10 Ways To Make Your Children Love Reading

The need for children to imbibe the art of reading at that tender age readily brings to mind the famous quote by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, the wife of the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy.



She had said, “There are many little ways to enlarge your child’s world. Love of books is the best of all.”

And beyond enlarging their views, reading has also been found to increase their intelligence quotient.

No doubt, children are wont to spend their free time playing, sleeping, watching cartoons, eating and doing nothing, which seems like a natural routine for all children, but parents who are desirous of raising intelligent children that would stand out among others might need to encourage their children to read, and more importantly, make them love reading.

There appears to be no alternative to this. In a recent interview with Saturday PUNCH, the first graduate of the Afe Babalola University to have 5.00 CGPA, Ariyibi Olawale, 20, revealed that he started reading all sorts of books since he was young and that his parents had to coerce him into doing so.

He said, “I remember when my parents used to force me to read books. I practically grew up reading all sorts of books, from religious books to motivational books and school books. And they didn’t hesitate to spank me when necessary.”

In the same vein, the first graduate of University of Lagos to have 5.00 CGPA, Ayodele Dada, also attributed his brilliance, partly, to the fact that he developed love for reading since he was young.

He had said, “I read a wide variety of books since I was young, especially if I was convinced I would learn from the book. I used to show those books to my friends but they saw them as boring. I didn’t have to finish all the books; there were times I would read some and once I found that I had got as much as I needed, I could drop them and look for another. I read a lot and reading became one of my hobbies.”

These imply that there are derivable benefits when children read, but for understandable reasons, such love for reading may not come easy, as such children might need to be cajoled into doing it.

According to a family physician and consultant paediatrician, Dr. Rotimi Adesanya, parents or guardians can start once a child clocks three, as it is about the time they would have learnt to pronounce three-lettered words, like bat, cap, etc.

Here are tips on how to instil love for reading in children:

Read to them: Findings have shown that one good way to make children embrace reading is for parents to read to them, whether at bed time or during their leisure. Experts have advised that the reading might not take hours but that consistency and the parents’ commitment to it matter a lot, and that it must be done at regular intervals. An educationalist, Moya Dixon, advised that parents should start with what children love to hear, like interesting stories. Dixon added, “Ask questions as you read. Let the children read a line or two, but most of all, read with love, understanding and compassion.” He added that once a child derives joy from such, parents could start reading to them from books that inspire and motivate.

Expose them to varieties: It is entirely understandable that children could easily be bored when a book doesn’t seem to appeal to them from the beginning, therefore, parents have been advised to feel free to introduce their children to other materials, like magazines and newspapers, which tend to be more pictorial and have varied content. “This will not only boost confidence, but children will be encouraged to read,” Dixon added. Also, parents are advised not to foreclose the option of playing audio books for them because they could find it interesting.

Give  them books that have visuals and bold fonts: Children are attracted to pictures and cartoons, thus, parents who want to instil love for reading in their children should provide them with books that have such, and not those with texts only. According to Adesanya, “Wh