A man is but the product of his thoughts; what he thinks he becomes.
– Mahatma Gandhi
Developing the thought process is very important because we generally react and behave as per our thoughts. And brain development is directly related to reading habits. The dividend a kid gets for an early start in reading is not limited to building vocabulary, developing cognitive structures through reading, word recognition abilities but much more. Hence, read out for the ways to make sure your kid collects all these payback points.
Begin with Audio Books
Initially when your kid is not into the serious habit of reading encourage him/her to go for audio books and interesting fun based activity books. To plunge into books is the first step and tuning his/her IPod/ Smart phones with audio books instead of all Honey Singh songs will do the needful.
Set Reading time
Kids should be encouraged to form an everyday habit of reading; it may be during bed time, in evening after play before dinner or may be in early morning before school. Starting with half an hour a day would be sufficient. And if half an hour in one go is not liked by a kid, tell him/her to read in slots of 10 minutes at different occasions during a day.
Play with Genres of books
There are tons of books in the market by a range of authors. Kids should know which book to choose.
Not every kid likes strawberry lollipop and not every kid would like Donald Duck. Children should not be forced to go for a particular author or book. Instead hang him/her loose to pick up a book of his choice. This will encourage him to explore the entire library/book store, understand different books and short list specific genres, particular writing styles, common topics, and his favorite authors.
Even if he/she makes a wrong choice of book initially, they’ll learn from it and gradually know their interests. Different genres will add value and diversity to a kid’s basic psychology and makes him a matured thinker.
Comic Books and Graphic Novels
Those cute looking tiny naughty characters in comic books and graphic novels are kids’ best friends and what better way of learning than reading stories of their best friends – their adventures, journey and lessons of life. Religious tales and heroic virtues can also be taught through such characters connecting to their minds. The best examples are – Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Rapunzel’s Revenge, Amar Chitra Katha, and American Born Chinese.
Kid’s Readers Clubs
A forum where young minds meet, discuss, interrogate, exchange their newly gained knowledge is must in the present scenario. The practice of reviewing books should also be emphasized in such informal clubs. This is the best way to use their peer force for support and encouragement. Such clubs also awards kids reading the most number of books as a form of encouragement.
Kids-oriented Websites
Many websites and online portals have been formed targeting kids and some of them are especially focused on developing reading habits – pottermore.com and bookadventure.com. They can find the entire collection in an intriguing manner and it will rightly boost their reading habit. Plus it has more to offer than just books; so study and play will not make jack a dull boy.