Reading is good for children. There is a well- documented positive link between reading for pleasure in early childhood and better cognition, mental health, and educational attainment. Reading will help them through adolescence and adulthood as well.

Starting to read at any age is beneficial. However, the window of ages 4-9 years is critical for your child’s brain development and language acquisition. Therefore, getting children to read and develop the habit is crucial from the time they are very young itself.

Once the interest and joy of reading kicks in, no doubt reading will be a reward in itself for children. However, in this current age of technology and attractive screens, getting children in the habit of reading requires intentional effort from parents and caregivers.

Encourage reading topics they enjoy: Children are more likely to read if they enjoy what they are reading and it is interesting to them. If they love animals, let them read more about them, if they enjoy bedtime rhymes or stories, make those books available. Research has shown that voluntary reading, i.e. reading what you enjoy - fiction, novels, as opposed to academic required reading - is more cognitively advantageous. This is because when we read about something, it activates the same area of the brain as when we are actually experiencing it.

Make it part of their daily routine: Encourage your children to carry a small book to read on a journey or while waiting for a doctor’s appointment. Have a section in the home where they can keep their books, a shelf, a bedside table with a book etc. Set a time in the day for reading, like a book before bedtime, an hour in the afternoon etc. Summer holiday time can be a great time to start getting into the habit as there is less pressure of daily schoolwork, more free time for them to immerse themselves in something new and more time for you to focus on a new task with them.

Use rewards: Reading can be a reward in itself as it brings joy, entertainment and relaxation. However, to get there, you can use external rewards to encourage children to get into the habit. Younger children can be rewarded with words of praise like “Good job”, “You really enjoyed yourself there’, “I liked listening to you read” etc. Reading along with them, especially at bedtime, when both parent and child are relaxed, is often enjoyable for children and parents to spend quality time as well. Rewards like a sweets, extra playtime, or something else they enjoy can be used too, in the measure that is age appropriate. Monetary rewards can be used for older children as well for completing a chapter, a whole book etc.

Make it interesting: Use age-appropriate picture books, textured, pop-up books for younger children. Read to them in an interesting voices and sound interested in it yourself.  Parents have found that easy fonts like Geronimo stilton etc, make reading easier and attractive for children. Allow them to choose what they enjoy reading. Create a reading nook or space that they can get cosy in, reward them with an interesting bookmark, another book of their choice etc.

Modelling: Children learn by observation and therefore seeing others around them read, will help them imitate the same behaviour. Research has shown that what contributes to reading/language ability in children is not only the genes they inherit, but their exposure to books in their environment as well. In fact, reading has been the most simply recommended remedy for children in economically impoverished conditions. Read to your children and let them see you enjoy reading as well. 

Often children (and even adults themselves) want to see immediate results from something that we do, a better grade, winning a competition, academic success etc. However, remember that while there may be some immediate visible payoffs of teaching your child to read, there are much more long term pay offs in terms of cognitive health, mental health and educational attainment, that may show up only later. So rather than thinking of it as a chore, making it a habit that they enjoy is much more important.