Tips for instilling a love for books to your kids.

We at Calisson Toys care about your child's well-being in more ways than one. We are committed to providing you more than lovely Liberty prints, classic teether toy, and comforting peluches but also tools to and resources to accompany you during your parenting journey.  Reading is one of the essential skills that a person needs to succeed in life. However, many children struggle to read, and almost all children have room for improvement. The good news is that there several things that a parent can do to help a child to learn to read better. Perhaps best of all, most of these things are easy to do and can even be fun.

Read to your child

As soon as a few months old, start reading to your child. Point at the pictures and description to the child the images. It's a great way to bond with your baby and install a curiosity about books, Reading, and expanding horizons. A study conducted by Dr. John Hutton of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center demonstrated that Reading to babies helped with brain development and alertness. So get Reading!

Identify Interests

One of the primary reasons that kids stop developing reading skills is that children lose interest in reading as an activity and turn to what is known as passive activities. With television, smartphone apps, iPad games, sports, and video games all vying for a child's time, a child will often spend very little time reading. A browsing trip to the library can foster a child to discover books or magazines on obscure topics that may spark an interest in the literary world. Libraries often host events with authors or librarians reading from some of the most popular kid's books. And how great and engaging are the Library Dogs and Library Cats programs? Reading to dogs programs are nothing new. How does it work? Children sign up to read stories to therapy dogs in the safe, comfortable setting of a library. There's hardly anything cuter than kids reading to a dog! Not only does the child engage in a positive activity, but it also learns how to interact with an animal appropriately. It's a win-win.  These programs have been around for years and come with various fun names designed to garner interest from the community. Whether you call your program Barks & Books, Tales for Tails, or Read to Rover, these programs boost children's confidence and are an excellent opportunity for children to associate reading with a fun time.  If you can't make it to the library because of the pandemic, get your kid's favorite peluche and have your child read to its plush friend. Too many plush toys to choose from? For a fun time, line them up and turn it into a make-believe small class with your child as the teacher.

Though a parent can encourage or even mandate their child to read every day, it will be much better if the child wants to read. A parent should work to find books and other reading materials that the child will enjoy. Don't judge what your kid picks as reading material. It doesn't have to be highbrow. Reading about celebrities, sports, fashion, ghosts, or anything else is fine as long as the child is reading and developing skills. Don't make the mistakes that many parents make and discourage children from reading comic books, joke books, and other non-traditional books.  Any reading is beneficial and should be encouraged.

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

Contact your Child's Teacher

A parent with a child struggling to read on grade level should arrange a meeting with that child's teacher. The teacher may provide suggestions for things to do at home to help the child read at grade level. A teacher may also have information for parents on programs in the community or otherwise available to help address reading problems. The teacher may also identify some areas of interest that the child has that the parent may be unaware of.

Family Reading Time

Parents should set aside some time each week as a family reading time. During this time, the family should sit together, and each quietly read a book of their own choice. However, with the busy lifestyles of many families, finding time to do anything can be difficult. For this reason, parents should be sure to set a realistic reading schedule that fits well with the family's lifestyle for the reading time to be followed.

Set a Good Example

As with most everything else, the best way for a parent to encourage a child to read is to set a good example. The parent should read as much as possible and discuss the book with the kids. A parent may also want to consider setting up a family book club where everyone in the family reads the same book at once and then discusses the book. Many libraries also have family book clubs for a parent and child to read together. Anything that a parent can do which results in a child reading more will lead to that child reading better and increasing the child's ability to succeed later in life.

And most importantly, don't you ever forget to hug your child.

With appreciation,

Helene and Steve Montgomery

Calisson Toys Founders