Reading books is an important resource that develops children’s imagination, supports their cognitive development, increases their language skills and helps them discover the world. Books contribute to children’s discovery and learning processes and help them empathize and understand other people’s feelings and thoughts. However, it can sometimes be difficult to encourage children to read books and draw their attention to them. However, by reading books in an interactive way, children’s attention can be drawn to the book and the reading process can proceed more easily.
It is important to interact with your child while reading a book. You can ask questions about the story, discuss the feelings of the characters and encourage your child to think about the flow of the story. To do this, you can ask short questions at important points in the flow of the story. Listening to your child’s thoughts and involving them in the story will make the reading experience more enjoyable.
Using different tones of voice to enliven the story helps children to pay attention. You can raise your voice during exciting parts, reflect the enthusiasm in your voice during exciting moments and lower your voice during calmer moments. In this way, you can use your voice to express the emotions of the characters and to enliven the atmosphere of the story with your tone of voice, thus attracting more attention from your child.
When reading picture books, you can support the story with visuals. Colorful and expressive pictures help children better understand the characters and events of the story. Visual elements attract your child’s attention and stimulate their imagination at the same time. You can look at the visuals together while reading a book, and keep your child’s interest active by showing him/her the visuals of some of the words you read.
After reading, you and your child can do simple games or drama activities related to the story. For example, you can role-play a character from the story or imitate a scene from the story. Such activities will help your child connect with the story and have more fun during the reading process.
Choosing books that match your child’s interests will help them listen attentively to the book. For example, you can choose nature stories for a child who is a nature enthusiast or books about animals for a child who loves animals. Be sure to ask for his/her opinions during the book selection process. By choosing books together, it will be easier to engage your child and increase their passion for reading.
Reading books is an important part of children’s lives. With the methods mentioned above, you can support children to love reading and make it a habit. Remember, every child has different interests and needs, so it is important to try different methods. By taking into account your child’s individual needs, you can shape the reading experience in the best way possible.
Uzm. Gozde Akoglu