My Focus on Family Life and Parenting

How to Get Children to Read – 2

Kid Appeal

Make those video games and TV shows they go for work for their benefit here.  If these have book versions, it might help to have these around.

Stories from Disney, for instance, are always good bets.  If the youngster has seen the movie animation, he’ll be glad to relive what he saw by going through the book version.

The Star Wars chronicles began as movies, but there are now video, magazine and book versions as well.  Selling the books to kids can be made easier if the child’s basic knowledge of the movie story, together with his fantasies about it, are enhanced by the book.

Children today are fortunate in that respect.  Many classic stories like Alice in Wonderland, Gulliver’s Travel, Anne of Green Gables and Tom Sawyer are made into films.  Should one be showing in your channel, encourage your child to watch it.  It may be wise to watch it with a child if he’s quite young in order to explain some intricate or confusing situations and not run the risk of making him lose interest.

Gimmick-y’ Books

Choose books with “gimmicks” like those with holes on their pages or pop-up pictures meant to introduce a new letter or number.  They bring in the element of novelty that will make reading seem like play.

Watch out for the current fads.  Dinosaurs have long been fascinating to children.  When you read about them with your children, emphasize the size, the teeth and outstanding features of these reptiles.  Some books do just that.  Try not to scare the young ones in the process.