By Elizabeth Hamilton, M.Ed
For Variety

PARENTS frequently ask me about the best way they can encourage their children to read, and I always offer them the same advice, “Make reading interesting.” Parents can entice their children to become avid readers by introducing them to a wide variety of interesting reading materials and fun activities. Here are some suggestions:
Take books wherever you go: in the car, to the doctor’s office, to the market, anywhere.
Play “I spy” and ask your children to find letters or words when you are driving, walking, shopping, or reading.
Help your children find letters or words on things they see every day such as cereal boxes, food packages, signs, junk mail, etc.
Look at a magazine with your children. Ask them to find pictures that start with various letter sounds. Start with “A”, then find a picture that starts with the “B” sound, and so on.
Play the alphabet game. Encourage your children to think of words that begin with the letter A, then B, then C, etc.
Say a word and ask your children to come up with a word that rhymes with yours such as bat, rat, cat. Continue taking turns adding words that rhyme.
Young children enjoy the time they spend with their parents. When you read together, they learn that reading time is special because it is shared with you.
Tailor reading activities to your children. Ask a librarian help your children choose books about their special interests.
Read everything you see—directories, maps, instructions, recipes.
As your children learn to read, you can take turns reading the pages.
Ask your children to supply sound effects that correspond to what’s happening in the story you’re reading. For instance, they could knock when there’s knocking or they could try flickering the lights when there’s a storm.
Help your children become active readers. Share what you think about the story and ask them their opinions. Did the character do the right thing? Why?
Have siblings take turns reading to each other, even if the younger children can only “read” the pictures.
Put some magnetic letters on the refrigerator and help your children make words using the letters.
Take pictures during family gatherings, and then have your children write captions beside them. Put these in a book format, with page numbers and a title page, and have your children read the book to family and friends.
Have your children help you shop for groceries. Give each child a few labels from canned or packaged items, and ask them to match the words and pictures on their labels to items on the store shelves.
Get a creepy book, turn off the lights, and read it using a flashlight.
Write down travel directions, and have your children serve as navigators when you drive.
Have children read recipe instructions to you when you cook.
Read books of jokes and riddles that your children can tell to other people.
Don’t stop reading aloud to your children once they learn to read by themselves. Children continue to benefit from read alouds by listening to stories that are too difficult for them to read by themselves.
By spending just 15 to 30 minutes a day with their children, parents can foster the love of reading and learning in their children, and provide memories that will last a lifetime.