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7 Easy Ways to Raise Lifelong Readers

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“Please can we read more?”

See I am constantly amazed at how much my girls love to read. Simply put, they are readers through and through.

Also, I am blown away by how well they read for their respective ages. Both are on and even above grade level for reading thankfully.

As a lover of reading, I am blessed to say that my girls share my own love of books. Therefore, they are already readers at an early age now.

But that didn’t happen overnight or by coincidence.

So how have I been able to raise to junior readers?

Read on to find out now on how to raise lifelong readers…

7 easy ways to raise lifelong readers

1. Read to them early on and often.

As early as under a year old, I sat reading to my girls all sorts of baby/toddler aged books. Especially before rocking them to sleep, I would make it priority to read a book or more than one book nightly to them. This was just part of our night-time routine. So even now, as elementary school aged kids, my girls beg to read before bed-time. Thus, this helps to continually raise lifelong readers with my kids.

2. Take them to get library cards.

As soon as my girls were old enough to walk, I took them to our local library with me. I filled out the forms and got them library cards. So both my girls became familiar and comfortable with the public library at a very early age. Therefore, they view a trip to the library as fun and a reward experience. Thus, this has enabled them to further become lifelong readers.

3. Make time for family bookstore visits.

Conversely, at times our library might be lacking in the most recent reads. So, I joined Barnes and Noble’s membership for $25 a year. This entitles me to all sorts of reading discounts and events for myself and my girls, too. So, we usually will visit our local Barnes and Noble a few times a month to get all sorts of reading essentials for all the readers in our home.

4. Let them see you read daily if possible to model a love of reading.

Not only did I read to them books, but they have grown up seeing me read all sorts of books here pretty much daily. I read physical, as well as e-books. I have two bookcases overflowing with books, as well as my bedroom night table with a pile about two feet high with all the recent books I have read or plan to read shortly. Therefore, my girls know they aren’t only readers, but their mom, as well.

5. Allow them to read what they like and enjoy.

Not only do I encourage my girls to read age appropriate books, but also to read what they enjoy. Don’t get me wrong, I am very aware of their reading levels, but I also try to allow them to read above or below that level, as long as they are excited to read a book, I don’t dissuade them. This once again encourages them to love and enjoy reading on the whole.

Reading BookBugs Camilla the Cupcake Fairy

6 Make reading a shared family experience.

Because I allow them to read what they enjoy, I also try to make it a family experience. Why? Because I want to see what the books that they are reading are about. I also am there if they need help sounding out a word. Plus, there are times that they want to read to me. But still other times, they will want me to read to them. So, this is the perfect readers’ bonding experience to reinforce lifelong readers habits.

7. Don’t forget to make reading accessible and fun.

Don’t get me wrong all of the above are fun reading experiences for my girls. But I am aware that we live in a technological world. Kids nowadays use mobile devices, such as iPads for all sorts of things. My girls are no exception to this. While they love reading real hardcover and softcover books, they also love to read on the iPad.

So, I was so happy when I began to work with Epic!, which is like the Netflix for kids’ books. Also, it is available on the App Store or Google Play, as well.
B2S_promo_pn_02b.png

But what exactly is Epic!?

Epic! is the world’s leading online children’s subscription book service, offering thousands of high-quality books for children ages 12 and under. They actually have over 10,000 titles! Plus, they have partnerships with leading publishers including HarperCollins and National Geographic bring age-appropriate, award-winning fiction and non-fiction books to your child’s fingertips. You get all of this for $4.99/month. Plus, you get your first 30 days 100% FREE!

So for those times, when you can’t get to the library or the bookstore, this is absolutely a perfect way to promote a kid’s love of reading, as well.

Make reading fun + 6 More Tips to Help Raise Lifelong Readers #ad

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There you have it 7 ways to foster the love of reading for all kids to become lifelong readers.

How about you? Do you have a great tip for raising kids who love to read? Please share them in comments with me!

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About Janine

Janine is a published author of the books, The Mother of All Meltdowns and Only Trollops Shave Above the Knee. She has been featured on The Huffington Post, Mamapedia, Today Parenting Team and SheKnows. She also runs her own graphic design company at J9 Designs.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Seana Turner says

    Sounds like a nice gift idea for a child this holiday season. I always read to my oldest girl. In fact, we used to read every book she owned every day in our first house (which shows we didn’t have that many!) She is still a huge reader, so I guess the love of reading does take hold young.

    • Janine says

      Aw, love hearing this Seana and same here we read pretty much every day, as well here. So, yes we also have many, many books physically and also ebooks, as well!! 😉

  3. Ginny Marie says

    As a teacher, I approve of all of your tips! We also get audio books from the library for long car trips, and the girls loved listening to them! A couple of our favorites were Tacky the Penguin and Strega Nona.

  4. Carrie Groneman says

    GREAT ideas here and such an important topic Janine. You hit the mark on this, as you always do and I can’t agree more. I always read to my kids while they were growing up, and those are some of our most cherished memories. So glad you are bringing this to others attention and LOVE the concept of EPIC. Will be looking into that!

    • Janine says

      Aw, thanks Carrie and honestly, Carrie this to me is just so important. So, I am happy to share with you and others here, as well 🙂

  5. William Holland says

    As an old teacher and former single parent, I love the spirit of this post. We need more readers in this world. Bravo, Janine!

    And Happy Monday to you!

    • Janine says

      Thank you, Bill and the teacher and parent in me just couldn’t agree more with you. Happy Monday once again to you, too!! 🙂

  7. Nellie says

    To be honest I didn’t LOVE reading till the third grade but what helped me fall all the way in love was 1) the RIGHT books and 2) a mother that was relentless in her pursuit to make me love reading! I appreciate these tips to make a great reader!

    • Janine says

      Nellie, I also credit my mom with this, as I had a hard time when I was first starting to read back in 1st grade and my mom was the one that helped me and never gave up on me. So, totally can relate and sounds like we have this in common, too!! 🙂

  8. Amanda Love says

    I totally agree with every single point you’ve made. Madison just LOVES to read but that’s because I’ve been doing it since birth. We have a huge library at home and our library encourages library cards even from day 1. When we went to London this year, we even got a library card for the library there too. I’ve found that kids who love to read have a much larger vocabulary as well.

    • Janine says

      Love that you got Madison a library card even in London and you have no argument with me, as everything you said about reading with kids is pretty much how I feel, as well 😉

  9. Courtney says

    My oldest still wants me to read to him. I’m trying to populate the shelves with the good stuff so that when he’s ready to reach for things on his own he will have a good selection. The day will come.

    • Janine says

      Aw, I still love reading to both my girls, too even though they also do read independently, as well. But still love shopping for books with them and sharing in that love, too 😉

  10. Marilyn says

    This is so important to have children acquire a love of reading. My sisters and I still have our books from when we were children. Whenever we would go to the 5&10 cents store we always purchased a new book. I had an English teacher in 8th grade that had the class read an excerpt of “David Copperfield” every Friday afternoon. He had us even draw a portrait of the main characters and put them in a portfolio. I still have that portfolio. to this day i still cherish those Friday afternoons.
    Marilyn

  11. Aunt Gloria says

    You gave the girls a wonderful gift….to enjoy reading! I am impressed with the number of books you manage to read. Great! xxoo

  12. Cynthia says

    I LOVE all these tips!
    I love how you “get ’em started young” – that’s so key!
    I wish ALL parents (saying this as an educator) could read this and KNOW how important reading is. 🙂

    • Janine says

      Aw, thank you Cyndi and I know if there is one thing that is important at such a young age, it would be to hopefully get kids into reading as early as possible. Hugs 🙂

  13. Kathy Radigan says

    Love these tips!!! And thanks for the 411 on Epic, this would be great for my 11-year old.

  14. The Rambler says

    There was a moment that my daughter just struggled with reading. As an avid reader, that broke my heart. Then one day, the my mother sent me a picture of my daughter (a 2nd grader then) walking to the car after school walking and reading a book. And then, it went from there =) I do love good old fashion flipping the pages thing but like you mentioned, technology and it’s convenience, I will HAVE to check out Epic =) What a great idea! #happynowlinkup

  21. Jen says

    Oh my goodness, I totally need to look into Epic! This is so awesome 🙂 Your tips are fantastic. Yay for lifelong readers!

  22. Tamara says

    I love the tip about library cards. Kids love that.
    I was such a voracious and early reader and I don’t know if I was born that way. I always thought it was more the product of being such a visual person (I don’t like being read to because I like to see the words) and with my father dying when I was three, books were my escape.
    I didn’t think Scarlet would be like me but she IS!

  23. Leslie says

    What a fun idea! My girls love to read, and that makes me thrilled. But buying more and more books just gets expensive! Thanks for sharing at the #happynowlinkup!

  24. Janice Tyler says

    I totally agree with your advice. My son is just over one year old but he loves opening his books already. As a matter of fact, I encourage all his gift-givers (older family members and my friends) to just give him board type books for Christmas. Though he does not intentionally tear up paper pages, his locomotive skills are not yet fully developed so when he is too excited to turn a page. to see his favorite animal for example, I would end up taping it. I am also amazed when he walks towards me with a book. It is a cue that I read to him. My additional tip: I have his books in more than one room so it is always in his immediate surrounding no matter where he is in the house.

  25. Bev says

    If we let her, Eve would probably have us read all of her books before bed & nap. She absolutely loves reading, and we started doing it when she was a newborn. It felt silly then, but I love to see how much she enjoys it since I am such an avid reader myself. Great tips!

    • Janine says

      Aw, Bev I was the same way with both my girls from the time they were very little, too. And being an avid reader, I think that was part of it, but I also just loved seeing their reactions and still do 🙂

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