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Getting my kids interested in reading and willingly do it became a huge concern of mine. I love to get lost in a book, have always been that way since I was a child, and hoped my kids would follow suit. I found out the hard way that kids have a mind of their own and that I needed to be creative to get my children reading on their own.
A Little Motivation Goes A Long Way!
You call your child thirty-two times to get their chapter book, it’s reading time. You holler and holler, they totally ignore you! When you finally get them to sit, they test every last fiber of your patience; they fidget, stretch, yawn, rub their eyes, scratch their shin, anything but pay attention and do the reading! Makes you wonder, “is this the same child who was attentively and meticulously stacking Legos a minute ago?”
When your smart kid finally decides to do the reading, they just pronounce words instead of reading! So the great parent in you takes the book and smoothly reads a paragraph, clearly demonstrating the difference between reading and calling out words. When you hand the book back, your dear child reads a few lines quite well and goes right back to just pronouncing words and fidgeting! They squint a bit, bring the book right to their face, hold it away, skip some words, ignore punctuations, all at the expense of the tiny shred of patience you’re desperately holding on to.
And so you even begin to doubt the results of their last eye exams; is the doctor sure your child can really see? He could see alright! He just wasn’t very interested!
Story of my life! My first child put me through the exact same hassle last year. I knew he was smart, and could read better than he was doing but I didn’t know how to get it out of him. Tired of threatening to take away one thing or another, I just wanted him to see the joy of experiencing life through books and willingly read and enjoy doing it. I asked myself many times over, “How do I get my kids to read? How do I motivate and encourage reading with my children? And how do i keep them interested?”
I Made A Plan
So I came up with a plan; I told my boy I’d give him twenty-five cents each time he finished a book. If it was a chapter book, the deal was fifteen cents per chapter. He read four books in a week! When he traded in his four quarters for a dollar, I knew he was hooked! So for his eight birthday in mid-January, I bought him a cool ATM looking piggybank.
So far, he’s saved sixteen dollars and we still have months till the end of the year. I’ve promised to match his earnings by close of the year and help him open a savings account. This morning I found him in his room quietly reading a chapter book he’d started the previous night, and he was 57 pages in. What a great way to teach my son about money and get him reading at the same time! Soon I may have to find innovative ways to cap his earnings per week.
Related Reads:
—The Talk – Racism, Violence, Police Brutality – A Black Mother’s Son
I found a couple of genius ways to get children to reading and keep them reading. Here are a few things I picked up along the way:
- Study your child’s book/subject preferences and help them pick books accordingly. I found out my son loves reading about animals, the solar system, famous scientists. He also loves illustrated novel series, the newest rave is Captain Underpants . With that knowledge, I help him pick books that piques his interest and are thus much, much enjoyable to him.
- Dedicate time to reading. Make it a consistent part of your day, a ritual. Children respond well to structure. Time spent reading could be anywhere from fifteen minutes to an hour, just make sure to be consistent with the start time.
- Model the behavior you want to see. I realize anytime I pick a book and curl up to read, my children get their own and gather around. It doesn’t always make for a great reading time for mom, but if it gets the kids going, I am all for it.
- Invest in series Books. The anticipation, suspense and character identification a series creates makes it a great way to get kids hooked.
- Tell Stories. One more thing that has helped me to motivate reading in my children has been storytelling. I tell my kids fascinating stories; countries, ancient civilizations, great men and women, folktales and so on. When they ask where I get my information, I proudly say, “I read it in a book.” My five year old once declared to my delight, “I cannot wait to start reading all these things myself.”
- Listen to audiobooks. Yes it does count as reading! Hearing someone confidently and fluently read a book helps children build fluency and learn to follow the narrative. This is a great way to encourage reading in children.
- Choose books at your child’s level or even easier. It is tempting to have your child read something above their reading level, especially when their reading skills take off. Be cautious though, this may end up turning your kid off. Books that are easier are better motivators.
Do you have innovative ways you get your kids to read? Share in the comments.
