How to Instill the Love of Reading in Your Child This Summer

School is finally out and summer is in full swing! As parents, we certainly don’t want our children to waste time this summer and loose most of what they’ve learned during the school year. One way to make sure that doesn’t happen, is by getting your children to read more! My children love reading, and we have books everywhere in our home. Today I wanted to share some tips that work for my family and hopefully they’ll work for yours too!

How to Instill the Love of Reading in Your Child This Summer & Beyond

Turn off the TV – My family gave up having a physical television in our home over 10 years ago. You can read about it HERE. Because we don’t have a tv, my children have plenty of free time for reading. Television is a big distraction and time waster for kids. Once that’s out of the way, they have more time for natural discovery and reading.

Buy books – It’s shocking to me the number of people who no longer buy books. I was raised going to the bookstore often. My aunt would take my sister, cousin and I to pick out new books on Sunday. I loved reading as a child. You have to continue to buy physical books and have them in your home. When books are around, coupled with not having electronic devices to use, kids have no choice but to read.

Go to the library often – Last week when we went to the library, we checked out 50 books. They will all get read within the time frame we have from the library to borrow them. My children pick out the books they are interested in, and I pick books with things that I want them to learn as well. Going to the library is like going to the candy store for my kids. They can’t wait to get home and read their new books.

Support bookstores – There aren’t as many bookstores around as there used to be, it really hurt my heart when Borders went out of business. This is because people have stopped buying books! Take your children to the bookstore and let them pick out new books they want to read, and buy them!

Limit tablet time – Tablets, along with video games are another one of those things that distract children. My kids do have tablets, but we use them for specific educational lessons and games. Only during specific times are they allowed to play games or watch a movie. There is no all day, use it whenever you want and do whatever you want time. The less time kids spend in front of the television and electronic devices, the more time they have for reading.

Find out what your kids love – Ask your children what they are interested in and then buy books on those topics. BabyCake is American Girl Doll obsessed right now. Most of her book selections are American Girl. She can read one of these chapter books in just a few hours. My oldest son is enthralled in racing, and he grabs books to learn everything he can about race car driving. My middle son wants to be an electrical engineer and most books that he picks up have something to do with electronics.

Have Family Reading Time – Choose a book that you all will read together. Each family member can take turns reading a paragraph and passing the book around. Don’t forget about bedtime stories! It’s the perfect time to put this in practice.

Lastly, be the example as a parent by reading books too. We are the first and best example for our children and they will immolate what they see us do. Kids can learn to love reading, it just takes some time, encouragement and practice.

What books are your children reading this summer?

Ashley