In celebration of March's National Book Month, for today's Parenting Tip, we're today we're going to delve into how to encourage your youngster to enjoy books. Reading and a love of books in all their forms is one of the greatest gifts we can give to our children. 

Parenting Tip - Encouraging A Love of Reading

Here are our top tips for helping to instill an appreciation of books from an early age:

1. Foster that love by making regular trips to the public library, and become familiar with the librarians and how the library works.  
2. Get them their own library card to borrow books so that they learn the responsibility of caring for them and returning them.  
3. Let your child be an active participant in choosing what books they would like to read. Let them have some latitude as to the choice. Not all their books need to be at their reading level as long as it's age-appropriate. Comic books, Disney books, Minecraft books, etc, are fine too. Your goal is two-fold: a) to get them interested in reading which is achieved by finding books they're enthralled with, and b) improving their reading skills, language skills, and vocabulary. When they are little, just focus on encouraging them to love reading. Meet your child where they’re at. Picture books are also a great way to spur on the imagination. 
4. Read together daily – it’s also a great bonding experience and a chance to sneak in extra cuddles! Read at a time that is convenient to all of you. Many families choose bedtime as a good time to read together and wind down. 
5. Young kids especially love to mimic the people they love – whether it be their parents, teachers, grandparents, etc. If they see those around them reading, then they too will pick up the habit. All reading, be it for pleasure or work is good to model.
6. Setting up a comfortable reading area also lets the child know that this is a special and important activity. A cozy nook, with plenty of light, is conducive to hours (or minutes) of happy reading. 
7. Make it fun! When you're reading with your child, put on funny voices, change your tone, act out scenes! Have your child join in too. 
8. Engage your child in the story - ask them what they think might happen next or what they think about a certain character or storyline?
9. As your child is starting to read on their own, let them read to you - that way you still get your snuggly bonding time and they love to show off their newly found skill! Don't overcorrect them, let them enjoy reading to you without worrying about all their mistakes!
10. Enjoy every moment!  

Click here to read last week's Parenting Tip on Unleashing Your Child's Creativity.