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Start Your Child Reading With Books

Bring out the genius in a child is a responsibility that all parents should undertake. It requires you to have a strong, positive attitude towards the learning process. Every child looks up to his or her mommy or daddy as a role model. If you are a parent yourself, you must guide your child and encourage her to have a deep, abiding thirst for knowledge. Your attitude will determine, to a large extent, how much and how fast your child will learn to read and enjoy reading.

For example, if you constantly bring work home and complain about how much material you have to read, it will have an adverse effect on your child. But if your child sees you absorbed in reading the newspaper or magazine or if she follows you to the library to select books, she will realize that you enjoy reading and will want to emulate you. Her natural insatiable appetite for learning, her sense of wonder, will accord her great enjoyment as she pursues the idea of reading, generated from the example you have set. Your can teach your child to read, help your child develop language, thinking and genius skills at home at an early age by following some reading tips by Helene Goldnadel.

1) Have an environment surrounded by books

Go for colorful, visually rich children's books. There are lots of such books out there and children are often intrigued by the pictures and colors that pique their interest.

2) Read Out Loud

Read stories or nursery rhymes aloud to your child. Set aside 15 minutes to half an hour each day for this. Besides establishing a warm and close relationship with your child, there is intellectual value in these sessions. Read aloud have more than one benefit. Your child will be deeply happy and contented to receive your full attention. You also build a close bond between you and your child as being close gives her a sense of your care and love and this helps her to feel secure.

Your child will also be completely absorbed in the in the stories and their development and this builds mental stimulation. The best time for read aloud is just before bedtime. She has had her dinner and bath, and has changed into her PJs for the night. She will be responsive and eager to indulge in hearing the written word as she listens intently to the different tones in your voice. Your child may even choose her favorite book or story for you to read. It does not matter if it's the same book 2 nights in a row, repetition has its own advantage.

Sometimes your child may seem impatient, preferring you to skip certain pages and come to the good part. She is probably going through a creative phase and you should not be discouraged. She may prefer a new story or she may want a nursery rhyme instead. Whatever the case, nothing is wasted. The important point is that your child should enjoy such sessions and with it, comes the pleasure of learning, as long as she is learning at her own pace. Always remember to change your pitch and tone, and a fair bit of acting helps, to give your child a sense of the story-line and the characters involved. This will certainly add to her enjoyment of the story.

3) Consistency Is The Key

Try to stick to a consistent reading schedule as far as possible. Postponing a reading sessions devalues the child and the reading, regardless of whether the cause is a late night phone call, household chores or visitors. Consistency is important for story time because it gives your child the experience of participation. She holds the book with you and turns the pages, sometimes going back to ask a question on a character, a picture or a word. She may recite a familiar line even before you read it or read a line from another book because she recognize certain patterns.

She may point out a picture she has seen elsewhere, finding a similar word to describe a picture or a situation. Reading is an activity that she can actively participate in and it is very important to her. By giving it due importance, you are allowing your child to develop a feeling that reading and books are vital, fun and an intrinsic part of life.