How to instill a love of reading in a child and whether it should be done

Children began to read less — this is a fact. According to 2019 data, only 28% of teenagers called reading their hobby. And in 1998, this figure was 49%. In this regard, parents are increasingly having questions about how to instill a love of reading in their child. We will answer them in our article. 

Why don't children want to readNo matter how delicious the chocolate cake is, there will be people who will not want to try it.

So it is with books. If your child or teenager does not like reading, then it will not work to instill love for him (at least at this age). But in addition to personal preferences, there are objective reasons why children refuse to read:

1. There is no example. If your family has books gathering dust on the far shelf, then how does the child know that reading can be fun? The lack of an example from parents also undermines the credibility of their words: mom and dad say that you need to read, but they do not do it themselves.
2. The abundance of the Internet. Modern children have one problem atypical for the older generation — clip thinking. It is extremely difficult to attract their attention to small letters, and even without pictures. You need a powerful motivator to strain your brain, structure your thoughts and draw conclusions from what you read. But the Internet does not require such efforts: you have launched a video in TikTok — and you enjoy it.
3. Boring reading program. If a preschooler's book menu can be formed by a mother, then schoolchildren do not have much choice — like it or not, but they will have to read books according to the program. But these collections are compiled in any way, but not taking into account the interests of modern children. By about the 9th grade, boring historical stories of 600 pages finally discourage children from reading anything. 
4. There are no interesting books at home. At the word "literature" in the head of a child who does not have colorful and interesting books at home, the image of a weighty volume of "War and Peace" arises. His parents simply did not show him that the book world is very diverse, and absolutely anyone can find in it what he likes. 

Learn how to understand the true needs of a child and motivate him to develop - at Dmitry Karpachev's transplant-free online master class "What every parent should know". Involuntary reading: is it necessary to force?

Any training requires effort.

But what makes them apply? Motivation. It can be both external and internal. For internal motivation, the child still lacks maturity — self-discipline, responsibility, ambition, etc. Accordingly, the impetus towards reading can be external motivation. It includes:

• imposition;
• intimidation;
• argumentation;
• encouragement;
• bribery.

The first two types are highly undesirable because they are non-specific motives. They can have the opposite effect. The more you force a child to read, the more he will hate books. Worst of all, many parents are even looking for tips on how to get their child to learn to read! And they do not understand that the very word "force" in this matter is not applicable in any context. 

There is no special wayThere is a separate cohort of parents who overestimate the independence of their children.

They say they will be interested in books themselves when they want to. But that's not how it actually works. You cannot instill a love of reading without making any effort. 

All reading families go through the main stages of introducing children to their favorite activity. Exactly:

• introduction to the book;
• arousing interest in reading;
• revealing the richness of genres, styles, themes;
• the emergence of personal preferences;
• expansion of the book assortment.

Also read: Bad habits in children: how to deal with themBribery is not an option

Separately, I would like to note the fifth method of external motivation — bribery.

It involves bonuses for reading books. Sometimes it even comes to the point of absurdity when mom is sitting with lollipops in front of the child. He reads, and she slips a sweet for every page she reads.

Coventry University (UK) conducted a study of this problem and received impressive figures: 60% of parents give children bribes for reading. And many of them practiced it in an absurd format — a bonus for every minute spent with a book in their hands. 

What are these bonuses:stickers, stickers, badges — 32%;

• possibility to go to bed later — 23%;
• extra time for gadgets (computer, phone, TV) — 14%;
• money — 8%;
• trips to the cinema, park or zoo — 7%;
• sweets — 5%;
• other types of incentives — 11%.

The widespread practice of bribery suggests that this, oddly enough, is an effective way to teach a child to read books. But its disadvantages were revealed by psychologists at the University of Rochester (USA). Their study showed that the love of reading caused by "bribes" lasts exactly as long as this parental experiment continues. 

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How to teach children to read without pressure and manipulation

Start from early childhood.

Almost from birth. The child should have a variety of books: rag, musical, toy books. Let the half-year-old baby still does not understand what kind of object he has in his hands, but colorful drawings or material with an unusual texture will attract his attention. 

You need to learn to read when the child shows interest in this activity. Don't chase early results. A preschooler should know letters, syllables. He will learn the rest in the first grade. And if you can't wait, then start at least after 5 years. 

But being able to read well and genuinely love this business are two different things. How to teach a child to read fiction with pleasure and on their own:

1. Don't impose your book tastes. If a child is drawn to a book that is too old for him, do not hinder this interest. Let him read. Even if it is an analysis of Kasparov's chess openings or an encyclopedia of small arms.
2. Create reading habits. This is a convenient place to read, and creative bookmarks, and flavorful cookies at the same time… Let the book be associated with rest, pleasure, relaxation.
3. Organize a reading environment. There should be no loud sounds in the room, TV and music are turned off, let the home ones not distract the young reader. This will help to develop the skill of concentrating on what you read. Later, the child will learn to close himself from external stimuli and will be able to read in any environment — both on the street and in the subway.
4. Read together. There are two meanings in this advice. The first is to help the child read, revealing the essence of the story, explaining unfamiliar words, voicing the characters' phrases with funny voices. The second one is just sit down next to me, take your book and read. Joint reading is a separate kind of leisure. Try it!
5. Books for study. Return the book to the status of the main training manual. Use a paper dictionary or translator instead of online services. Look for interesting information for the report not in Google, but in the library. This way you will form a need for a book and help it take a certain place in the child's life. 

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As the writer F. Begbeder said, "a book is a good way to talk to someone with whom conversation is impossible." This is an inexhaustible source of impressions and a way to spend quality leisure time. Therefore, if your child is not reading yet, think about how to fix it. We hope our tips will help you in this.  April 27, 2021