A love of reading may be one of the greatest gift parents will ever give their children – a gift that will be an important foundation for their lives and for future generations.

Make Reading a Part of Your Life

Parents can make reading a natural part of family life. Share an article you clipped from the newspaper, a poem, a letter, or a random page from an encyclopaedia. Record titles of books that left an impact on you and introduce them to other family members. You may motivate family members to venture beyond their usual choices of reading material as well.

Start a Book Club

Start a family book club, where the adult family members read the same book each month and then have a family get-together where they discuss the book over tea and dessert. Have family members take turns choosing the book to read each month. This helps every single person in the family take responsibility for life-long learning.

Make it a Holiday Event

For holidays such as Christmas, consider doing a Secret Santa book exchange. Each family member can pick out a book for another based on their interests and personality types. For birthdays and other special occasions, gift books instead of other material goods such as clothes or accessories.

Create New Traditions

Reading can even be incorporated into simple every family traditions and practised regularly. For example, encourage the reading of a funny new poem during your weekend meals together. It’ll be a great conversation starter and help everyone in the the family grow in their understanding of each other.

Whatever strategy you employ, know that it is important to communicate to your children the importance of reading at each stage of their lives.

Adapted from an article first published on 30 Oct 2014 on the Dads for Life Toolbox Website.