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How to help Children Develop a Love for Reading?

Developing a love for reading in the early years is a lifelong lasting gift on so many levels.  Not only in an imaginative sense and for pleasure but also in the development of important literacy skills.  Reading provides a growth of knowledge, a pleasurable hobby to escape from our busy lives and the development of critical thinking.   Developing a love for books in the early years will set your child up for reading readiness and help lay the basis for your child’s success inside, outside and beyond school.

Parents can encourage their children to read and develop a love of reading in many ways.

Books, Books, Everywhere Books!

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Fill your child’s life with books!

Have a great variety of books available to read and explore.  Choose books that are kid friendly and have topics or stories that are relevant to them.

Select books that are age appropriate, such as fabric books for infants and board books for toddlers, minimal print, and picture books.

Developing a love of books is about having them accessible, we have books in the bath, car, bedrooms, play area and we take them on small trips and holidays.  Sometimes they come with us in the shopping trolley and pram.  They are everywhere!

Build a Home Library

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Visit the local library regularly and browse around the variety of books.  Talk about the different kinds of books and select books on particular topics that are an interest to your kids.

We have gone to the library to find books on guinea pigs, Australia, the weather and seasons because this is what they were interested in or learning at school.

You can also take your children to the second hand shops to build up your home library.

Create a Place to Read 

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reading activities for kids

Reading does not have to always be about being read to by an adult in the early years.  It can be about sharing a book with a friend, sibling or reading by yourself. Reading is not only about decoding the text but making meaning from the stories.  I love it when my kids make up their own stories from the pictures; they enjoy it so much more.

Getting comfortable and sufficient light will prolong reading.  Create a reading corner near shelves of books and a comfy chair or a pile of cushions and soft toys.

Reading out loud

reading to kids, how to read to kids

The single most important thing you can do to prepare your child for school and develop a love for reading is to read to them every day.

Make reading a special time together and set it in a routine to help make it happen regularly.   When we read to our children, they develop a love of books and are eager to explore ways to “read” to themselves, write about what they see, and create their own stories. They learn new words and concepts and understand that written words communicate ideas and information. They are able to see the connection between the sounds they hear and the words and pictures they see.

Model Reading 

learning to read

Parents are the best examples for good reading habits as children imitate the actions of their parents.   When children see their parents reading for enjoyment, they will assume that reading is a fun and natural experience.  Model reading by reading a variety of materials at home, including novels, recipe books and directories. Children are most likely to follow your example and the rewards are good reading skills that last a lifetime.

Books – A great gift

books are a great gift for kids, gifts for kids

Books are a great gift for kids!

My children receive a book that has a written note inside as a gift every Christmas and birthday.  Not only are they receiving a personal gift, they are also building up their collection of books for their home library.  Books that they will be able to take and share with their own children one day.

When I ask my girls what they would like for their birthday, they always say a book and talk about what it needs to be about or one they have seen in the library.

Books stimulate the senses, arouse the imagination, and inspire a love of reading that will last a lifetime.

9 thoughts on “How to help Children Develop a Love for Reading?”

  1. Absolutley! open the world of books to them and they can learn everything.
    However we now have an 8yr old who despite weekly trips to the library plus the school library costs us a small fortune in books!
    Great post again…… when do you sleep??

  2. Ahh! You make a Speech Pathologist’s heart sing with this post 🙂 Different books for babies, toddlers, pre-schoolers and school aged kids. Picture books. Story books. Books with rhyming words. Books with repetition. Books for learning emotions and new words and morals and wisdom. There is no end to the joy of reading to and with your children. Lovely post. Thanks for joining the DP Blog Carnival x

  3. love it. I try and encourage my children to love books, goodness knows we have loads, my husband suggest we don’t need to buy anymore. But I can’t help myself.
    I love it when I can pull out a classic that I remember, it’s a bit extra spec.
    I actually can’t wait until they are reading to me. soon! I hope.

    1. Hi Mandy,
      I am a bit like you…..I can’t help myself, I love buying books too!! I am terrible in a book shop, I go in to buy one and I come out with three and that is with me restraining myself, haha! 🙂
      Thanks for stopping by! xx

  4. I am a reading fanatic and I thank my grandmother for that, she introduced me to books at a young age and growing up we shared our love of reading with each other, talking about books we’d read recently.

    My daughter has a good little collection going already, and I can’t wait until she is old enough for me to read some of my favourite children’s books to her for her bedtime stories!

  5. What a wonderful post with excellent ways to help your children develop their passion for reading! I will definitely be sharing this post on our Facebook page. One thing we always like to do when children are a little older, say 1st grade or maybe later, is to put book store gift cards in their Christmas stockings or birthday cards. They not only get to buy the books that they want, but they also learn a little about how to handle money. Of course, we also buy them lots of books and encourage a variety of different topics.

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Hi and welcome to Learning 4 Kids!

Hi and welcome to Learning 4 Kids!

My name is Janice and I am an Early Childhood Teacher in Australia.

I have a strong passion and love for teaching and creating meaningful learning experiences for my students. What I love most is watching children discover in those amazing light bulb moments. I hope Learning4kids brings you some useful ideas.

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