Do you struggle with getting your children interested in books? Are books a part of your daily routine, but you’re finding that your children are growing bored? If you want to make reading a little more exciting and fun for your children, then you’re in the right place. I’ve outlined 5 strategies to help make reading with little ones more enjoyable. If you’re looking for additional ideas and inspiration, then be sure to check out April’s blog post 5 Ways to Read With Your Child here.
Follow their interests: is there a topic your child is particularly interested in? dogs? Cars? Maybe even a show or movie he’s been watching on TV. We can help segue those interests into books. Choose books about things your child loves. Nowadays, almost all the movies and TV shows have been made into books, or vice versa. Think: Pinkalicious, Fancy Nancy, PJ Masks, Paw Patrol, Pete the Cat…the list is endless!!
On a similar note, try different genres of books. When it comes to choosing books that I read for pleasure, I gravitate towards mindless mysteries. Think about all the genres you can introduce your children to…fairy tales, poems, biographies, fables, fantasy, sci-fi…SO many! Introduce, and more importantly, RE-introduce, because sometimes it takes children repeated exposure to a certain genre to help cultivate their interest.
Try audiobooks—-yes, these count as reading! For children with hearing loss, it can even serve as great listening practice. Many of the hearing assistive technologies (HATs) can directly connect to the audio source via Bluetooth. That means that your child’s audiobook can stream directly to his cochlear implant. In times where your child is not directly connecting to the sound source, just be sure to minimize background noise and be mindful of the audio quality. You can also consider turning on captioning to help increase comprehension and build in some bonus reading opportunities!
Try e-books. As much as I love the feeling of holding a book in my hands, today we live in a digital age. Are your children more interested in screens? Instead of fighting them, consider letting them choose an e-book to download and have them read their book that way.
Book clubs: for older children, consider creating a “book club” online. A group of friends can meet virtually once a month and review a book they’ve been reading. This doesn’t have to be a big group—just two people is enough! Not enough of an interest among your child’s friends? Try enlisting a grandparent or an aunt or uncle to join in the fun.
*BONUS* Make bedtime a bit more creative. Instead of reading a book, tell your child a bedtime story. You can retell a familiar story and change certain details or endings, you can make up a totally original story, you can tell them a story from your childhood…there are so many possibilities! I do this with my 4-year-old twins and my 2-year-old daughter and they love it. They like to join in by making up their own stories and it’s been very interesting to hear the way their storytelling skills have evolved over time.
