| At first I thought of titling this article | | | | Make reading together pleasant, not |
| "The Lazy Parent's Guide" but then I realized | | | | stressful. |
| that most parents aren't lazy, but they may | | | | |
| have a slightly different philosophy about | | | | And don't worry about how old your child is |
| children and learning. | | | | when they learn to read. If they're reading |
| | | | at 3 or at 8, studies show that it makes |
| If you're a big reader yourself or if you're | | | | little difference in their intelligence or |
| homeschooling, you're probably concerned | | | | ability by the time they reach middle school. |
| about how to teach your child to read. | | | | |
| Reading is one of the most important skills a | | | | 4) Pick topics that interest your child |
| person can learn, and a great joy in life. | | | | |
| | | | My oldest son's interest in reading really |
| My laid-back methods of teaching a child to | | | | skyrocketed when we started the Series of |
| read: | | | | Unfortunate Events books by Lemony Snicket. |
| | | | We would sit for hours and read aloud |
| 1) Be a reader yourself | | | | together when he was only 5 or 6. Visit |
| | | | Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events |
| Children naturally want to copy adult | | | | for more information about these books. |
| behavior. If your kids see you often with | | | | |
| your nose in a book, they will probably begin | | | | These books were technically above his age |
| to wonder what is so interesting about this | | | | level, but I advise you to forget all that. |
| activity. | | | | |
| | | | John Holt, the legendary educator and author, |
| 2) Read to your kids | | | | has been quoted as saying: |
| | | | |
| This is probably a huge no-brainer. Read to | | | | "It's nice to have children's books, but far |
| your kids early and often. And don't read in | | | | too many of them have too much in the way of |
| order to "teach your child how to read". I | | | | pictures. When children see books, as they do |
| believe that the best way to teach your child | | | | in the family where the adults read, with |
| to read is to NOT teach your child to read! | | | | pages and pages and pages of print, it |
| | | | becomes pretty clear that if you're going to |
| Read to your child because you enjoy it and | | | | find out what's in those books, you're going |
| it's fun. Some forward-thinking education | | | | to have to read from that print. I don't |
| experts believe that the teaching of reading | | | | think there's any way to make reading |
| is mostly what prevents reading. After all, | | | | interesting to children in a family in which |
| don't adults read as a means to an end? | | | | it isn't interesting to adults." |
| Because they want to learn something or | | | | |
| because they enjoy the act of reading? | | | | So let your child pick books from the library |
| | | | or bookstore and don't concern yourself about |
| 3) Don't worry so much | | | | whether the titles are "age appropriate". |
| | | | |
| Don't worry about a right or wrong way of | | | | 5) Strictly limit TV and other electronic |
| reading to your child. | | | | media |
| | | | |
| If your preschool-age child isn't interested | | | | A growing body of evidence is pointing to the |
| in books yet, or won't sit still for more | | | | fact that TV, video games and computer usage |
| than 30 seconds to finish a story, don't | | | | are hurting our children's interest in |
| fret. | | | | reading. TV and video games rewire the brain |
| | | | and teach it to be lazy. Reading is much more |
| If your 3 year old wants to point at pictures | | | | work, because the mind can't be passive while |
| or turn to favorite pages and ask a million | | | | engaging in it (unlike plug-in |
| questions, don't fuss. | | | | entertainment). Kids who get bored are more |
| | | | likely to pick up a book. |
| Children learn in different ways than adults | | | | |
| do and I don't think anyone knows enough | | | | Above all, have fun snuggling up with your |
| about the human mind to figure it all out. | | | | child and enjoy reading together! |