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How to Find Books that Encourage Your Child to Read

               

Most
parents know the importance of reading with their children daily, yet many don’t
have the time or choose to spend leisure time on other things. A 2013 study conducted by Reading Is Fundamental finds that
only one in three parents reported reading at bedtimes every night, and 50
percent of parents say their kids spend more time watching TV or playing video
games than reading books. 
How do we impact the reading culture and help motivate
kids to read? Start with good book selection. Here are a few tips:
Preschoolers
appreciate repetition and action
When selecting books for preschoolers, keep in mind that
children in this age group appreciate repetition and action. Repeating the same
phrases over and over helps to stimulate your child’s working memory skills. Pictures
that reflect action are also stimulating to preschoolers and provide great
opportunities for questions and conversation about what’s happening in the
illustration.
Find books
your child is interested in
Dedicate time to finding books that are connected to the
things your child is interested in — NBA players, action heroes, even Legos. When
your child is interested in the book content and storyline, they are more
likely to spend time paying attention to the book. Check out this
guide from PBS Parents for book ideas.
Select
books your child can understand
Some adult book classics that fall in the children’s
literature category can be challenging to understand and, in some cases, even
dark. It’s important to be thoughtful about the books you and your child select
and try to make sure the content and storyline makes sense to your child.  Reading comprehension skills are fostered
through understanding the storyline and reading on a regular basis. 
Select
books that are relevant to your child’s identity
How does your child identify him or herself? How does
your family identify itself? What are your values? Depending on your child’s
age, they may have something special that they are beginning to identify with
or that your family identifies with and they are adopting. To help kids value
reading, it’s helpful to provide books where they can see themselves on the
pages.

There are so
many benefits to supporting your child’s literacy. Promoting a daily reading
habit is part of fostering great early literacy skills. Whether you read to your child or your child
reads to you, make time to read with your child every day. Parents and
caregivers: Visit www.BibtoBackpack.org for more United Way for Southeastern
Michigan early development resources and tools to support your child’s first
teacher: you!
Amber Louchart
Author: Amber Louchart

Amber is the proud mother to four beautiful children, Damian (27), Rosaleigh (14), Carlyn (11), and Naomi (8). Her family also includes four cats. She loves being a stay-at-home mom and feels blessed to be able to care for her children full-time and provide them with so many opportunities through Metro Detroit Mommy. In addition to Metro Detroit Mommy, Amber has a passion for hosting karaoke with Malibu Entertainment.  She enjoys the metro Detroit nightlife especially, singing, dancing and meeting new people.