We all know that encouraging literacy in our children is important, but do you know why that is? Reading is a vital developmental steppingstone for every student. By learning how to read your child then has the tools for advanced comprehension among other skills.

Long-term reading has advantages. Lifelong readers are more likely to be more creative, think critically in all situations, and are able to better prioritize their time.

Keep reading to learn tips on how to turn your reluctant reader into a lifelong reader.

Tip #1: Start Them Early

Your student reader will not magically learn to love reading because you will it to be so. Habits like this take time to develop, and you need to start them on the right path for them to develop a love of reading.

Start out by reading to your children often when they are young. This way they develop a taste for storytelling and will be more eager and engaged when it comes time to learning how to read on their own.

Tip #2: Give Them Choices

When picking out books from your local library or your home library, let your child pick what books they want to read. Keeping a child engaged in a story is so important to keep them reading, so that’s why if they show interest in a book you should jump on the opportunity to let them read it.

If the book is beyond their literacy level, this is great opportunity for you to read with your child and turn each reading into a learning session. This is all about taking the time to explain definitions and meanings to your student reader in a way that feels less like school and more like fun facts about a topic that interests them!

Tip #3: Supplement The Reading

If your reluctant reader is stubborn in their pursuit not to enjoy reading you may need to supplement what they read with a fun activity or game.

That’s admittedly a lot to ask out of a parent who has a lot on their plate. Ziptales can help with that!

Ziptales is an online language arts website offering teaching and learning tools for students and teachers at all levels of the elementary school. Ziptales was created by teachers to enhance children’s reading and writing skills. We offer a ‘blended’ learning solution to the challenge of literacy.

When children can read, the key task is to keep them motivated and excited by the desire to read. Ziptales is proven to make reading an enjoyable experience, and to raise skill levels! To learn more about what we do, visit www.ziptalesusa.com.