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

[JustineBMumsnet]

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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

Lead by example. The kids see that we both read whenever possible (and we try to keep screen time to a minimum) and always have a book in our bags when we go out so read rather than playing Snake when on the train/in a queue etc.

I read to my children, from them being born, and then as they became toddlers I let them choose which book they would like me to read. When they started school the 3 of us read together and talked about the books - story, characters etc. We have lots of books in the house which also encourages reading. When relatives are stuck for ideas for Christmas or birthdays, my kids always choose book vouchers as they love choosing their own books to read.

We make it a family affair, enjoying each others company, teaching them, while making it fun!

I took mine to the local library from being babies first for story time then for craft activities and I used to read with them one (or five stories) every night at bedtime, I love books so they've grown up surrounded by books, I still encourage my 12 year old to borrow books from the library and now our local library offers an online service we can browse endless books and reserve ones he likes the look of for free, Brilliant!

Lots and lots of books in the house, reading daily, trips to the library etc. My two are only little but I hope this sets them up for a life time of living reading.

With both of my children book reading was always a part of the bedtime routine from only a few months old. We started with board books and went from there. My girls soon discovered "One more story" was a great way to put off saying goodnight and even now the plea for them to read another chapter before lights out has a good success rate. It must help that I'm a bookworm too so I'm leading by example.

Having books in the house and readily available to them and also read yourself as kids will do what you do

Have a wide variety of books, fiction and non fiction. Get books they will enjoy.take them to the library to choose books. Read everyday

We didn't really have to encourage ours as we are avid book readers and there have always been books strewn around the house. Both children used to sit on the potty with a book/magazine and both were given books instead of games and chocolate at Easter

regular visits to the library, encourage not force, and lead by example

I was and still am a bookworm. I cannot go to sleep at night unless I fall asleep reading my book. From a young age, i encouraged my son to read as much as he could, whenever he could. If we were going somewhere he took a book in the car and books to read on holiday. He had books read to him as a toddler and now he also reads before bed every night.

I have always read bedtime stories, I let the kids choose their favourite stories and get them involved in the stories. We also buy books with loads of pictures as stocking fillers for Christmas and birthdays.

Lots of books in the house, regular visits to the Library, sharing books together, talking about books. Allowing them to choose their own books.

My daughter loves reading luckily so we haven't had to encourage it much - we always have books around and she asks to read with us so we never say no. I loved it and was lucky to have a lot of books which my mum kept so we've been lucky as they are expensive, particularly when a child reads a lot

We practice by reading everything. Back of crisp packets. Instructions. Shampoo bottles. They pick up some great words and it encourages them greatly to read books. The sense of achievement for reading something that 'adults' can read really encourages them to read books too. The summer reading challenges are brilliant at the local library too. We get involved in fun days there as well - nothing to do with books but they'll always come home with at least one that's caught their eye!

My health visitor once commented how it was lovely to see the children's books on their toy unit, at their eye level, so they would see the books first before anything else. She said often books were kept up high or in boxes and not visable.

We've had books in the house for them eve when they were newborn, we would read to them every night. Now that my eldest is older and prefers watching t.v, I let him watch movies that have been based on books now and then, and then give him the book and he always agrees that the books are better, I've got him back into reading that way. Both DC have great imaginations now due to reading and love it and they are every into the habit of grabbing a book to wind down before bed.

We have lots of books at home but also visit the local library on a regular basis and make a fun day out of it.

We’ve just always read lots. Dd loves reading and I hope her brother will too.

I have always thought getting my kids to enjoy reading was such an important thing which started when they were just basically babies with story time and now that they read independently we set aside specific time each week for reading. I also find out what they do and don't enjoy and look hard to find books which I think they will enjoy so that it doesn't become a chore for them and more something that they look forward to doing

I encourage my children to read by not forcing them and allowing them the freedom to find what they love reading in the format they want to read it. I have one child who has discovered graphic novels and another who reads only factual stuff. One will only read the book of a film he’s watched (he’s dyslexic) so finds knowing partly what is going on makes the reading enjoyable.

I used to encourage my son to read words and symbols related to things he was interested in such as trains and cars. If you can find something that sparks their interest then reading is much more enjoyable and fun.

Special time sitting together just you your child and a book. Visiting the library is fun too.

We have a special "reading corner" in the living room with books accessible to the kids. This place is well lit and there are very comfy cushions too. This way, whenever someone sits there, it puts them "in the mood" for reading.

Read with them, to them and let them see you reading! We take regular trips to the library too.