Tips from a teacher on how to get your kids to love books.

As a kid, I was a massive bookworm. Once I dug my hands into one, there was no turning back until it was finished. And in large part, it was because of my mum.

She littered me with books and if I asked for one, she never said no. I was always curious, and like a typical girl I wanted to know everything. I remember sitting in the car with her when I was about six.

“Mum, what does chemist mean?” I asked (which I read with a ch). “It’s called a chemist,” my mum replied, as she corrected me with the right pronunciation, before going on to explain exactly what a chemist was.

She always explained everything, in vivid detail, no matter the question and this is probably what got me onto books to begin with. I was hungry to know everything. As a teacher, I tried to foster the same love of reading in the same way.

Here are some tips for how to get your kids to fall in love with reading:

1. Start reading to them early.

Reading to your child from a young age can help to establish a bond and have a routine that will carry on through their younger years. If they learn to grow up reading, they’re more likely to pick up a book themselves as they get older.

2. Answer all of their questions.

Most kids love to ask questions and want to know everything. When you provide them with answers, their curiosity grows and they want to learn more. Before they learn to read, you are their only source of knowledge. As they become more confident and their reading ability develops, you can encourage them to find the answers they’re after in books.

3. Find books on topics that interest them.

If your kids likes dinosaurs, the first thing you should do is go out and buy a truck load of dinosaur books. Kids thrive on repetition, so when they find a topic that they're deeply interested in, this is the sweet spot for getting them hooked on a good read.

4. Use books as part of your rewards system.

Most of us have a system of rewards when it comes to kids. For example, "If you're good while we go to the shops, you can have a treat." Make books part of the rewards system, that way, you show them it's something that they want to work for that's worth having.

5. Take them to a library.

Libraries are a cheap and easy way to introduce your kids to books. Most libraries will also run story telling events or have authours come to visit and talk to kids. Giving your children options in what they can read will encourage them to become interested in a wider variety of genres and text types.

6. Don’t put the pressure on.

Don't push reading onto your kids. When you put too much pressure on kids to do something, they tend to go the other way and learn to dislike what you're trying to force on them.

If you tell a child they HAVE to eat their vegetables or they don't get dessert, you're already giving them a poor association with vegetables. It's the same thing with reading. If you tell them they have to read a book instead of playing with the iPad, they'll more than likely learn to hate it.

7. Show them how much you love reading.

Kids learn by watching what goes on around them. They also like to copy. If they see you reading, eventually they'll want to get in on the action too. Talk to them about different types of reading material, like books, magazine, comics and newspapers. If they ask, tell them what you read and why.

Do your kids like books? How do you get them to read?

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