It can be quite a challenge getting them to put down the technology but another world awaits them in a book.
Some children spend a lot of time on devices such as smartphones and tablets which means they may believe that they don’t want to read. Parents know how important it is for kids to read and how vital it is for their imagination and language however due to kiddie pressure, it is easy to hand your nipper a tablet and leave them to it. Here are some ways to encourage your child to drop the tablet for a while and to read more…
Restrict tablet time.
Remember you are the adult and you can restrict your child’s tablet time. Some kids will spend hours on these devices if let and it is up to you to make some rules and stick to them.
Make rules and say “No".
There are many ways you can play it with your child, you could encourage your kiddie to read for one hour and let them have their tablet after for an hour. Alternatively, you can have tech-free days when everyone puts aside the technology and reads in the evening rather than playing with devices. Saying “No” is just as important as your child will moan about losing their tablet time and put you under significant pressure to get it back but you must remain strong!
Read to your child.
All kids love to be read to and at bedtime, there is nothing nicer than cuddling up with your kiddies while reading a story. Even if your child is older they will still like to be read to and carrying on this tradition will hopefully instil a love of books and reading.
Visit the library and book shops.
The library is a great place to get some books and your kids will love it as it is part of the community too. Book shops are there also for the newer books and sitting in the kid's book department for a half-hour will transform your kids to many different worlds.
Bring the kids to book launches and events.
There are so many events on for kids that involve books. Keep an eye out for book launches, bring your kids to meet real-life authors and stay up to date with writing events for kids.
Encourage your child to write/draw and enter competitions.
There are many competitions for children to enter their stories or drawings and using their imagination will draw them to books even more.
Find a genre that your kid loves.
Not all children will like the same types of books and that is perfectly fine as we all have a preference. Finding what your kiddie loves is so important and this is where libraries are great as your kiddie can borrow many books and discover what they love or don’t love.
Get all the family reading.
The kids aren’t the only ones who could do with some less time on devices and you should, of course, be a good role model! Everyone should go to the library and find a book they like to read.