Hopefully as you begin to celebrate reading, those bookcases in your child’s room will begin to look less like fortresses of enemy armies they need to conquer and more like vacation resorts where many new friends and adventures await their next visit. You can further ensure that the dust bunnies remain in hibernation by creating a culture in which books are valued.
Availability
Do your kids have age-appropriate books available to them when school is out? Of course, they’re free to borrow from your local library, and there are both online book sellers and brick-and-mortar sources for both used and new books. But are you making those sources available to your kids?
You can attend weekly summer reading programs or take outings to local bookshops. You could give your child a “summer book budget” or treat him or her to a one-time “book shopping spree” to get started. However you decide to do it, make sure you’re making quality literature that appeals to their interests and reading/maturity levels available to your kids.
Variety
Even though you want to appeal to your children’s interests and preferences, you also want to provide a bit of variety — variety of genres, authors, and reading level (within your child’s ability, of course). Some reading is meant to simply delight or entertain, while other forms of literature are intended to teach moral lessons or information.
For older children and teens, analyzing opinion pieces stretches them to utilize higher order thinking skills that are important for the maturing process. From real-life adventure stories or first-hand war accounts to nonsense poetry and comic books, all literature has value, and kids need exposure to all types.
Priority
Many parents offer incentives of 5-10 minutes of “screen time” for each hour or half hour of reading, and that does seem to help kids prioritize their time with books over their electronics. However, it can also send the wrong message: Reading is work, and electronics are the goal. Maybe it would be better to reserve electronics to specific times and places, but make reading books your family’s go-to for waiting times, pleasure, and interaction. Maybe your family could read a book together or listen to a book on CD when you’re in the car. As you discuss (and possibly debate) parts of it, you’ll be interacting on a more intentional level, as well.
Parents who purpose to make a variety of books available to their kids and prioritize books over other media are far more likely to value ideas, lessons, and beauty that transcends current trends. Ultimately, you’re opening up a world to your kids that few in their generation inhabit, putting them in a strategic place of influence as they mature.
Continue reading with Part 3.
From The Bedroom Source Blog
- Bed Bugs in Your Child’s Mattress, Part 1
- Bed Bugs in Your Child’s Mattress, Part 2
- Long Island Smartstuff Furniture Collections for Children
The Bedroom Source
Located near the Roosevelt Field Mall on Long Island, NY, The Bedroom Source is your source for the best collection of children’s and teen bedroom furniture. From flexibly configurable Maxtrix furniture to fashionable Berg collections, The Bedroom Source offers high end furniture and professional design assistance to create the bedroom of your child’s dreams.
Contact the friendly staff at The Bedroom Source by calling (516) 248-0600 or by visiting www.BedroomSource.com. When you buy from The Bedroom Source, you are buying from a family owned, local mom & pop furniture store; when you shop at The Bedroom Source, you are dealing directly with the owners. We professionally assemble everything we sell. We deliver to Long Island, the 5 Boroughs of New York City, Rockland, southern Connecticut, and northern New Jersey.
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