Nurturing the reading abilities of young children will encourage a lifetime of adult reading and love for books.

Proud Moments for Children, Parents and Educators

Nurturing the reading abilities of young children will encourage a lifetime of adult reading and love for books.

I have always taught my children to respect books in their entirety.  To always treat them with care and turn each page nice and gentle. Never fold or color on them.  Put them away and always keep them away from elements that can harm them like water or juice spills, food etc.

All five of my kids grew up reading at a higher level than the grade level they were at.  The more encouragement they received, the more they wanted to achieve.

I do feel that this applies in life to youngsters of all ages.  A little positive reinforcement goes a long way. Some kids even respond better to positive recognition instead of parents being stern.

The gift of reading can take a child into another level of higher thinking and using imagination and problem solving as well.  They can escape the daily life and find themselves in another dimension, inside the head of another, inside the world created by the author.

Reading teaches discipline.  Such an important lesson today. It is often hard for some young children and young adults to focus in this high tech world we live in, I do believe it takes more than just a trip to the bookstore or local library to keep the love of reading alive.  Kids need to learn to take responsibility in finishing what they start and read the book in its entirety to gain the full experience.  We live in a very modern society with technical gadgets, cell phones, computers and ipads that are information ready with little effort to stay focused.  They can go from one thing to another without blinking.

I call it the fast food syndrome of life, people, young and old want instant gratification and they want it now.. hot and ready so to speak.

So when a child takes the time to read a book cover to cover they are teaching themselves discipline and gratification both as they are learning to receive the benefits of those aspects.

Keep encouraging summer reading even though school is out, they still should be picking up a book in their downtime. Read together as a family if you can, it's a win win when they see mom and dad reading too. kids learn by example. Be a great one!