“Readers are leaders” is probably the phrase that people heard quite often. Reading is a great source of knowledge and learning new things. However, raising children to be a reader in the age of technology has become challenging. Parents may need to build a habit of reading for their children since the beginning of their life. Several research suggests that reading in early ages could lead to better school performance and result in bigger or better success when the children grow up and become adults. Therefore, it is recommended to support children with reading from very young. 

Reading to children early will cultivate the love for reading for which is significant for advancing specific literacy skills. It will promote emergent literacy, language and cognitive development, imagination and supports the relationship between children and parents. When parents have positive attitudes towards reading, they are prone to pass this attitude to their children toward literacy. Reading will assist them to have a solid language and literacy skills later in life. In addition, early reading is more than just a nice thing to do with children. It has a very important role in building brain networks that will serve children long-term as they transit from verbal to reading. 

When parents share books and read out loud with children, they can enhance the understanding of the world for their children as well as their social skills and the ability to cope with different situations. Moreover, they tend to have a higher score on achievement tests in all subject areas and have a greater knowledge than those who do not. 

Here are 4 suggestions to help children cultivate the love for reading 

1. Building their habit: Having a habit of reading starts from a young age. Parents could help them by having a bedtime story. It is a habit of reading books together before children go to sleep. Not only it would help strengthen child-parent relationships, it also strengthens their vocabulary and communication as well. Key to success is that parents must be consistent and make reading a positive experience for children. 

2. Discussing after reading: When children are able to start speaking, parents are able to ask them questions after reading each book. For example, if the content of the book is about sharing, you may ask children, “Do you think sharing is a good thing? And why?” It will allow children to express their opinion and also increase their self-esteem. Parents can teach their young kids during discussion time about certain topics according to the content of each book, such as social manner, sharing, and etc. 

3. Letting them choose the book: Letting children choose the book that they would like to read each day is advantageous for building their character. They will learn that they have a right to choose for themselves and be able to enjoy reading even more. It will encourage them to be an independent reader in the future. 

4. Limit their screen time: It is easier for children to access animated entertainment that might keep them entertained. Parents need to limit the time of spending on screen according to their age and suitability. Limiting screen time will be beneficial for children to spend their time off screen and playing with toys, drawing, communicating with other people or reading more. Parents can encourage children to spend their time on vivid books and have a quality time together instead. 

In conclusion, building readers starts from a young age. Parents play the most important role for building a reading habit for their children by having a bedtime story moment together. Early reading will enhance their development in various ways, such as language and cognitive development, as well as the brain and social skills. Children who love reading tend to have higher scores in school that might lead to a better career or better outcome later in life. They are likely to obtain more knowledge and love learning new things. After all, having a reading habit will be advantageous for children throughout their lifetime. 

P. Ratnajarn M.A.

Reference 

Baker, L. (1997). Home and Family Influences on Motivations for Reading. Educational Psychologist, 32(2), 69-82. 

Cullinan, B.E. (2000). Independent Reading and School Achievement. School Library Media Research: Research Journal of the American Association of School Librarians, 3. 

Klass, P. (2015). Bedtime stories for young brains. Retrieved from https://readtogrow.org/wp- content/uploads/Article-BedtimeStoriesforYoungBrains-Klass.pdf