How To Choose A Good Book For Your Children To Read
Reading opens the door to knowledge and fantasy, allows us to better understand the world or transport ourselves to other realities. Its benefits for children and adults are innumerable. However, it is common for many children to end up perceiving reading as an obligation to avoid. And this happens, in large part, because it has not been known to choose a good book.
In many homes there are constant conflicts due to the refusal of children to ask their parents to read regularly. To prevent this from happening, it is important to have a flexible attitude, which encourages children to read at their own pace rather than forcing them.
Setting an example as parents is also very relevant. But, above all, it is essential that children have access to books that motivate them, and for this we bring you some useful recommendations when choosing.
Keys to choosing a good book for your children to read
Define your tastes
The fundamental aspect when choosing a good book for your child is to know what their tastes and preferences are. Some children enjoy visiting imaginary worlds in fantasy books, and others enjoying fast-paced adventures in fiction novels. But there are also minors in whom curiosity prevails over imagination, and they can marvel at reading a book about dinosaurs or the planets of the universe.
Perhaps what you find seemingly boring is what encourages your child to read the most. So be sure to inquire about their interests.
Offer him options
At first it may not be easy to define the tastes of the little one, perhaps he himself is not clear about it. For this reason it is very positive to offer you access to a wide variety of alternatives.
A visit to the library can be the ideal time to explore and immerse yourself in books of different genres and formats in order to find the most appropriate one. Also, before buying a book, you can read the synopsis to get an idea of the material that awaits inside.
Even if you have an electronic book at home, you can download free extracts of many of the works to read them and find out if they are liked by the minor before acquiring them.
Classic and family books
If you don’t know where to start, the classics can be a hit. The endless story; Platero and me; Gulliver’s travels and other similar stories have captivated generations of children and can also capture the attention of your children.
Also, you can try to remember what your favorite books were in your childhood and offer them to your little ones. The simple fact of knowing how much you liked them and how many hours you spent between their pages can generate curiosity and sympathy for those books.
Reading as a social activity
It is true that reading is usually an individual activity, a moment of calm and disconnection that you can enjoy alone. But is there anything more rewarding than sharing your passion for a particular story with others? Is there anything more pleasant than commenting on the details, the progress of the narrative or the impressions regarding how that story that has us fascinated ends up?
For children to enjoy this social aspect, you can sign them up in a children’s reading club, both in person and online. That regular appointment with other reading children will motivate your child to read at home and will make him feel part of a community with the same interests.
Even friends from school or cousins of a similar age can make the best reading buddies. Asking these little ones what their literary preferences are or borrowing their favorite books and then commenting on them is an interesting initiative. This exchange of books between the minors will also help to promote other values such as responsibility or the value of sharing.
Choosing a suitable book encourages reading from the early years
Whichever book is chosen to encourage reading in your children, it is important that you make sure it is appropriate for their age. The size of the letter, the amount of text or the presence of illustrations are factors that change as the age of the children to whom the book is directed increases. However, if you choose appropriate options, you can start to promote the habit of reading as early as your child’s first year.
Leafing through a picture book with parents or listening to a story read aloud before going to sleep are simple actions that help to generate a positive attitude in the child towards reading. This way, as he gets older, he will be more likely to want to read on his own.
