Every parent of a child who loves books has a similar story. There’s the moment their child picked up a book and got lost in it. The first time they had to be called for dinner two or three times. Or the morning they found their child reading under the covers with a torch at some ridiculous hour. Parents of children who don’t love reading yet have their own stories. There are struggles over screen time. Reading a book can feel like pulling teeth. Library books might come back untouched. But both groups of parents need to know the same thing: reading isn’t a talent kids are born with or without. It’s a habit. Like any habit, it grows slowly, sometimes unevenly, and through small, repeated actions. You don’t need to make grand gestures. Here are a few tips that can work. a) Read Aloud, Long Past When You Think You Should The most powerful thing a parent can do for a child’s reading life is also the simplest: read aloud to them. Not just when they’re babies. Not just until they can read on their own. Keep reading aloud through primary school, early secondary school, and for as long as they’ll let you. Reading aloud does several things at once. It shows that reading is enjoyable. It introduces children to new words and sentence structures they might not find in books they read alone. It also creates a shared experience, a story that belongs to both of you, and that’s truly special. Research supports this. If you do nothing else on this list, do this. b) Let Them See You Read Children are great at noticing what adults really do. They pay attention to our actions, not just our words. If a parent says reading is important but spends free time on a screen, that sends a different message than intended. Try putting your phone down sometimes and picking up a book. Read on the sofa, at the kitchen table, or in the car while you wait. Let your child see that books are where you go to relax, think, or be entertained. You don’t have to make a show of it. Just do it. c) Never Make Reading a Punishment — Or a Reward Both of these are more common than parents think. Saying “No screens until you’ve read for thirty minutes” makes reading feel like a chore that earns a reward. Saying “If you finish this book I’ll buy you something” turns reading into a way to get something else. The goal is for reading to be neither a chore nor a reward, but simply something worth doing. Try to keep it as free from obligation as possible. Let reading be something they choose, not something they have to do. d) Follow Their Interests, Not Your Own The book you loved at their age might not be the one they need. The books you hope they’ll read might not be the ones that turn them into readers. A child who loves football might get into reading through football biographies. A child who loves animals might enjoy wildlife books. A child who loves gaming might be interested in books on game design or stories about games. Comics, graphic novels, joke books, and magazine articles all count. The goal isn’t to make a child read the right things, but to help them become someone who reads. Trust the path they choose. It will lead somewhere good. e) Build a Home Library, However Small Children who grow up in homes with books, whether just a few or many, are much more likely to become readers. Having books around shows that reading is a normal and valued part of life. Your home library doesn’t need to be big or expensive. Second-hand bookshops, library sales, and charity shops often have children’s books for very little money. What matters is that books are easy to see, easy to reach, and treated as things worth having. Let children keep books in their bedrooms. Make sure books are within reach. A book on the bedside table is an invitation that doesn’t need any help from parents. f) Use the Library The public library is one of the most underused resources for children who are learning to love reading. Libraries offer something bookshops can’t: unlimited browsing with no pressure to buy. A child can pick up ten books, dislike seven, enjoy three, and return them all without spending any money. Libraries also have reading challenges, storytelling sessions, and summer programs that make reading feel like a group activity instead of something you do alone. If you haven’t taken your child to your local library, try going this weekend. g) Let Them Quit This surprises many people. But one of the best things you can do for your child’s reading life is to let them stop reading a book they don’t enjoy. The idea that you must always finish what you start doesn’t help readers. It teaches kids that reading is a duty, not a pleasure. If a child puts down three books before finding one they love, that’s perfectly fine. Make it clear: you don’t have to finish a book you don’t like. There are plenty of good ones out there. h) Protect Unstructured Time Children can only become readers if they have time to read, and unstructured time—time with nothing planned and no screens—has become rare. Reading needs a certain kind of quiet that you can’t get when you’re rushing from one thing to another. This doesn’t mean you should force boredom. It just means not filling every hour. Sometimes, let car rides happen without devices. Leave some afternoons open. A child who is sometimes bored is more likely to pick up a book. i) Talk About Books Don’t talk about books in a quiz-like way, such as asking “what happened in chapter three.” Instead, keep it conversational. Ask what they thought of a character, if anything surprised them, or if they would have made the same choices as the main character. Make books part of your family conversations, just like you talk about films, sports, or food. Ask what they’re reading and share what you’re reading. Have friendly debates about characters as if they were real people. This is what reading families do, and children who grow up in these families often become readers themselves. j) Be Patient Some children take longer to become readers. Some find their book at seven, others at fourteen, and some not until they’re adults. The goal isn’t to create a reader by a certain age, but to keep the door open. Every book that connects, every story that excites, every chapter that keeps the light on a bit longer—these are small investments that pay off over a lifetime. Trust the process. Trust the books. Keep reading aloud, even if it feels pointless. One day, you’ll find them reading under the covers with a torch, and you’ll know it worked.
