Inculcating Young Readers

You might wonder why do we stress on reading even in the age of instant knowledge and small conversations? I mean who wants to go through lengthy books and data when the inference can be attained at the touch of a finger on your Tablet or smart phone? If I want to know what a word means I can use the search engines. If I want to know what’s happening in the world today, I just need to see what’s trending on twitter.

Which brings us to the question, why should you insist on reading?
My top reasons are;

Reading improves vocabulary: When you child reads books from 
different authors and genres, you expose him to words, languages and thoughts which he/she may not experience otherwise.In our daily lives we speak colloquially .
Readers have a quench for knowledge: When they learn more they are more inquisitive and ask more questions and consecutively seek more answers. This means they learn more every day.

How can you inculcate this habit and create young readers?

Reading is a habit that has to be cultivated.If you start early it will come naturally to kids.
You can start by reading to your kid in your free time and can tell other family members to do the same. If it becomes a bonding time for you and your child, the child will associate happy memories with it and look forward to it.We started by reading bedtime stories, sometimes by just telling stories when we did not want to read to them. This became a routine and helped my elder one  to slip into  his own reading routine as he grew up.
Encourage your child to read on topics that they like(maybe novels). Like sports, video games, movies and discuss on these with them.Once they feels that what they  read is being used in your discussions, they will relate to it more try and read more.
In the beginning don’t expect him to totally start reading serious books.But as long as he reads for a few hours its fine. Slowly you can give him more books of a little serious nature and discuss.Once a habit is inculcated..it would be easier for your son also to read books. 
Set an example, by reading books yourself.Kids learn the best with what they see.So if they see you reading every day, they will pick it up naturally. My husband is a voracious reader and my kids have learned to go to sleep with a book like him .
Always visit a bookstore when you step in a mall.With the new lifestyles we are leading, we tend to visit the mall at least once a week?Even if you don’t frequent it too often, do visit a bookstore when you do go.Browsing through new books, buying new books always generates interests. One thing we have done as parents is that though we have set limits to toy purchases, books are never a ‘no’. My kids are encouraged to buy as many books a month as they like.
Reward with books. This is another thing I would recommend. If our kids performs well in school or sports, they are rewarded with a book of their choice.So when they see a book as a prize, instantly the value goes up.

Reading books is a large part of our family life and I can see my kids benefitting from it. Encourage your kids to read and let them enjoy it.