9 Ways to make reading fun to your child.

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Learning to read can be a challenging adventure for some children. It seems that everyone from a child’s teacher to Mom and Dad and even Grandma is excited and waiting for the child to learn to read. All the pressure and expectations from the adults can sure put a damper on the excitement for the child. This loss of excitement can lead to a child who loses the desire to read. If we as parents can find ways to make reading fun and enjoyable, our children will be more willing to sit down and read a book together.

In this post, I am going to give you a few ideas you can do to make reading fun to your child, to keep them engaged and entertained for longer with a good book.

The importance of reading in the lives of our children is undeniable, specifically because the development of our child’s reading skills are crucial for their success in school, work, and life in general.

Here I leave you just some of the benefits of reading in the lives of our children.

Boost in the cognitive development.
Improve the language skills.
Prepare kids for academic success.
Facilitate bonding and quality time with your kids.
It improves concentration, focus, and discipline.
Cultivate the love for reading.

What is cognitive development? And why is it important?

Cognitive development is the ability to think and understand. Regulates the process of creating thoughts, includes remembering information, the development of problem-solving skills, and decision-making skills, from childhood through adolescence all the way to adulthood.

So, here we are starting with 9 Ways to make reading fun for your child.

1. Popcorn Reading.

This is a fun way for a child to be able to read the words he/she knows and pass on the words that are causing frustration. While reading a book together, each of you takes a turn reading aloud. When the one who is reading says the word “popcorn,” it is the other persons turn to read.

2. Reading Buddy.

Pair your reader up with an older “reading buddy” and have them read a book out loud together. We all have had times where an explanation of something made more sense coming from one of our peers or a sibling. This allows your child to practice reading without an adult’s watchful eye causing possible nervousness.

3. Highlight Heaven.

Grab an older book and a highlighter and have your child highlight every word on the page that he/she can read. After all the words your child knows are highlighted on the page, take a moment and have your child look and see how many words he/she can read. This is quite a confidence booster.

4. Flashlight Reading.

Before your child is too tired at the end of the day, take some time and read in the darkroom. Take a flashlight with you and read the book by flashlight. Little boys especially like this one.

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5. Secret Hide-out.

What child hasn’t built a fort at one time or another? If you don’t already have a fort in your house or outside in the yard, help your child create one. It can be a blanket fort, a plywood fort outside, a treehouse, or even a simple under to bed fort. (Just make sure you both can fit…being able to get out once you’ve gotten in is helpful too!) Bring your child’s favorite reading book, get comfortable, and read away.

6. Reading Corner.

Make a “reading corner” somewhere in your home. Let your child be a part of decorating it and picking just the right spot to place it. Add some bean bags or pillows, maybe a favorite poster on the wall, or even some family pictures. Take a break and just read to your child.

7. Picture Detective.

Have your child flip through a book and look at all the pictures and tell you what he/she thinks is going to happen in the story. Read the story and see how close he/she was. If he was close enough to celebrate with a hug and a kiss, this would keep them excited, engaged in the reading game, and motivated.

8. Pop-up word.

Pick one word that your child particularly has a hard time with, and every time your child reads that word, both of you stand up. This will help him/her remember the word because an action is associated with it. This works particularly well with kinesthetic learners. (A child who wants to move all the time and likes to touch and feel everything.)

9. Star of the Story.

Have you ever seen a personalized storybook where your child’s name is printed in the story? This is a unique way to get your reluctant reader excited about a book. In these kinds of books, your child’s name and the name of his/her friends are printed in the story-line, making your child the star of his/her very own book! How motivating is that? He/she will have to read the book to find out what kind of adventure he/she will be going on!

How to boost your baby’s brain growth and development.

Final thoughts about Ways to make reading fun to your child.

Reading is the key to lifelong learning, and if you can instill a love of reading at an early age, then a commitment to lifelong learning is easy to follow. Children who value a good book are motivated to read on their own, and will likely continue to do so throughout the rest of their lives.

So if your child lost interest in reading, you could reawaken his motivation, making reading a moment of relaxation and excitement, but above all, fun.

I hope you enjoy this post; if you did, share it with other parents.

Zadi, xo.

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