Eh, I’m not an expert, I’m just a plain mum. So I can only share what works in my household.
Start VERY young
For my 2 children, I started few days after I we came home from the hospital. It was one of the activities we did during their waking moments. Both babies and I were lying on the bed, and I would flash some ‘black and white’ cards to them. Why black and white? I used to read that babies can see such pictures better. Did a google on this and found the info here:
http://www.ski.org/Vision/babyvision.html
Along the way, I started introducing other types of books like cloth books, photobooks, board books, large picture books with just 1 or 2 words on each page.
If the child is already older, I don’t think it is late, the next point should help.
Choose books that interest them.
This is the most important pointer. Children are different. What I started with E was very different from Z. I attempted giving Z the same types of books, but she wasn’t interested. Examples:
As babies – E loves board books with a picture and the name of the picture on each page, but Z, she was bored. After trial and errors, I realised that Z loved books with other babies’ faces on it.
As toddlers – E loves ALL kinds of books, Z, again, was only fascinated with books with other toddlers.
As pre-schoolers – Train, Thomas, etc, are loved by E, princess, sparkly and dinosaurs books for Z. (Strange, while E never likes dinosaurs, surprisingly, Z simply loves them!)
Types of books that children may like:
Interactive Books (especially for toddlers and preschoolers)
Pop up books, flip-flap books, touch and feel books, etc, these appeal to younger readers.
Character books
If the child likes certain character from their shows, like Barney, Dora, Thomas, etc, get books with these characters.
Movie books
Both my kiddos also love books relating to movies they watched. And usually, such books come in different levels from different readers. Eg, Happy Feet – I bought a simple picture book for Z, and another version with more reading for E.
Humor
Even adults love humor. Both my kiddos love books with a sense of humor.
B4FIAR and FIAR books
For B4FIAR, we love ALL the selections, and many of them have a great sense of humor. For FIAR, there are certain books that younger children may not like yet. I left out those books till E is older.
And etc etc etc…
Too much TV, computer and handheld games will not help
There are reports and findings that link TV, computer and handheld games to attention span. I definitely not in the position to say are these findings true or not. But from what I observe between my children and another houshold where their children play quite a lot of games, it seems true that too much gaming and TV does affect.
In our household, EZ are given a max of 1 hour TV OR computer, there are even days when we are so busy that we have no time for TV. If they want TV, than no computer games, and vice versa.
Read with enthusiasm and use props if available
Read with expressions and bring the characters to life! If you have simple props, it will be even better.
Eg, when reading “Blueberries for Sal”, get a tin bowl/container, get some marbles to pretend to be blueberries, and drop them into the tin container during the point when it says “Kuplink, Kuplank, Kuplunk.”
Another eg, when reading “Caps for Sale”, read with a few caps/hats balancing on your head.
Soft toys of various animals make great props too. With my children prone to allergies, I keep the soft toys in a bag, and only take our the necessary ones as props when reading.
Read to bond
Reading is part of our night-time routine, and it is a bonding time. Our day time is pretty busy, but night time is usually the only time when I can read to them. With the right choice of book that interest the child, reading at night can become a very sacred and precious moment between parents and child. If the child is not interested, that may mean that the book doesn’t appeal to him/her.
Night time reading really need not take a long time. It can be 5 to 15 minutes for each child, depending on how much time the parent can give. I read more books when they are very young, but as the child grows older, eg, for E, I only read a chapter from a book, which can already take up a good 10 minutes.
Enjoy
Don’t take reading as a teaching time. Don’t force the children to like to read. You yourself got to enjoy the book, and enjoy the child. Personally, the books that I really enjoy reading to my children are the >B4FIAR titles.
And, as a start, with the right book, read to the child, and don’t force them to read unless they want to do so.
Bonus – If you are a reader too
It will certainly helps a great deal if you yourself is a reader and enjoy reading.
Hope this sharing helps. Feel free to share what works in your household too.
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