How to restore a reading culture in your house

Most parents have noted with growing frustration that the current generation is grossly unread. While there is a huge emphasis on growing talent and nurturing creativity, it is hard to achieve these things of the children do not expand the scope of their knowledge through reading. So how can you successfully restore the reading culture in your house?

Award allowances according to books read

Awarding allowances according to chores done is not bad, but if you award them according to books read reading culture will be restored. Anytime your child needs something, they will have to read their way to it.

Before you know it, reading will become a habit and they will no longer need to be paid to read. Reading is a habit that has to be cultivated and where non exists, there might have to be incentives. Once they get the hang of it, they will do it at will.

For this method to work, it will require a lot of investment and responsibility from the parents too. You have to read the books your kids have read, or read them first and ask questions in order to ascertain whether they have really read them.

Limit television and internet use

While technology should avail all the reading material you can ever need, it is turning out to be a great distraction. You will have to be strict on the how long and the kind of content your kids consume on TV.  When they are not online or watching TV, they should be reading.

Set time                                                                                    

You can allocate a given time and dedicate it to reading. It can be an afternoon on the weekend, or a hour in the evening. When this time comes, every single person in the household should grab a book, both children and adult. This time should be respected and strictly adhered to.

Read more

Children operate by monkey see, monkey do. If the adults in the house read all the time, they too will come to ape the reading culture first out of curiosity, and later out of habit. But if you never read at all, they will have no reason to.

Make reading material available

Buy books, newspapers, journals and make them accessible such that anytime someone is bored  they can grab one.

Make sure there is a diversity of genres so that at least one or two genre can draw the interest of the children and adults alike. Also have the children pick the kind of books they prefer to read.