Reading Habit: How do I develop it?
How do I develop my reading habit?
This is question I receive from each and every friend of mine. The answer is, you can pick up reading at any point of your life. But nothing can shake the reading habit that is picked up in childhood or at least teenage.
I read my first novel in 2010 at the age of 9. I didn’t pick up this habit firmly until I was 14 (in 2015).
But this habit suited me actually. I take books to places that bore me and they bore no longer. Books are the perfect props for my candid pictures. Books are an escape.
Why is developing a reading habit essential?
Developing a reading habit is essential for everyone. This actually makes one to consider any point from various aspects. It gives insights.
Talking about kids, it is even more essential to develop a reading habit so as to distance them from infrastructural brainwashing and preventing them from settling at mediocrity.
A habit settled at a tender age stays forever.
Following are some ways in which reading habits can be developed in children.
1. Make Them Independent
Don’t spoon feed or babysit your children for reading. You can do this for their academics but not for reading in the leisure.
For them to take interest it is important that what they read is what they like.
2. Children Imitate
If you watch TV or are a phone addict then it is unexpected for a child to be less mediocre than his parents. Children imitate. You see, why do children these days are emerging phone and TV addicts?
Read along with them. If you do what you preach, you are a better motivator.
3. Age Appropriate Selection
You, being the parent, know it well what is suitable for your child and what is not. In schools, erotica, LGBT and misrepresented history is shoved down the tender throats of children, these days. That you may or may not be able to control. Will not get into that.
But you can definitely control what your child learns in your bounds. Select what your child learns. Don’t be too selective, but at least have some filters to keep the explicit stuff out.
You can also do this by dividing age groups. The ones I suggest are: 5-10, 10-13, 13-19, 19 and beyond. This 13-19 group can be split into 13-16 and 16-19 if you want. This depends on your parenting style. Some parents cease their restrictions on children at 13, some at 16, while some at 19. Some restrictions should still be there. But being over restrictive after 19 is not what anyone would recommend.
4. Get Them The Right Books
Children actually judge the book by its cover. Not just the cover but how it looks overall. Get them good looking books if you want to get them read.
Small and Thin Books
Heavy, big and bulky books make children panic. Don’t create pressure on them. Even if you expect them to read some good titles, look for a copy of that book that appears shorter and thinner. This will motivate them to complete once they start reading.
Picture Books
Pictures take up space and make the text interesting. So if there is a 100 paged book with a picture on each page, then the text would just be worth 50 pages. However, after reading that book, the level of satisfaction of that child would just be equivalent to reading a 100 paged book only.
5. Know When To Upgrade
Upgrading becomes essential to evolve the personality through reading.
It is a good start for you to give thin, small and picture books to your child, but don’t let him settle at that level only.
I have seen certain non-reading adults who behave childishly when served books to read. Their statements go like, ” There are no pictures in this book.” “This is so thick” “This book doesn’t look good.”
To make your child a reader, make sure you keep challenging him with bulkier and triggering texts.
In a Nutshell
Only boring people get bored. In my school days, I was a very boring person hence got bored easily. My parents found reading the best option for me. I read magazines like Nandan, Balhans and also some of adult level like Kalyan (by Geetapress).
I started somewhat with books full of quotations. One page had one quote and the rest was decoration. Such books fitted well in pockets. They were good for mentioning in school level essays as well.
Done with this level, I explored my school library as well.