Keeping Your Kids Excited About Reading

Have you tried and tried to get your child or children to read more frequently? Are you tired of telling your kids to turn off the television or computer and finish their book for the book report due tomorrow? Here are a few helpful hints that will not only get kids excited about reading, but will be fun for you as well!

Check your local public library to find out what kinds of reading programs they offer for kids. My favorite is a summer reading program that encourages kids to read by offering them rewards in return. Every county and library is different, so be sure you get any and all information they can provide. One way to get kids excited about reading is to offer them something in return, by setting goals for your kids to achieve and having some kind of prize when they reach that goal. For example, one summer reading program in Colorado begins by giving every child a "bookmark" when they sign up. Each year there is a different theme, as indicated on the bookmark, and on the back of each bookmark there are eight pictures, each one represents an hour of reading. After one hour of reading the child gets to color in one of the pictures, and after completing all eight hours, you can simply take the bookmark back to the library to have it stamped or approved, and the child may now receive a book absolutely free! They do not get the book immediately, but instead, at the end of the summer the library holds a book award day. On this day, anyone who got eight hours stamped can go to the library for a fun-filled day of face-painting, balloon animals, games, and of course a room full of books that the children can choose from. Each child is allowed to choose one book to keep for themselves as a reward for reading eight hours. But that's not all that the program provides, either; there are also prize drawings that children can enter. Children get their names entered into prize drawings for every eight hours that they read, so don't let them stop reading after only eight hours. Some libraries do reading programs for kids, teens, and adults, so everyone can join in on the fun of reading!

If your local library doesn't have all the great benefits you want, or perhaps doesn't even have a reading program to start with, don't despair! There are plenty of options, and you can always create your own reading program within your own home. You can set different goals based on your child's reading level or age, set different prizes, anything you want. You could even set up various prizes that in a way build up above each other, such as for eight hours of reading, your child will get an ice cream cone, and then the next prize will be a personal pan pizza or special meal. Make the prizes bigger and better to encourage your child to continue reading. Build up over time so that eventually your child will win prizes such as going to a movie, an amusement park, an arcade, or even perhaps a prize to go to places such as Chuck E. Cheese or a skating rink. Not only do these prizes give your children a goal to achieve, it shows them that reading can be rewarding, and also allows you to spend some one-on-one time with them. The wonderful thing about creating your own reading program is that it doesn't have to be your own children necessarily, but instead you can make it to fit your situation. Join with other parents to create a network of readers, get teachers or school administrators involved, create a reading program for your grandkids or nieces/nephews, your younger siblings, perhaps even the neighborhood kids you baby-sit, or the kids you take care of in your daycare program. The possibilities are endless, so get involved and show kids the excitement of reading!