more sources of information, it is enough to visit several sites.
5. Wrong parental example. If mom and dad never pick up a book, they spend their free time at the computer or TV, then the child will not understand why he should do something that others are not interested in.
6. Other authorities in adolescence. Teenagers, considering themselves adults, ignore parental and pedagogical influence, are more interested in the opinions of their peers. A teenager will want to read if he is surrounded by the right company, when friends love reading, study diligently.

Why it was easier for past generations of children to instill a love of reading

Our parents willingly learned to read, spent a lot of free time reading books. Now everything is different, and here's why:

1. Children of past generations were taught that reading is an activity for smart people, an effective method to know more, to become a first-class specialist in the future. Every schoolchild at that time aspired to be smart.
2. Previously, people got information from books and newspapers. At family feasts and evening tea parties, they discussed what they had read, shared hot newspaper gossip. Now you can often see how each member of the family sits with their noses in a smartphone. There is an abundance of information, but there is nothing to talk about.
3. Previously, a book was one of the coolest gifts. Every child was happy when he was given an encyclopedia or a colorful collection of fairy tales.
4. Reading was the main entertainment for children, in addition to toys. Children's interest in literature began to decline just when the first computer games and Sony Play Station consoles appeared. Libraries had to fight for the attention of the younger generation with computers, and they lost.

Useful books for children

Children's literature should be a source of positive ideas and concepts. Choose books in which the characters and plots instill goodness, teach correct behavior, sincere friendship. The plot of the story being told should be interesting, exciting, dynamic, thought-provoking.

The younger the child, the brighter and more colorful the illustrations and cover design should be, the larger the letters should be. Such a book will not only attract the child's attention, but will also form artistic taste.

Older preschoolers and younger schoolchildren who are already seriously learning to read should be offered encyclopedic, educational, scientific and educational publications, and age-appropriate fiction.

How to know if a child is ready to learn to read

It is easy to do, you need to pay attention to the following signs shown by the child:

• desire for learning, formed motivation, positive emotions during classes;
• attempts to read and write letters - turning pages of a book, scribbling on paper;
• attentive and enthusiastic listening to the story that the parent is reading, memorizing it and the ability to retell it at least in general terms;
• awareness of what a book is, how to use it, how to turn pages;
• interest in letters, their recognition, identification with surrounding objects and associative perception;
• distinction between sounds being read, development of understanding of the phonetic structure of words;
• development of speech skills, and it is necessary to take into account how minimal pronunciation defects and errors in composing the syllabic structure of texts are.
• To teach a child to read, it is necessary to observe the stages of training. At the first stage, when the baby is 2-3 years old, you need to train imaginative thinking. The simplest method is to read fairy tales to your child, look at and discuss the illustrations with him. A little later, from the age of 4, the alphabet is introduced, and you can begin teaching sounds and letters. From the age of 5, your child can already read words and even short phrases, and discuss what he has read.

Methods for stimulating interest in reading

A powerful way to motivate a child to read books from 3 to 8 years old is a system of rewards. The initial motivation should be pleasant gifts for each book read. Gradually, the child will understand how exciting reading is, he will no longer need rewards to immerse himself in another book story.

Methods for motivating a child to read at 10 years and older, others, imply a dialogue with the parent. Here are some tips on how to motivate older children to read:

• ask about the child's preferences, buy books that will be interesting for him;
• tell about the book approvingly, express positive emotions from reading;
• talk with your child about what right feelings the book evokes;
• discuss the plot you read;
• also read regularly.

There are 4 popular and powerful educational methods for motivating a child to read, and it is advisable to try them all to understand which ones are right for you. Then it will be easier to choose the best option, or create your own motivation method based on it.

Finish reading on your own - Kassil's method

This is one of the tricky methods when a parent needs to cheat. It is recommended in cases where a child can read, but is too lazy to do it himself, preferring to have an adult tell him fairy tales and stories.

Choose a book with an interesting plot that the child will surely like. Start reading it, and then stop before the end of the plot, leave the children's room, citing business and troubles. The child will certainly want to quickly find out how the story ends, so he will take up reading himself. When he has finished the book, be sure to praise him.

The method of the Soviet educational psychologist Iskra Borisovna Daunis

This method of motivation involves the game process in reading. One morning, a child wakes up and finds a letter from a favorite book character, for example, Carlson, on his bedside table. The first letter should be short, the character should tell about the desire to be friends and about a modest gift hidden in a secluded place. And indeed, the gift is found where it is indicated.

The next letter should be longer. Then even longer. In the letters, every day the character can talk about his life, give the child useful advice (but without boring pedagogical instructions), offer to complete certain tasks for prizes. As a result, the child will gradually improve his reading technique, and will also understand how interesting this process is.

The old trick method

You need to instill in the child that a book is a valuable thing that should be cherished. Only someone who knows how to behave correctly can read it. In this case, the child will begin to associate books with something that can be used on special occasions. It is like a cake that can only be eaten on a holiday, not earlier. Then the child will begin to make an effort to get the treasured book, and will learn the correct behavior.

The Forbidden Fruit Method

Another motivation method is similar to the one described above, but involves manipulation, so it should be practiced with caution. A parent does not allow a child to take a specific book, and explains the ban by the fact that this literature is intended for adults, and children are not supposed to read it. In fact, the book is for children, but the child does not know this. The further development of the situation is obvious: everyone knows how children are attracted to what is forbidden.

How else to stimulate interest in reading

An excellent way of motivation is to engage the child's imagination. Explain to the child how books are “born”, what the profession of a writer is, that you can create incredible and exciting stories yourself. Inventing an entertaining plot is quite an accessible activity for a preschooler of the older age category. It is desirable that the invented story be as detailed, meaningful, and detailed as possible. Invite the child to retell a well-known fairy tale or story in his own way, and come up with how it will end.

Here are a few more methods to motivate your child to learn to read:

• Organize a library at home with at least a small number of books, it should not gather dust;
• Read aloud to your small child every day;
• Create increased interest - do not read a book to the end one day, but postpone reading until tomorrow;
• Discuss each new character with your child - let the preschooler try to find similarities and differences with his character;
• Install a book app on your child's smartphone - let the preschooler use the gadget for reading, if it is more convenient for him.

Recommendations from teachers and librarians

Parents should motivate children, and the task of school teachers is to teach, provide basic education, and a student should come to them already motivated. It is parents who should instill in their children a love of reading, and this task should not be delayed. Here are some good pedagogical tips for parents that increase motivation for reading:

• use audiobooks - they help develop correct pronunciation;
• make a quiet and cozy place for reading at home;
• translate book plots into reality, for example, after reading the fairy tale "The Three Bears", take your child to the zoo, let him see real bears;
• watch film adaptations of children's books you have read with the whole family;
• keep books not on high shelves, but in places accessible to the child;
• take your preschooler to the library, tell him how to navigate the institution, let him get acquainted with its organization and atmosphere;
• ask your child to read the ingredients in culinary recipes, helping you cook;
• organize a reading club by inviting your child's friends over;
• give books so that the child understands that this is a good gift.

Below are librarians' answers to the most common questions from parents about what to do to motivate children to read:

1. When to start reading? From an early age, before the age of three. Read daily, at home, on a trip, on vacation, if the child's mood allows it. If the child is capricious, try to calm him down by reading. Reward the child for good behavior with an interesting book story.
2. How to read correctly? Expressively, clearly, changing the timbre depending on the character, with the study of illustrations. An excellent motivation for reading in children is to act out plays based on the plot of books, to recite interesting passages by heart. A preschooler should choose books to read himself.
3. What books to read? With a focus on the age category of the preschooler. For children under three years old, books must be illustrated. Older preschoolers and schoolchildren can choose any literature, but their personal library must have encyclopedic publications, not only prose, but also poetry. The text must be clear and high-quality.

Recommendations from psychologists

Child psychologists are sure that it is possible to instill a love of reading in a child up to the age of ten. After this age, it is almost impossible to motivate a schoolchild to read. Therefore, psychologists advise increasing the child's interest in reading from the earliest years, practically from the cradle. Let the baby not understand words, but perceive timbres and intonations. Plus, from eight months, the child's passive vocabulary begins to actively increase, and books greatly help this.

Psychologists advise devoting at least a few minutes every day to books. A love of reading is a kind of habit, and regularity is needed to form it. You can take a book with you anywhere, read it at the dacha, in the car, even while waiting in line at the clinic. When the child learns to distinguish letters, you can offer to read signs and banners on the street.

When the child is over six years old, choose books only together with him. Let him choose what he likes, even if it is a silly comic magazine. Don't dissuade your child, this will only cause a protest. Just buy other literary works that you consider useful. Argue correctly for buying a book, don't put pressure on them, but get them interested. For example, you can't say: "This story is part of the school curriculum, so be sure to read it." But you can say: "That movie you liked so much was made based on this story."

Don't get irritated when your child asks to reread the same fairy tale over and over again. They either want to understand the story correctly, or the plot is pleasant, important, satisfying and joyful for them. It's better to add a creative "twist" to reading an old story. Let the child retell the story in a new way or draw illustrations for their favorite fairy tale.

Remember the main thing - you can't motivate children to learn to read by forcing and coercing them. It is absolutely forbidden to make reading a disciplinary punishment. How often can you hear from parents: "Until you read the story assigned for homework, you won't go for a walk with your friend." After such demands, there is no hope of increasing children's interest in reading.

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