Summary
How can parents help their kids become motivated readers? It has a lot to do with the library.
Parents and caregivers (and librarians!) wish there was simply a magic button that helped kids love reading. We all want kids to be great readers, but how can we help them get there? One of the best things you can do is to set the stage for reading, creating an environment that lets any existing interest in books flourish. We can do this by:
Giving kids lots of choice about what they read. Having lots of options (that are parent/caregiver approved!) gives kids a sense of autonomy but also lets them follow their curiosity and interests. Kids have a wide range of shows and games available to them online – let’s show them that there are also LOTS of choices to be made in real life, when it comes to what they choose to read! The good news is you don’t have to stock your house with purchased books that kids are likely to outgrow in a few years – we’ve stocked the library with lots of options for you to explore.
Letting kids be comfy with their reading style. Sometimes we feel like kids have to read in the ‘right’ way; we might feel tempted to steer them away from magazines, audiobooks or graphic novels because we’d prefer they read chapter books. But these other ways of reading still contribute to early literacy skills! If we can embrace the reading style our kiddo is most comfortable in, they’ll be more likely to keep coming back to these (rather than giving up reading entirely) even if traditional chapter book reading is challenging for them. And the good news is, your library makes all these options available for kids to try:
- Magazines help kids discover the many different ways that written publications are used (e.g. for crafts, news, and community building), and connect them with their specific interests.
- AudioBooks let kids experience longer stories they may not have the stamina to read on their own, letting them tap into more narrative skills while also growing their vocabulary
- Graphic Novels engage visual- and text-processing parts of the brain at the same time, making for a uniquely engaging reading experience while keeping kids motivated to turn another page.
Parents reading what they love! You deserve to read more than bedtime stories 🙂 When kids see that their parents and caregivers enjoy reading, they are more likely to also want to read. Your example is incredibly powerful, no matter what or how you choose to read – we keep a wide selection of choices for adults, too! If you don’t get a chance to browse the adult shelves with kid in tow, you can browse our collection online and place holds to have library staff prep your books for pick-up at your next check-out.
BONUS: Parents and kids can benefit from our monthly email subscriptions that let you know about new items arriving at your library each month. Join the New on the Shelves email list to have a sampling of each month’s titles sent to your inbox.