Does your child don’t want to read? Instead, he or she spends time in front of screens. This scenario surely made you sick as a parent so you are looking for ways on how to encourage reading at home and limit screen time. Well, now you don’t have to worry because we have these tips for you to get through this dilemma. These will certainly serve many purposes for you and your child. So, don’t skip this post to know these ways on how to encourage your child to read at home and limit his screen time. Check them out below!
Making your child interested in reading at home
The answer to encouraging your child to read at home is reading with them at a young age. As a result of reading together more often, your child will be able to learn the joy and fun of reading and help him build motivation to it. However, every child is different when it comes to learning and processing information. This only means that some kids may have an innate love for reading and others may not.
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If your kid falls under the latter one, fret not. As loving parents, of course, there are lots of strategies you can count into to motivate and encourage your child to read. First is, it is essential to know why your child doesn’t fond of reading.
Why does your kid refuse to read?
Not all kids want to read, and some reasons why they don’t want to do it are listed below.
- Your kid is having a hard time reading.
- Your kid thinks that reading a book is boring.
- The kid feels reading as a chore.
- The kid has not figured out the right book yet.
- Your kid is engrossed in playing in front of the screen.
When you finally found out why your kid does not like reading then you can easily address the issue and start thinking of ways on how to make reading more exciting and enjoyable. When you figured out how to make reading fun, your child will most likely become fond of it resulting in a better reading routine and making learning a lot easier.
What are the means to encourage reading at home?
Follow these tips to encourage your child to read at home and further develop a love for it.
Create an area for reading.
Put up a reading area for your child with his help. You can pull a bean bag couch, add it with accessories and other children’s furniture, and a variety of books. This will turn out to be a cozy reading corner for him or her. You can also opt for a conventional study table, whatever suits your taste.
Be a role model.
Set as an example by reading in front of your child. When he or she takes a glimpse of you reading newspapers, magazines, and books, it will give him the idea that reading is essential. You can ask him to join you reading with his own choice of book. This can be a great way of bonding between you as well.
Relate reading to real life.
Help your child relate what he is reading to real life. Making relevance to the things he reads in the books to his own experiences can help his interest increase in reading.
Discuss what your child is reading.
Tackle what happened and ask your child what are his favorite parts once he finished reading a book. This will help him enhance his comprehension skills and make reading an engaging activity.
Exposure to different book genres.
Figure out what books your child has interest most. Check out different genres such as science fiction, mystery, and comics. The more he or she is absorbed in a certain subject, the more he or she will have the drive to read.
Always support your child.
In case your child has a hard time reading in any way, mind to take a step back and assess where or she is struggling. You can also talk to his teacher to further address the concern and make a move as soon as possible.
How to limit screen time through reading?
Make use of a “reward” as a motivation to encourage your child to read at home. As money has still a little or no value for kids, the currency for screen time is a smart choice. This will not only limit them from spending too much time on screens but also motivate them to read more.
To earn and make use of the screen time, you can enforce your child to read a book for at least an hour or so. It depends on the premises that you agreed upon. Say, for example, letting your child read a book for 30 minutes makes him earn screen time for 10 minutes. That’s a win-win on everyone’s part for sure.
As your child gets older, you will need to make some adjustments to the amount of reading to be done that is tantamount to the extrinsic motivational value for time spent. It is because, after all, you want your child to be motivated for the pleasure of reading and not for what you will let him do every time he finished reading a book.
Read also:
- Things to Know About Fixed vs Growth Mindset for Kids
- Tips and Strategies: Teaching Your Kids the 4 Letters of Love
- 10 Important Responsibilities of a Dad in Child Development
