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 I
don’t know about you, but I was one of those torch-under-the-bedclothes,
“one more chapter before school, please!” kind of kids. I never needed any
encouragement to read. I probably should have put the book down and spent
more time outside …
Today’s children
have so many more distractions, however. How do you encourage them to find
joy in a book instead of the Playstation; to choose reading over the latest
DVD? It’s an ongoing challenge, but here are a few suggestions that may
help:
1. Let the
child choose according to what interests them, not what interests you. I
loved – nay, revered - “The Little House on the Prairie” series; my daughter
goes cross-eyed with boredom at the mere mention of it. So what if it’s yet
another story about that wretched (delete as appropriate)
pony/footballer/fairy/superhero? Your child is enjoying a story without
really being aware that they’re reading. Rush out now, right now, and buy
the whole of that series, then watch the smile spread over your child’s face
as they rush off for a reading-fest.
2. Don’t be
too quick to move wee Sam away from picture books. The development into
chapter books can be very daunting, and the pleasure of holding a beautiful
book as an artifact can be snuffed out at that very moment. Eight and nine
year olds still love the odd sophisticated picture book, and you’re allowing
them to carry on adoring books, without even realizing that they’re
book-lovers-in-training. It’s true.
3. Pick the
right time and the right book to read with your child. We all know we should
read to and with our children, but somehow I’m never convinced that bed-time
is the best time for it (once your children are past the toddler stage). To
my mind, what that tells them is that you only read when you want to go to
sleep. You are going to be unable to get past a chapter without your eyes
closing and dribble forming at the corner of your mouth (this can apply to
both reader and readee – own up if you’ve been found snoring on your child’s
bed, …).
It’s fine to read at
bedtime, but try finding another time too, when you’re both more alert, when
the alternative would be TV or a trip to the supermarket, when you can leave
them desperate for the next chapter – so desperate they’ll pick it up
themselves and carry on right through dinner. It has to be the right book,
of course: until you know your child is ready for more, thumb through your
chapter books and check the chapter length. Too long? They’ll be bored, and
you’ll be hoarse. And no way on earth are they going to tackle a chapter
themselves in that deal you arranged as you sat down. Short, snappy, fun is
the rule, until they volunteer for more.
4. Have a
party each time your child reads a bit on their own … finishes a chapter …
completes the book. Find a book plate and make a grand show of sticking it
in the front – “As read by my brilliant child.” Wonder together where
you’ll ever find a book that good again, and then go and have a look.
It’s all about
spreading the joy. Let them love books and forget they’re R-E-A-D-I-N-G.
It’s hardly rocket science. Oo, rocket science! Now I know someone
who’d love a book about that …
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