Readers Are Made

I love to read, and one of my favorite parts of being a parent is the opportunity I have to pass that love of reading on to my kids! My daughter naturally loved books and has always been willing to sit pretty much as long as we would keep reading to her.

My son was a totally different story. He started walking running at 10 months and could not be bothered to sit for a book. We had to teach him how to love books, and a great tool for that was the Baby Einstein Alphabooks. This is my go-to gift for one-year-olds!

As I’ve thought more about helping kids learn to love books, I have identified four attributes that are important to foster a love of reading in children.

A book-loving parent should be selective. Not all books are great and there are too many great books out there to waste time re-reading mediocre books.

Secondly, a book-loving parent should be critical. Take the time to figure out what makes a good book.

A book-loving parent should also be consistent. Young children thrive on routine, and a routine for reading is no exception.

And lastly, a book-loving parent should be fun. Reading is one of the most exciting and fun activities you can do with a child because it is so easily personalized. And the fun starts with the parent – be a lover of books yourself, and don’t wait to read until the kids are in bed. Let them see you reading your books.

Over the next few weeks, I'll be going into further depth about these four attributes, as well as introducing some of our favorite books.

(Both kids enjoying the Baby Einstein Alphabooks at about 12 months old)

Favorite Picks for Making Readers: Baby Einstein Alphabooks
  A box that holds 26 books, one for each letter. Each books has pictures and words that start with that letter. Both my children learned to recognize letters using these books.
Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?
  We like the board book version so much better than the full. Other Dr. Seuss are great too, but this is perfect for the smallest children.
Tickle One Baby
  Sweet rhymes and easy for children to identify with "baby". Also set up to use for identifying objects, playing I Spy, etc.
Peek-a-Zoo
  A Scholastic touch-and-feel book that grew with my kids. Lots of fun things to feel, plus colors, shapes, and animals.

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