5 tricks to make reading a pleasure for your little ones
If you want books to be interesting to them, start as early as possible.
It's been proven: Children who read simply for the sake of having a good time learn more easily, do better in school, and use their imagination more. As they grow older, they will write better and with fewer spelling mistakes and will have much better reading comprehension skills, which will help them in
classes such as math, physics and chemistry, since by better understanding the statements they will be able to solve them more easily.
In this way, by encouraging early reading, you will be helping them better prepare for school and for life.
Important: it is everyone's task
It's very important that it's not just the teachers' job at school and the parents' job at home , but also that other close family members encourage children to read, and the sooner the better. As is well known, at school, they'll point out titles, guide students in their reading, and experiment with books on different topics, but the habit of reading must begin at home and from a very early age, before children begin school.
How can I do it?
Do it yourself, and they will imitate you.
The first and easiest thing you can do is read near them. It may be difficult to concentrate at first, but children tend to imitate adults, and if they're used to seeing you read at home and spending time enjoying it, they'll be more curious to do it themselves.
Read them a story before bedtime
Another very important thing is to get into the habit of reading a story with them before bedtime. It's one of the best times of the day, when by setting aside some time for yourselves , without distractions from your phone, TV, etc., you can take advantage of the opportunity to share a brief summary of the day (theirs and yours) and read a little.
At first, it will be short stories, then longer ones, little books with short stories, or entire chapters of books. Find a quiet place where you can both be comfortable and spend 10 or 15 minutes reading.
Mine only likes airplanes!
Great! Take advantage of the hype and read stories about travel, adventures, airports, and anything else that relates to their interests. The most thoughtful or the coolest books won't keep them most engaged. Take advantage of their interest in EVERYTHING to teach them little by little as you read.
He gets tired quickly
Understand and respect little ones' limited attention spans . When they get tired and move on to something else, whether it's playing with the sheets or dolls, you keep reading. Don't worry. Little ones need to change activities frequently, but that doesn't mean they'll stop paying attention to what's going on around them. Bring out your best artistic skills and change intonation, use different voices for the characters, walk around the room doing a little drama... What matters to their parents matters to them too. Finish when you've finished the story and ask them what they thought. If there were things they didn't like, if they would have done things differently than the character... anything goes as long as you rekindle their interest in what they read (and learned). Later, you can negotiate with them how long you'll spend reading.
There are more books than sausages
And books for all ages. There are textured books for when they can't read yet, where you can follow the story in the book and tell it while they touch and handle the pages. Books with more pictures, more or less colorful . Books with stories that take minutes: 3, 5, 10, or 15 minutes long. Books with virtual reality applications, in which, using a mobile phone, tablet, or similar, 3D characters emerge from the pages and do things. Books that tell stories about other people and help us understand reality in a different way . And if you run out of books at home and they ask for things you don't have, you can always go to a public library . Giving a book isn't always synonymous with: " I didn't know what they liked... " It's also a unique opportunity to get them interested in something you loved when you were little and want to share those memories.
And one last note:
Be patient and consistent . Even if there are times when they're more worried, you have less time available, or they simply get older, their interests change, and they no longer ask for your help, you'll always remember those moments fondly, and they'll always appreciate spending a little time with you before bed.
