Reading is considered to be one the healthiest exercises to develop the concentration of your child. Students who like to read tend to become more patient than students who do not. There are numerous benefits of reading. Reading enhances your child’s imagination and capacity to retain information. If your child is a reader, he will be able to enhance his vocabulary and understand the concept of empathy at an early age.
It has become quite important for children to become sensitive readers and analyze the condition of their surroundings and environment. If your child reads short stories and novels or non-fiction books it will assist him to fall asleep, thus keeping a check on his sleep cycle.
Apart from enhancing imagination and vocabulary skills reading makes the brain of your child strong and prevents cognitive decline. Reading helps reduce stress in the long run and makes your child capable enough to handle academic pressure. Thus, it becomes vital for parents to inculcate the habit of reading in their child at a young age. But, there can be times when your child does not like reading books or even thinks it to be ineffective. In that case, you can use these strategies to motivate your reluctant child to become an avid reader.
Here are 5 effective ways to encourage reluctant readers:
1. Read Out Loud
As a parent, the best thing you can do is read out loud to your child. The first step to motivating your child is to read them aloud. If your child becomes a good listener he will be intrigued in reading by himself. You can read to him at any time of the day depending upon your availability.
Reading out loud will make them understand the purpose of intonation and punctuation. The best time for you to read to them is during bedtime. Read short stories at the beginning so that they are not bored. By the time they are used to listening to you with concentration, you can move ahead with lengthy stories. Your child will soon be motivated to read stories that you have left incomplete and find out the ends by themselves. Thus, this practice of yours will make your child a reader.
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2. Allow to Make a Choice
Realizing the potential of your child as a reader is very important for a parent. You must be able to comprehend the types of stories and novels your child likes to read. It is advised that you let your child choose the book he wants to read. The book that he finds attractive will not only motivate him but, also make him curious about its content. Gradually, you will notice the genre he prefers while reading and then you can buy him books of the same genre. It is important to make your child choose independently after a certain age. This practice will help in shaping his personality apart from enhancing his vocabulary and grammar.
3. Identify positives
One of the principal strategies that you can apply, to motivate your reluctant child is by highlighting their positive and strengths. It becomes crucial to encourage your child to get into the habit of reading. It can be done if you only identify his positives and avoid the negatives. It does not mean that you allow your child to read incorrectly. It simply means that you appreciate his efforts and make minimum criticism while he reads. Once your child gets used to reading, you can point out his shortcomings as well.
4. Enroll them on a Kid’s Library
Children are perceptible to colours. It may so happen that you are unable to provide your child with different kinds of books. In such a case, you can take the liberty to enroll your child in a library. Make sure that this library contains a kid’s section so that they can choose books from the section allotted to them. The presence of innumerable books will influence your child to get hold of one. When he will see other kids reading, it will motivate him to read the book that he has picked up. The whole idea of visiting a library and reading independently encourage the child to read.
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5. Initiate the use of Audiobooks
The use of an audiobook can enhance your child’s listening and speaking skills. Audiobooks are affordable and are virtual. They do not take much space as compared to books. Introducing audiobooks to your child may help them to make less screen time and use the book as a source of entertainment. Audiobooks are specially designed, for students who do not have anyone to assist them. If you are a busy parent and not getting enough time to read to your child you can introduce them to audiobooks which is a good replacement for a live reader. Thus, audiobooks are the safest and most effective ways to make your child interested in reading.
Books are the pathway to an imaginary world where you can travel without physically moving. Reading books, articles and newspapers make a person aware of the surroundings. It is considered to be a noble exercise and a good hobby. People who read books are proven to have a higher intelligence quotient than others. If you find that your child is not interested in reading traditional books, you can go ahead with audiobooks and make him acquire the habit of reading. This habit will surely help him in the long run.
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