How parents should encourage their children to read more?

[Punitha]

Sir,

 My kids are addicted to video games all the while and I am not able to make themread story books. How do you think I can attract them to read story books?
 I am told kids must read lot of story books to devbelop their reading skills and I want to know how to encourage them.

[Admin]

 Spend time reading aloud to your children.  Chooce thin comic strips for beginners. Take your kids  to the libraries and bookstores instead of shopping malls. Let them pick up books. You need to discuss with them what they have read.If you are a proficient storyteller, narrate stories to your kids with the right modulation and tone and raise their level of curiosity. You cannot persist in narrating stories to kids if you are found boring, unimaginative and humourless. Try as much as possible not to bring in
movies very early in their life.

[visalakshimi]

I am for one  who believes in the  environmental influence. If you want your kids to  develop the habit of reading, ask yourself whether you read and show them yourself as an example. Love of reading is created when there is silence at home and the elders are found reading books and newspapers. It is not a big theory. It is plain common sense. Just imagine a child watching you watch the TV serials non-stop , you can not  teach reading habits. I love reading because I used to watch my father and grandfather endlessly glued to books and even discussing topics on world history, lietrature and science. They never talked politics or cared for the movies. But these days
most  parents discuss cinema, actrors and actresses as if they are the mentors. Children not only do what they are told, they also emulate the behaviors of their elders every day. . In order to promote reading as a household-wide activity, it is important that all members of the household actively engage in reading. Kids can read what interests them: magazines, newspapers and any  age appropriate comic books can all build strong literary foundations in youngsters. Allot some  time every day for the family to read together and see th results.