Raising a Reader

I remember hearing the slogan when I was growing up: “Reading is FUNdamental.”

I couldn’t agree more.  Reading is a fundamental building block for a successful life and career.  But it’s also fun.  It should be a joy to read, not a drudgery!   That’s why my wife and I read to our daughters from a young age and encouraged both of them to read for themselves.  Now that we have granddaughters, we have an opportunity to start the process all over again.

Kids’ books have come a long way.  It used to be that the best you could hope for was a good story and colorful, eye-catching pictures.  But books today are much more interactive.  Even the youngest ones can enjoy reading because there are things to touch, poke, pull and twist as you read the story together.  There are also talking books, singing books, and books that let you make up the story as you go.  It really is a brave new world!

But can I share something with you?  You don’t have to buy the books that are the newest or the biggest or the most technologically advanced.  The key to raising a reader is the time you spend together and the fun you have doing it.  Read together as often as you can.  Be fun.  Be spontaneous.  Be silly.  Fire their imagination.  If you make an honest effort, I promise they’ll keep coming back for more.

I’ll share one quick story before I go.  My wife was babysitting our granddaughter, Melody, and her little cousin, Logan.  Hearing a noise, my wife peaked into the toy room.  Melody and Logan had pulled all the books off the bookshelf and converted it into their own little reading nook.  With the books scattered all over the floor in front of them, they sat together on the shelf with a book on their laps “reading” to each other.  I  guess we must be doing something right…

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