I would like to share my five WELLthy Mom tips to raise a reader because the Read Across America initiative launched in 1998 by the National Education Association (NEA) and guided by a committee of educators, NEA’s Read Across America is the nation’s largest celebration of reading.  Raising a reader requires us parents to be intentional.  Hubby and I understand that readers were not only leaders, but also lifelong learners.

I shared with Hubby my intention to write a blog post about WELLthy Mom tips to raise a reader.  We brainstormed and the following five tips are the ones that help us in raising our avid readers. Five WELLthy Mom Tips To Raise A Reader reflect our parenting experience and nowhere means that we are experts.

1. Raising a reader starts in the womb.  It was amazing to us, as first time parents, that our children could hear our voices in the womb.  We were so excited that we started to share with our unborn our everyday moments, including reading.  It was a wonderful bonding time to communicate with our babies the world around us trough books.  We believed this step set the tone for the next WELLthy Mom tip.
2. Raising a reader requires making reading time part of the daily routine.  We made it part of our bedtime routine to allow 20-30 minutes each day for reading.  In the early stages, it was a beautiful opportunity to snuggle and enjoy a story together.  Our oldest is now 10 and even though we might not read to her, she loves sharing with us what she is reading.  Some nights, we each get our books and cuddle up with a big blanket to read.  Even our toddler enjoys those quiet times and they make for WELLthy MOMents.
3. Raising a reader requires that children see their parents read.  Hubby is one perfect example of the titled song “A baby changes everything” because once we became parents, he understood quickly that our children do as we do, not so much as we say so he started setting an example.  Being a parent reader is one of the best gift we can give our children.
4. Raising a reader requires regular trips to a library or bookstore.  It’s interesting that even with advanced technology, nothing beats a great paper cover.  From the time my girls were babies, I was in the library every week for playgroup, nursing rhyme class or simply to read with them.  We still continue to this day to go to the library every week.  It’s one of our girls’ favorite and happy places to be.  Once in a while, we go to the bookstore to see new releases and it makes for great family time.
5. Raising a reader requires diversity in selecting books.  It’s wonderful when your child shows interest in a particular subject or series.  It’s a big mistake to focus only on those series.  This tip calls for us parents to be involved in the selection process for books to ensure that we raise a whole child.  When our oldest was interested in American Girl books, all she wanted to read was all books American Girl.  Hubby encouraged her to look at books on various topics of interest. For our girls these include spy and mysteries, biographies, history, STEM as well as topics they are currently studying in school. It makes for a whole child.

These Five WELLthy Mom Tips To Raise A Reader are simply tips from our parenting experience that we have found success in and we hope they help you in your own journey to raise readers. Happy Reading and here’s to being intentional one book at a time!

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