Reading, as a Habit for children
Reading is Fun...
Especially, when being Children, Reading is an interesting and a fun-to-do thing and all that you need to do is to develop an interest towards it. Children’s face difficulties in reading, as they do not understand the difference between reading and studying. Parents have to take meticulous care in making the children understand the difference between the two. Reading for the academic purpose is completely different from reading as a habit. I am sure this makes sense. If not, read it again!
Parents must guide the children to divide their time for reading academics and non-academics. Apart from the time spent for academics, children have plenty of time which they are spending on versatile activities such as playing games, watching television, fighting with fellow children, refusing to have food and a lot more. Reading can be developed as a part of these entertaining activities, as reading is one of the best entertainments. Parents must inculcate the reading habit in their children, not as compulsion but as an involvement.
Children must be made aware of how interesting reading and writing are. The more a kid writes, the more he/she becomes expressive in the future. Reading is the foundation for writing. Only when we read, do we learn to write. Every speaker must be a listener, every writer must be reader.
Parents must find the right subject (I mention again. This is not the academic subject!) their children are interested in. Children must be given more exposure and knowledge towards the area of self interest, right from the childhood.
As I mentioned earlier, I have seen a lot of children who blindly hate reading as they are not able to clearly distinguish between reading and studying. At the first place, parents must bring in this awareness in their children. Reading is a healthy habit which every kid must (but not as a compulsion!) develop.
The next thing is the ‘Read Aloud’ habit. The habit of reading aloud will help the children to avoid fear of reading amidst groups. The ‘Read Aloud’ habit will also facilitate better pronunciation skills and concentration on reading. Unlike ‘reading by heart’, ‘reading aloud’ will not lead to distractions. Parents, pay little keen attention here! This concentration will be helpful for you when you make your children study their academics.
Parents can make available, materials such as newspapers, dictionaries, encyclopedias, facts and stories, science and inventions for their children to read during their free time. Parents can also sit with them and make the children understand the wonderful inventions and discoveries of the world. The more the parents admire and wonder at things, the children will replicate the same attitude which will help them to grow as active children.
Reading story books can be made interactive with the parents and the children by each of them imitating a character of the play. This will motivate the kids to read more with active participation.
Children must practice the habit of relaxed reading, which will help them develop a sustained interest towards reading. So children, as soon as possible, start to Read new things, Enjoy the new facts that you come across and Learn to discover the wonderful things of the world.