For me, reading was a part of a routine since forever. I remember when I got my first 3D Cinderella book with a chocolate surprise when I was 2 years old. And I mean, I really remember that day, not by everybody’s stories on it, but my experience.

Given the fact you might not be interested in a story of mine that much and that you’re here for tips, I’ll put the story at the end of this post. Anyways, here’s how I helped my son develop love for books. 

1 Start them young.

I remember when hearing the end of the story was the most difficult task for my son ever. But in the past few weeks, he’s been entering my room with a book of his choice asking to start the morning reading. And he also enjoys some alone time with books.

Here’s the magic – I started him young. If you count the prenatal period, I was growing a tiny bookworm inside of me. He also went to exams with me, since I still was a literature student back then. When he was born, we brought books to his life instantly.

Here are some of our favourite baby books:
1 Baby Soft Cloth Book Animals $11.29
2 Baby Bath Book $15.99
3 See, Touch, Feel Sensory Book $4.30
4 Itsy Bitsy Spider Sensory Book $15.89
5 Disney Winnie The Pooh Baby Sound Book $3.42

You don’t need to go anything crazy when approaching your child’s life with knowledge. There’s no need to force him/her to learn how to read or to teach letters and numbers if the kid doesn’t seem ready.

Reading is easy to learn, ultimately, everybody figures it out. However, what’s hard in the modern era where we’re exposed to technology that much, is to develop love towards reading.

All the TV shows with bright pictures and silly voices are so much fun! But the places your kid can travel through books, expanding horizons of his imagination and learning are beyond magical.

Remember, a kid is never too young to start hearing stories, reading pictures or spending alone time with an interactive book, depending on the age. Whatever you serve, they’ll have it, if you start at early ages. So serve them good.

2 Read pictures first.

Depending on which development stage your child is at, books with pictures and/or one word below the picture are the only suitable books for babies. You can always use silly voices while naming the object you’re showing for double fun.

Beware, however, babies from 0-2 months old prefer listening to the calm tones of your voice. Soon later, when they start smiling, you can try and be funny. It’s almost a must to do since you’re sending a message that books are fun that way.

It would also be a great idea if you ask your little one to point an object in a book you named. Just to spice up the learning flow a bit. During the stage of babyhood, before they turn 1, they’d prefer those filled with realistic, bright and big images. Make sure to skip those filled with abstract illustrations for now!

3 Interactive books.

Younger kids would enjoy the “touch, feel and hear” books which is a great way to familiarise with the world outside and their senses.

Older kids, from 2 years old, would probably prefer books with stickers more. Many of these books teach kids letters, numbers, logic and general knowledge through games. Plus, it’s a great way to develop fine motor skills.

4 Don’t give up.

It sure will be hard at the beginning, especially if you haven’t started at early ages. But no worries, it’s never too late if you’re staying consistent. Make it as part of a routine to read each day, at the exact time.

Best interactive books:

The best time is to do it as part of your bedtime routine when the little one’s calm and in need for snuggles. Don’t let anything discourage you. Even when your child can pay attention for three sentences, it’s already good enough that you’ve got there!

Nurture it as a lovely routine you enjoy doing. So, if you’ve been able to read three sentences only, that’s fine. Stop there. Forcing it will send a bad message. Go as far as the kid can go. But do it every night.

You’ll see, soon enough, you’re reading the whole book and about to go for another one. And your little one weekly visits a library!

5 Read the same book all over again!

Yes, kids love control. Just like having routines give a secure reminder that, for example, they’ll see you again tomorrow morning after they sleep through the night, the same book does wonders too.

It probably will drive you nuts, but don’t show it! Encourage them instead. There’s nothing that can go wrong from that. When our son was 2, he wanted the Winnie The Pooh book every night. That was a pretty boring thing for us, but it surprised us when he started reading along with us one day.

6 Talk about books.

If you’re at that stage of reading the whole story, then it’s time to ask some questions about the books. This is a great exercise to encourage talking in full sentences. Most of them learn to make sentences on their own through it.

For example, you’ve just finished reading a Vinnie the Pooh book. Ask your kid did he like the bear, was he cute or angry and what’s his favourite food. What does the Pooh need from bees and what was his favourite part of the story? How much did he enjoy the book?

It would be great if you can act the characters and situations from the book too. Another great way to approach it as a fun thing to do! Always be innovative in being silly, you never want the kid to see through books as a boring job that they must finish.

7 Read together.

Well, this would be perfect if your kid has already learnt to read. However, it’s not a less perfect activity if he does not. The two of you can read together if you ask simple questions, like, where’s the Pooh? You can also invest in books where there are pictures for kids to read them along with the letters.

Here’s a story from my childhood.

Warning: If not interested in this, please fast forward to the end to pin the post and share it with others! 🙂 This paragraph contains a little bit of hard times history my country had to go through while I was young. Totally understand if that might not interest you! 😉

The year I was born, 1993 was one of the hardest years in Serbia (which was then Yugoslavia). People have to work hard to recover from it years later and then again, in 1999, we experienced the terror of NATO.

However, here’s the brightest thing that happened to me, after mom gave birth to my little brother. Since both of my parents, with the help of my grandparents, started a business, they needed to work all day, every day. One day, my mom came home with that Cinderella book she probably gave all her money for.

Even though she rarely was home, we had our bonding time reading Cinderella after dinner. Soon later, when I was 3, I could read it on my own. And fast forward through my whole life, I always was a bookworm.

That’s exactly what I’m trying to develop in my son’s life: the love for books. Let me know in the comments section below what are your kid’s favourite books and what time of the day is your reading time!