A guide to making reading a hobby for your kids
Being a parent is undoubtedly one of the toughest jobs to do as you have to make sure you get the parenting tactics right, after all your child’s character development depends on it. The responsibility is huge and only someone who understand the scale of it is ready for parenting. And yet, many of the parents seem to be failing miserably lately ever since the rise of smartphones. Kids are becoming addicted to smartphones as a result of boredom or carelessness by parents and they begin to regret it after some time. Now the parents must be thinking what else can they do to avoid getting annoyed by the constant whining and crying of their kids, well there is no easy way around it and a lot of patience is required. However, reading may be the solution that you and all other parents are seeking for.
Children have the natural tendency to be curious and to also imitate what they see from the very beginning, which is why they want to grab hold of phones from the time they are infants because you are also using it all the time. So, here is an idea, why not avoid using phones and instead read books in front of them as much as possible?
It does not have to be as big a book as a Harry Potter or Lord Of The Rings book, you can start from picture books. This way the kids will not only get interested at the book as an object, but also the contents inside it once they open that book. Once they begin to look at some pictures and words, they will begin to learn visually as all children do.
As they grow older, start letting them choose a book of their own and read that book with them. Whether you are interested in that book or not it does not matter because remember, this is about them and not you. If you start showing authority and choose books for them all the time, their interest will eventually fade off and they will treat reading books like a task you assigned them. But you also have to make sure that different genres are being read instead of a couple of genres.
As you and your child read the book, start discussing about the book with them and be mindful to not show your seniority over here either, but rather ask them as if you both are equal. Ask them questions as to how they feel about the certain situation and what they would have done if they were in place of the character. That way not only will their interest rise, but you will also get to see in what direction your child’s character and personality are developing, a win-win situation.
Reading can not only be a fun activity, but also a beneficial one as well. It has been found from several studies that reading is good for the brain, good in encouraging empathy and boosts one’s intelligence overall. In this modern era of technological with likes of smartphones, smart televisions and laptops become distractions for children, it has rather become more challenging to raise kids with a good and healthy lifestyle. As parenting now demands more responsibility, its time parents realize and step up their game instead of raising a spoiled brat by pampering. Rather than blaming smartphones and games (*cough*PUBG*cough*) for the demise of your child’s habits and health, blame yourself because you as a parent are the ones responsible for your child’s upbringing.
