How To Develop Reading Habit In Children?

Making a child study is one of the most difficult jobs you will face as a parent. In this digital era, you will find many children fascinated with computer games or any other gadget. They will hardly focus on sitting in one place and reading a book. So as a parent, it is your responsibility to take the steps to develop the reading habit of your children which will stay with them forever.

You cannot expect your child to study unless he loves reading. Reading is a habit that should be formed from their childhood. Many parents make the mistake of only focusing on grades or marks which creates a negative impact on children. That is why many children study out of pressure or fear instead of loving it. They hardly focus on understanding the matter as well. This remains with them for the rest of their educational life. So, you need to start implementing certain things to make your child fall in love with reading which will give him a long-term benefits.

How to develop reading habit in children?

Now, let us go through a few basic steps to develop the reading habit of your child.

1. Allow your child to choose the book

Sometimes parents solely concentrate on school books and make their child read those books every day. Instead, you can narrate interesting stories from books that will grab their attention and make them want to hear more stories. In this way, you will be able to make your child get a hold of books which he will love reading. This will invoke a sense of curiosity in the child which will eventually make sure that your child forms a habit of knowing new things and reading books.

2. Create a reading environment

Being in a library would be an ideal example of a reading environment. Although it is not possible to replicate that atmosphere completely there are certain things that you can pick from a library setting. Having a clean room with a shelf containing many books in an organized way can be the first step. Along with that, avoiding any kind of chaos or noise can help increase focus during reading. You can also maintain a reading schedule so that your child can have a balanced lifestyle.

3. Be a reader yourself

Children are good at imitating their actions. If your child notices his father or mother reading regularly from a very early stage then it is very likely that he will also become a disciplined reader. The child will slowly understand the essence of reading and he will form a good habit for the rest of his life. The urge of learning and gaining knowledge will be ingrained within him and studying will become natural for him.

4. Use technology to your advantage

Due to the advancement of technology, some children of this generation might prefer reading from some article. eBook or watch a video to learn about any topic. Having the flexibility between reading from a paperback book to an eBook is ideal for a student of this generation. In the coming years, you will see your child spending a lot of time studying online so it is important for him to get habituated to the online settings of reading.

What to do if my child does not want to study?

Studying can be boring for your child unless you take the initiative to make it interesting.

The perspective of studying should be about learning and gaining knowledge. Children should be aware of the power of knowledge and how it can benefit them in life instead of taking studying as a task of fetching scores or grades to please their parents and compete with their friends without understanding the matter. This is a very common issue that many parents face and it can be taken care of by implementing some important steps.

Here are the steps which you can easily follow from now.

a. Bring his favorite character to reality

It is often seen that children are fascinated with cartoon characters or superheroes. You will have to use it to your advantage while they study. You will have to narrate stories around them to make your child understand the importance of studying and how he can also become like his role model if he diligently studies. So, involving his favorite show or character in studies in a fun way can develop a lot of interest for him to study daily.

b. Create a positive atmosphere

Sometimes parents take the path of scolding and even beating their children to make them study as they lose their patience. Instead of creating fear, you should make a fun and happy environment for studying. You can include puzzles, games, and various educational toys into the mix to make the experience interesting and loving.

c. Set a goal and give rewards

One of the easiest ways to motivate your child to study would be to give rewards once he achieves a goal. For example, if your child can read an article or a page about a particular topic and give the right answers then they will be getting candy or something that they love. This is an immensely powerful method to keep your child motivated and engaged in studies.

d. Have flexibility in studying

If your child loves to study online through various educational platforms, then it is completely fine. Sometimes parents worry about their children using mobile phones and wasting their time online. Instead of that, you can make your children more productive by introducing them to several ways to study on the Internet. If there is a balance between reading online and offline, then there is no problem.

How do I improve my child’s studies?

As a parent, it is natural to be concerned about the grades or scores of your child. The question can either mean your child’s performance is poor or is not meeting your expectations and you want him to do better.

So, we will now discuss the actions that you can take immediately.

1. Not able to understand

This can be one of the main reasons for your child’s mediocre performance. You will have to sit with him and try to figure out which areas are difficult for him to understand. You can also have a word with your teacher to find out the areas for improvement. This process will require time, patience, and consistent effort because there are certain subjects or topics your child might face with difficulty understanding. It will require regular practice for your child to be good at it.

2. Completely uninterested

Sometimes due to a lack of interest in studying or in a particular subject, your child is not scoring good scores. You can read the points that we have mentioned above in “What to do if my child does not want to study?”. Right from introducing comic characters or stories, setting goals, and giving rewards to using various platforms such as eBooks and videos, you can apply all these methods to spice up studying for your child.

3. Homework

Your child might have nightmares about homework if he is not at all interested. But doing homework consistently will improve his studies. He must understand and complete his homework on his own because many children try to either copy from somewhere or get it done by parents or anyone else without getting the knowledge.

4. Compete with yourself

Many parents often focus on comparing their children with other children. It is fine to have a competitive nature in studies but firstly you need to compete with yourself. For example, instead of concentrating on someone else’s result, you need to focus on your result and challenge yourself to do better than your previous result. This is how you improve yourself initially. Once that is done then you can take yourself to higher levels. As a parent, you might have very high expectations, but you need to know the strengths and weaknesses of your child and that will only be known to you if you stop comparing at an early stage. You just must get better from yesterday and that is how you make progress.

How can I increase my child’s concentration in studies?

Having a focused mind for a few hours in studies might be a daunting task for your child. This is something that can happen to anyone. But it is mostly found in children that they lose concentration very easily while studying. You might have also faced this same problem when you were a child.

There are a few measures that you need to incorporate to improve the focus of your children.

a. Remove distractions

It is not possible to study while watching TV or playing a game on your mobile phone. It becomes necessary for you to ensure that your child does not have these distractions. Having a schedule in studying and maintaining a proper silent environment will help your child focus better in their studies.

b. Exercises

Being involved in physical activities such as any kind of sports, yoga or meditation from an early age can boost the focus level of your children to a great level.  It helps in clearing your mind and makes you more productive in whatever you do. It is especially important to channel your energy in the right direction. That is why you need to get your child to spend some quality time on physical activities.

c. Time management

It is important to set deadlines for you to enhance your child’s focus. If your child is not aware of the time, then he can sit all day with books and waste his time. You might think that your child is studying but he might be daydreaming while holding his book. So, you need to be precise with your instructions. Let your child know by what time you want him to complete his work. In this way, he will be able to utilize time in the best possible manner and develop the power of focus to achieve that task within the specified time.

d. Diet and rest

Without proper sleep and a healthy diet, your child can’t maintain focus on studies. It is not advisable to stay awake at night and study regularly, which can have a toll on the mind and body. Having a good sleep at night for 7-8 hours is ideal for your child. You must also make sure that your child is not skipping meals and has a balanced diet with a proper intake of water.  

How many hours should my child study?

The number of hours needed in studies varies with the age of your child. The most crucial factor for you over here would be to maintain a balance. If he is a primary school kid, you must focus on making him study for a brief time with full concentration.

Focused study for an hour is far better than distracted study for five hours.

You will have to make a schedule for the day and ensure that your child is following that as much as possible. This will form a discipline in your child.

Your primary job will be to make your child take study as a fun activity. If you are sitting with your child studying daily for one or two hours, then it is good enough.

 If he is a little grown-up, then you must know he remains involved for many hours in studies. Five to seven hours of school and then another couple of hours of studying at home. At the end of the day what’s necessary is to know whether your child is understanding what is being taught.

If your child can grasp things properly and quickly then there won’t be many problems. Although studying is not a game of memorization but still, some take it like that. So, as a parent you need to lay a solid foundation for your child and make him realize that memorization without a basic understanding of the subject is fruitless.

I hope that by now you have better clarity on how you can deal with these scenarios with your child. If you can just focus on creating interest in reading and develop reading habit, then you won’t have any problems in the future.1.