Share your tips for encouraging kids to read at home to win £100 worth of books from the Reading Ladder

[UrsulaMumsnet]

Reading Ladder is a brand new reading series which provides quality stories for a wide range of readers. Featuring well-loved authors, classic characters and favourite topics we’ve got something for everyone! Perfect for parents and great for teachers too the series has been developed with leading literacy consultant Nikki Gamble!

Parents told us that they wanted a simple system for choosing the right book for their child and we think Reading Ladder is it! Our system of three levels is easy to understand and every book features clear, appealing level branding. Each title includes guidance for parents and carers and tips for shared reading and they are all branded for use as resources in school!

Read the catalogue

Share your tips for encouraging kids to read at home for a chance to win 20 books from the Reading Ladder series worth £100

This discussion is sponsored by Egmont and will end on 9 May

Read to them and with them. Discard the adult view of reading as a solitary activity - remember and convey the part that imagination plays (what the characters look like; the scenery and surroundings).

I spent a lot of my maternity with dd at the library. I still take her now at 3yo and get the passport stamped.
Read daily to her. Point at words in books so she can follow, read everything from menus, books, comics, magazines, things on the Internet.
Have a well stocked book case, we have w range of books from words she can recognise through to more complex books that she enjoys me reading to her.
Make it fun.

Start as early as possible and read at bedtime together and let then choose the book

My son loved books from a baby and I'm sure it was that that made him turn out so clever( he is doing his PHD in physics) he had a particular favourite where you could hide a mermaid on each page and you had to find it. This was read over and over again when he was very young and only knew a few words, one of his first words was 'mermaid'.

You should always pick the books together and read it together. We like to take turns reading a page each.

We have always read to our children right from when they were small babies and carried on that routine at bedtime. Now our 6 year old will read one story to us at night then we read one to him which he looks forward to.

Keep reading aloud to them even when they can read themselves, that way they can access the rich language an varied vocabulary which is beyond their reading capability.

I found that buying book that you know is going to interest your child and captivate them, & you'll find that they will love that

Make it a fun family activity

Starting early is key I think- even when you little one is a tiny baby you can cuddle up and look at picture books together and describe what you see- babies like hearing your voice! As they get a bit bigger they enjoy turning the pages.
A bedtime story is a special time to share with kids, as well as forming part of a good night time routine.
Never make reading a punishment!
Let your children see your enthusiasm for reading and lead by example.
Libraries are great places for the whole family to visit, and kids can have their own library cards. Libraries and bookshops often offer story time sessions as well, so this can be fun.
Teach your kids from an early age to treat books carefully (no ripping or scribbling) so that they learn to be respectful.

But most of all- enjoy it together! :) x

I think I am very lucky as I never had to persuade my children to read as we are a big family of readers.

When I potty trained both children as I read on the loo they used to sit in front of me on the potty, book in hand reading whilst I sat there engrossed in my book.

Usborne do great books that encourage you to interact with your kids whilst reading, as do LeapFrog. We used to incorporate these in daily.

Now - I have 2 little bookworms of my own and a stash of books in the loo a library would be proud of!

Tv minutes are earnt with reading minutes. Ample time at library, listening to others read, and storylineonline.net on the computer when I'm running around like crazy.

Try and make it fun, we like to use silly voices :)

Start from a young age and get fun books to read. I found one called Ten Little Pirates which involves counting on every page, it is fun to read and look at.

We always make it fun - ill read a bit and my daughter will read a bit. We will put funny voices on and make it silly. It always captures my daughters imagination and keeps her from feeling like its hard work.

Find things that interest them e.g. my daughter likes reading about wildlife so we find non fiction books about bugs and birds get her reading more than fairy stories.

We always used to read to them at night to encourage their imaginations

Read to them very early on from 3 months old
Go to the library and let them pick their own
Let them see you read, be a role model
Read as often as possible every day and incorporate into the bedtime routine!😃

We've found the best way is by leveling books like in the Biff, Chip and Kipper/Magic Key series. The kids are more eager to read because they want to get to the next level of difficulty.

Start them early reading to them with poetry - they'll copy the rhythm and laugh at the rhyme well before they can follow the words.

Make sure it's fun not seeming a chore

We always take our kids to the library and let them choose their own books. They love using the machine to scan and take out their books. Makes them feel really important! At home we have lots and lots of books to encourage reading, plus we buy lots of magazines for them to read as well.

engage with books from as early as possible, have set quiet reading times that you both enjoy together, always have bedtime stories, a passion for reading is a wonderful start to knowledge and education that will last a lifetime.

Make sure they see you read, not just books but other forms too such as magazines this then should encourage them to be able to and want to do the same

• We all read a lot at home and it is important for a child to see you reading. However, I was astounded to discover only yesterday that my 8 year-old daughter thought her Daddy didn't read much - he tends to read his kindle on the train to work. I asked her what she thought he was doing on his kindle when we went on train journeys and she said "playing games or checking the way" ! :o :D So maybe it's important that they see you reading actual books? Having said that we are surrounded by books at home and could start our own children's library! We cannot resist picking up books in the charity shops and it is dangerous for us to enter a bookshop!

• Both my husband and I have read to both our children on a regular basis since they were babies, starting off with cloth books and bath books.Nowadays we take in turns to read with each child individually before bed (so my son reads with Daddy one night whilst I read with my daughter or vice-a-versa) or sometimes we all read a book together or my daughter reads to us all. Her little brother loves her reading to him! :)

• Visit the library often and let them choose their own books - as long as they are appropriate!

• Subscribe to/buy Children's magazines.

• Reading signs out and about helps too when they are little.

• Never make reading seem like a chore!

• Encourage them to treat books with respect and handle them carefully.

• If your child is not a keen reader try comics or annuals. My daughter is an avid reader, my son less so but he loves his Spiderman and Avengers annuals (even though at 4 they are a bit beyond him!). We are planning to get him some comics if we can find suitable ones.

My son is only 2 and a half so is not reading himself yet. We always have two stories before bed and my son has lots a favourite books. He is currently into the Thomas the Tank Engine books.