6 Ways To Encourage Reading in Kids

My little readers and I are partnering with Speakaboos via Type A Parent for this post.

My mom made both my brother and I into bookworms and I’m grateful for it. I want to do the same for my littles. I want to encourage a love of reading (and a love of words in general) in them and not just while they’re little bits. I remember turning down party invites because I was too close to the end of a good book. And then trying to force everyone I know to read it so we could talk about it. I hope my kids get big into reading and I’m doing everything I can to foster it.

If you’re down, here are some ways you can do it too:

Read to them often

Reading to them at bed time is almost a given these days. It’s great for bonding, and helping kids love books. Reading to them throughout the day is a great bonus. (random book-reading is one of the ways I bribe them for good behavior)

Have them to read to you

You’ve never heard “Go Dog Go” until my son reads it to you. There are dragons, volcanos, children eating dinner…no dogs. Haha. His imagination goes wild. Once in a while he will truly “read” the story from memory. I know with older kids, switching the bedtime routine from you reading to them to them reading to you is a great way to keep the night time bonding going strong as they grow up.

Encourage them to read on their own.

We are about to start a literature-based homeschooling curriculum with the kids that has us reading tons of books over and over. We have a “quiet time” each late afternoon where we do our independent reading. They can choose books from the bins or use the education and/or reading apps on one of our tablets. We recently started using Speakaboos which is a great tool. The kids can read on their own and interact with stories, learn languages, or be read to. (Did you see my instagram vid of the two monsters getting along peacefully using the app?! *glorious*)

Use technology

I love using screen time to encourage a love of reading in Kai and Ro. We have the Speakaboos app on my phone, John’s phone, his tablet and mine just so we’re always covered to avoid a meltdown. Both kids can use the app on different devices at the same time, and they both can click on things that interest them. Sesame Street, Sid the Science Kid, Little Pim and Thomas get the most play but they’re starting to branch out. The app was really intuitive too. I just opened it and handed it to Ro to see what would happen and he immediately found his homeboy Elmo and picked a song, then some stories. It was great to see he (and his sister) could be independent with it.

Let them pick their own books

We head to the library often. I will choose a few books that I think the children might like, but for the most part they pick their own books for the week. Rohan’s almost always have vehicles, space or lego represented. Kaya picks anything with a picture she recognizes… We’ve gotten the same autumn hello kitty book over and over.

Let them see you reading independently

I’m always reading something. (You already know) and if the kids see me reading they will grab their books or a tablet and come next to me and “read” too. I also try to read out loud if I’m following a recipe (like almost never…but still) or reading the directions on something.

Any exposure to reading the written word is good for kids this age. I figure if I start early (like…we started at birth lmao) they’ll know no other life other than a life of reading.

And now…. a giveaway!!

Speakaboos 1 Year Subscription Giveaway

We are big readers here and embrace learning through screen time so I am excited to partner with Speakaboos for this post and giveaway. Opinions are all my own.