We often hear the phrase – ‘my child hates reading’ and meet many a parent who despair that they will ever get their child to happily devour even a single book. In Book & Toy, we say that there is no such thing as a child who doesn’t like reading, they simply have not yet found their ‘star’ book that hooks them in and opens the door to a world of imagination and learning.

However, children are not necessarily born with the ‘reading gene’. Reading is something that develops over time and there are 5 simple, but key elements that fuel this. Follow these to unlock the book lover in your child.  

1. It’s not just all about the book – the reading environment helps hugely. With a child, the reading environment can be set up long before they are reading independently. You are setting the stage and you do this by reading out loud to your child. This is a time when they have your full attention. You are snuggled up together, there are no distractions, you read the book doing all the voices. You talk about what you see on the page, you talk about what you’re reading, dissect the characters, guess what’s going to come next. What you are doing here incidentally is practising strategies for reading comprehension. With small children, you are likely to read the same book over and over again. This is normal and helps your child to remember the story, understand it and be able to predict what comes next. When they are older, let them design their own reading space and habits. I like to curl up in a specific chair, with a cup of tea, maybe some biscuits. Reading during a rainy day is calming.

• Reading is like a muscle – the more you use it and practice, the more skilled you become. Learning to read fluently takes time and practice. It’s not an overnight accomplishment. The learning to read process can be a barrier to reading if not done in a way that fits your child’s learning style. Usually what’s know as synthetic phonics which is a structured way of decoding the words is the most effective way to learn. Not all phonics programmes are the same though. Those that use a narrative, storytelling style work best. Book & Toy work with the Letterland programme which children love and which has materials for schools, homeschooling and home practice – but talking about LL is another session.

• Consistency is key – so make it a daily habit. This links to reading being like a muscle. A little bit of practice on a frequent basis is more valuable than occasional intensive or long sessions. Also, developing healthy habits with your children sets them up for life and reading is a healthy habit. Continue reading to you child even as they become fluent readers themselves and especially when they are learning to read independently. You don’t want to create barriers to them reading themselves.

• Access to a wide variety of reading material is critical. How will they find that ‘star’ book without trying lots of different genres and styles? Children need to have the chance to explore books, to enjoy them. This means giving them access to different formats, interactive books with textures, sliders, flaps (felt, big, small), cut throughs, search and find. All to make them comfortable with books. For older children, non-fiction, problem solving, choose your own path, interactive gaming books and a huge array of fiction genres. You tend to see a progression through different formats. It can be an emotional jump to go from illustrated picture books to ones full of just black and white text, so usually they will make this move in steps. Some children (and we see this a lot in boys) prefer nonfiction to fiction. Perhaps because it is easier to dip in and out of rather than concentrate on reading from cover to cover. Maybe they prefer something real and like to be able to spout facts out afterwards. My boys revelled in my ignorance when they learned about ocean animals I hadn’t even heard of. Which brings me on to the value add of discussing what they are reading, ask them for opinions, predictions or simply ‘test’ their knowledge. This again is quality time where they know they have your attention, where they feel important for the interest you show in what they are doing, their opinions, their new found knowledge. Or maybe it’s a fiction book they can relate to and this allows them to process and discuss new feelings, worries, situations in which they find themselves.

• Lastly, ‘walk the talk’ – it’s a difficult ‘sell’ to make your child read if they never see the adults closest to them enjoying a good book / magazine / article. Let them see you enjoy a book, be immersed in a magazine, talk to them about what you’re reading too. Compare notes and ask them for their opinions.