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Mumsnet users share their tips for encouraging their children to love reading with McDonald's

437 replies

JustineBMumsnet · 03/08/2018 16:56

NOW CLOSED

Reading with your child can be a fun, educational and rewarding experience, but reading may be an activity your child comes to associate with schoolwork rather than fun. With their fifth Happy Readers campaign coming up soon, McDonald's would like to hear about how you encourage your children to love reading.

Here's what McDonald's has to say: "We're committed to helping families enjoy time reading together and believe in the power of stories to ignite children’s amazing imaginations. However it’s not always easy to fit regular reading into busy lives. As we prepare for our 5th Happy Readers campaign, giving away a free book with every Happy Meal, we're keen to get advice from Mumsnetters. Your tips and advice for building a love of reading with your children, inventive ways you manage to build regular story time and reading into your busy lives, and, with the school holidays in full swing, all the ways you encourage, nurture and ignite your children’s imagination. Through reading and beyond."

How do you encourage a love of reading? Do you have tips for building reading into your child's daily routine? How do you ignite your child's imagination while reading with them?

However you encourage a love of reading with your child and using their imagination, share this with McDonald's below to be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher for the store of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

Insight Terms and Conditions apply

Mumsnet users share their tips for encouraging their children to love reading with McDonald's
OP posts:
ninamotylinski · 12/08/2018 20:16

We have always read bedtime stories since they were babies, make fun trips to the library and we always do the reading challenge at the library every year

CMOTDibbler · 12/08/2018 20:21

Ds loves reading, and I think that modelling reading being a pleasure by dh and I has been really important. We also listen to audio books in the car which exposes him to books which he'll then go and read

towser44 · 12/08/2018 20:23

We're lucky, we don't need to, our daughter absolutely loves reading and is constantly on the look out for new books! She encourages us more than the other way around!

pennwood · 12/08/2018 20:38

From a very early age my daughter had a bedtime story complete with funny voice, & face according to the storyline which always made her laugh. We made it fun, looked at the colourful pictures, & pointed at the words together. Every day this was our quality together time where we sat together in the chair and had a cuddle to. She learnt to read very early on, & loves books of all genre now.

emmmaaa26 · 12/08/2018 20:56

Having plenty of books in the house is a good start. Also read to them from young and they are more likely to enjoy it.

Elisa1976 · 12/08/2018 20:57

Reading is an integral part of our 2 and a half year old's bedtime routine, but as DD's love for books has increased, reading takes place anywhere at anytime, a quick book before nursery, one in the car etc.
Books are all around the house and can be picked up at anytime, we make a fortnightly trip to the library to choose new books and we've started making up new stories based on characters we already know (and making up new characters too), songs, simple rhymes too. Her imaginative play and breadth of her vocabulary is increasing all the time, and I'm sure that's down to her love of books.

WheresTheCoffee · 12/08/2018 21:05

Keep books in the house.
Read together as a family.
Allow extra 30 mins up at bedtime if spent reading.

lhlee62 · 12/08/2018 21:15

Luckily I don't have to encourage my 2 DDs, the both love books. It is really nice now that the 6 yr old can read really well so can read to her little sister.

Lisapaige24 · 12/08/2018 21:21

I have found that taking children into a book shop such as Waterstones is usually a good idea to let them pick there own books that interest them

Leeds2 · 12/08/2018 21:29

Take them to the library. Let them choose what they want; they will make mistakes, and they will learn from them!

jackst01 · 12/08/2018 21:38

Reading with them and to them from a young age has given my children a love for books.

sweir1 · 12/08/2018 21:44

We try to get them to read books about spiderman etc rather than biff and chip

freefan · 12/08/2018 22:20

We have always read to our kids so they have grown up with books and we read in front of them.
Our library has kids story time which gets them familiar with the library and as soon as they were old enough they joined and get to borrow the books too. This also helps them to be more responsible and understand the looking after of something that belongs to someone else and not losing it.
Seems to be working with the older ones who read not only at bed time but during the day too.

Spirael · 12/08/2018 22:20

Don't fixate on the reading, take small steps to extend something they love already to include reading.

My eldest was initially a bit reluctant to read anything beyond picture stories. However, she loves a particular computer game. So, I found a comic book series that ties in with the game. When she finished that, I offered her a light novel series, also tying in with the game.

At the time, I don't think she even realised she was actually reading a book.

tiddles12 · 12/08/2018 22:27

We put books into the cot at 4 months old and read to them from birth. They started looking at picture books themselves at about 8 months.

nessa46 · 12/08/2018 23:18

I have always read stories to my daughter and often made up stories that included her and myself just to make it fun, we have books all over the house and regularly buy new ones from charity shops or car boots,.

slithytove · 12/08/2018 23:24

Never force it
Read all the time (as in, I do), both to self and out loud
Have loads of books around
Link books to favourite characters, tv shows and movies

AuFinch · 12/08/2018 23:27

Read your kids books yourself - some of them are incredibly boring and how they are meant to engage a childs interest are a complete mystery to me!

I always rented a stack of kids books from the library and because i read them too we would talk about which ones "were pants" and which were "dead good" - the librarians are really good in recommending which books are more gruesome and full of farts for your young boys - if you get them interested as young as you can in reading it will continue - our lad is 16 now and still has a stack of books on his bedside table, and I am convinced it has improved and made it easier for him to complete his English exams too!

SilverHairedCat · 13/08/2018 08:18

Not my kids, but my nephews and friends children. I am that auntie who buys them books. Fun, silly, exciting stories that capture their imagination. They know they can mention any story to me at any time of year and I'll appear with it for them, as I don't feel that buying books is spoiling them.

Books shouldn't be a luxury - the library is free, charity shops are cheap. The latest books are very expensive, I agree, but we can all wait for those!

Ikea1234 · 13/08/2018 08:33

A few tips - always read to your little one from when they are tiny.
Make sure they see you read - books, newspapers, leaflets - it all counts. Don't just have books in the house on the shelf!
Visit your local library often - travel books for holidays you are going on, cookery books for new recipes, the latest blockbuster - they all foster a love of books. Make sure you sign the children up for summer reading challenges and activities too!
Bedtime stories definitely, but don't just limit them to bedtime!
And encourage them to get book vouchers for gift giving times so that they enjoy visiting the bookshop to choose their latest read!

muppet1501 · 13/08/2018 09:51

All i will say it doesn't always have to be books. Expand their literacy by reading signs etc outside. My daughters thankfully have always loved reading.

spottypjs · 13/08/2018 10:12

Reading to them whenever you can, listening to them read even when they are reading well independently. Talking about books they have liked/disliked. Also they see me enjoying books and when we are out we always look in bookshops.

MissusDave · 13/08/2018 10:58

We have lots of books at home (in nearly every room!) and have cosy corners to snuggle in with a book. We also try to go to our local library and let our LO choose her own books to borrow

daniel1996 · 13/08/2018 11:05

How do you encourage a love of reading?

Join a book library, and choose colourful books together. Making it a special day out. We love the bus ride to town, heading for the library, joining the reading time book circle.

Do you have tips for building reading into your child's daily routine?

Make time to spend time reading and don't make it a chore (for you are them) I read a book (small) or a chapter of a book per night.

How do you ignite your child's imagination while reading with them?

We make a den with cushions with sheets over two chairs, and make it a special time, be both use silly voices (particularly for books we have read for the millionth time and we know the book word for word).

user1496053440 · 13/08/2018 11:48

Always read a story for bed and encourage them to make their own choices about stories that they like