Creating a Culture of Reading

I hope that it is now obvious that reading is important--not just for the pleasure it can bring, but because of the tangible, real-world benefits that it brings. So how do we promote reading in our families?

First, I believe that we can build a culture of literacy in our home. Read to your children from infancy. (I have heard of some who read to their babies in the womb!) When my mom saw me doing this with Canna when Canna was just a month old, she thought I was nuts. But Canna was reaching out and turning pages when she was only four months old. She knew the alphabet at age two-and-a-half just because we’d point out letters. And she read at four-and-a-half. We didn’t do Your Baby Can Read. We didn’t do any particular program. We just read to her--a lot. We engaged with words around us. We engaged with the stories we read by looking at the pictures and noticing details that were in the words we read, by predicting what might happen in the story, by connecting it with Canna’s own experience.

Next, make sure the family is reading--together and individually. Some of the best memories in our family are family read-alouds, even after the now-grown kids were proficient readers. My husband read them the Oz books when they were young. We discovered Harry Potter as a read-aloud. (That one only lasted for the first four books; after that the kids were meeting the mailman at the door whenever the new ones were released.) Before we had cars with good audio systems, I would read aloud on road trips to make the time pass. We have a common family heritage of shared stories. For those families who have a religious tradition, family scripture reading is another way to promote reading as well as spiritual instruction.

The statistics about boys and reading are increasingly frightening. The importance of men being an example is ever more important. Having husbands/fathers/significant males in a child’s life read with them gives the message that this is not just a girl thing. If you are a woman whose male companion is a reluctant reader, perhaps you can persuade him to do it for the benefit of the kids. If you are a man who hates to read, please consider the importance of not letting the kids know that. Even just 15 minutes a day can convince the kids that men read too.

That said, family “DEAR” (Drop Everything and Read) time can be very effective. For a set period of time--and preferably a consistent time of day and day(s) of the week--turn off anything that requires an electrical outlet or battery (except the lights!) and pick up a book, magazine, newspaper or (an exception to the no-electricity rule!) e-reader (just make sure no one’s cheating and playing Candy Crush instead), and  READ! Then, for five or ten minutes, share what you read. What did you enjoy? What was difficult? How does it connect with your life?

Next time: Strategies to help create stronger readers.