Parents and other grown-folks responsible for raising children often wonder how to get their kids to love reading. Some try bribery. Some try punishments. I believe in meeting a kid where they are.
Let them read what interests them
Everyone wants to have a child who wants to read Literature in third grade. Which is wonderful if you want to have a child to brag about. Not so wonderful if you want to raise someone who loves to read. So, if the kid is into superheroes and princesses, let them read about superheroes and princesses. Have a kid who is heavily into potty and gross-out humor? Then, let them read books with potty and gross-out humor.
Stop judging formats, and that means accepting audiobooks
Grown folks don’t give picture books and other illustrated books enough respect. The fact that a book has pictures doesn’t make it less challenging or a lesser form of reading. I understand wanting to make sure that a child is being challenged. The answer to that isn’t to reject books with illustrations; it’s to find more challenging books with illustrations. There are illustrated versions of the classics. There are graphic novels.
Some people think that listening to an audiobook isn’t really “reading.” I’m not going to get into the moral aspect of this particular judgment. But, I will point out that having books read to you helps with vocabulary development, fluency, and comprehension. Audiobooks are basically a well-produced story-time. Generations of people who grew up watching Reading Rainbow know how a well-produced story-time can help kids learn to love books and reading. Introducing kids to a wide variety of book formats gives them the chance to fall in love with reading in general.
Just remember that the goal is to raise a child who loves books. If the goal is to love books, then the format of that book really doesn’t matter.
Key Takeaway:
To raise kids who love reading, let them read the things they like in the formats they enjoy.
