Creating healthy reading habits from an early age has so many benefits. For one, reading early to your child helps build comprehension skills, encourages imagination, and sparks curiosity. But what goes into developing the right reading habits, and how can parents implement them at the right time to encourage a lifelong love of reading?
It’s critically important to maintain the right reading habits throughout the years once you begin. Studies show that as children grow older, their desire to read declines, specifically at the age of nine — a phenomenon known as the “decline by nine.”
According to the Scholastic Kids & Family Reading Report, “A child turning nine is generally found in a third grade classroom, a critical year in a child’s academic journey. Landmark research by the Annie E. Casey Foundation has previously shown that reaching reading proficiency by third grade is a clear predictor of academic success.”
The good news is, there are effective ways to counteract this decline in reading in children and, in fact, boost their love of reading overall while working to develop reading habits.
Lizette Serrano, Vice President of Educational Marketing at Scholastic and experienced teacher, has strategies that will ensure your child’s reading success. With these tips, families can create and maintain the right reading habits for their children, whether they’re reluctant readers or voracious ones.
1. Bond Over Books
Finding books that you can bond with your child over is one of the most effective ways of keeping their interest in books alive and develop reading habits. When your child sees your enthusiasm for the books you read, their own joy with their reading materials will flourish as well.
“Reading is an inherently social activity,” says Serrano. “Bonding over books is a powerful way to support social-emotional growth as children learn about the world around them.”
Another idea is to act out books you choose to read together. Creating a theater and decorating a stage, setting up an “audience,” and letting your child choose the parts they want to play will get their imagination flowing. Not to mention, it’s the perfect way to make new memories they’ll treasure forever.
“These special moments create a lasting memory that will be associated with a story and imprint a love of reading,” says Serrano. “You can also create this experience with raising a confident reader by inviting them to gather an audience with their favorite stuffed animals, dolls, a row of cars, or their pet.”
2. Make Real-World Connections
It’s important for children to understand and bridge what they read and what they see and experience around them. One of the best (and most fun!) ways to do this is to take your child out on field trips to the places they read about – or visit museums to study what they’ve been interested in lately.
For example, if your child is passionate about dinosaurs and has been reading about them, taking them to a natural history museum will bring those interests to life right before their eyes. Many museums also offer virtual visits for kids.
3. Keep a Variety of Reading Materials Available
One key thing to remember when establishing good reading habits is that you don’t have to stick with just books or certain genres of books. A variety of reading materials will ensure that kids are exposed to different styles of writing and print, therefore broadening their horizons and sparking new interests.
Journals, newspapers, magazines, cookbooks, graphic novels, and other forms of media are perfect examples to try out with your aspiring reader.
“One of my earliest book print memories is reading the Sunday comics at the table,” says Serrano. “Graphic novels and comics have been embraced by librarians and educators as mainstream literature that powerfully motivates kids to read — and we all need to get on board!”
Comics and graphic novels help bridge the gap between what children read and what they envision the characters doing (in other words, visualization skills), which improves reading comprehension and makes the perfect practice tool for striving readers.
“Graphic novels — just like traditional forms of literature — can be useful tools for helping kids critically examine aspects of history, science, literature, and art,” says Serrano. “Graphic novels combine all these elements in their own unique way.”
Audiobooks have also found their place in parents’ libraries for their children, and for good reason.
“Audiobooks help build and enhance literacy skills such as fluency, vocabulary and pronunciation,” says Serrano. “They have the power to boost our mood and captivate our imaginations. Play audiobooks in the car to and from school, or on the way to the grocery store or a road trip. You and your child will work together with the narrator and author to create mental pictures of situations and characters.”
4. Let Them Choose
An often-overlooked aspect of creating healthy reading habits in children is that they need to be able to decide what they want to read at any given time. Having a choice in what they read and the ability to browse to find what captures and holds their attention will encourage them to find and read about new topics. In fact, according to the Scholastic Kids & Family Reading Report, 89 percent of children agree their favorite books are the ones that they have picked out themselves.
“We should encourage and associate reading as a positive experience to enjoy on their terms and interests,” says Serrano. “The majority of kids will say their favorite books are the ones that they have picked out themselves. This will also help unlock reading milestones.”
5. Ask Questions
Striking up a conversation about what you’re reading together boosts reading comprehension and understanding.
“Kids are curious,” says Serrano. “When reading at home, I use it as an opportunity to spark a conversation with my children. I ask their opinion about the book cover and if they can guess what the book is about. I loosely share what the book summary and where the plot is headed. They ask good questions and I really enjoy the time I’ve been able to capture their attention.”
Giving your child the opportunity to express their opinions on the material you’re reading together will get them excited about what comes next, whether that’s the next chapter or the next installment. Asking them questions about what they think will happen next, how they would handle being in the same situations as their favorite characters, and more sparks a natural enthusiasm.
To get started, shop popular chapter books and graphic novels for kids below! You can find all books and activities at The Scholastic Store.
