How to encourage children to read?
There is no denying that reading is an important skill in everyone’s life. It affects the development of cognitive skills, gives the opportunity to improve imagination or creativity, allows you to calm down and relax. It is also of great importance when it comes to the emotional development of a child. The young man gets to know the feelings and emotions of other people, identifies with the characters and learns how different decisions can affect their lives.
But what can you do to encourage children to read books? Certainly, it is important to reach for them from an early age, watch them, tell what is in the paintings and read them to your child. This allows you to spend time together and gives a lot of joy to all parties to this process. A child should be able to reach for a book in any situation, whenever they feel like it. So it would be good to prepare a bookcase, located at the height of the child, one from which it is easy to download something.
Another thing to pay attention to is adapting the books to the needs, interests and abilities of the child. For the youngest, items containing a small amount of text, large illustrations, preferably in contrasting colors, are recommended. All sliding elements or interesting textures that can be touched are very encouraging here. A good solution is to use sensory books when working with toddlers. The older the child is, the more text and graphics should be added. It is conducive to the development of visual perception, focus and attention. Older children, on the other hand, expect that the story they read will have a plot, something that will interest them.
Reading should be part of your daily routine. Parents, with their attitude, show that it has value and is simply a fun activity. So, if we want children to read and willingly reach for books, it is worth reaching for them yourself.
Kindergarten is also a place that builds certain interests and meets the needs of children. That is why we try to ensure that children have free access to books, we encourage them to browse them systematically, we give the opportunity to bring their favorite books to kindergarten. So children can share their interests with their peers. Reading has a lot of power. So it is worth making sure that children have the opportunity to experience it.
Justyna Kapuścińska-Kozakiewicz