• Published by Salsabilatuzzahra Jaha S.Psi. from BehaviorPALS Center 

Hello parents! Having a child who likes to read books is something that every parent hopes for. Reading books is very useful in deepening insight. The brain will become more developed. A lot of world knowledge can be obtained when reading books. However, most people still associate reading books with learning. This makes reading books a burden that must be completed. This does not only apply to adults, but to children too. Especially in the era of an onslaught of gadgets that make people increasingly abandon reading books. In the end, people are getting lazy to read books. So before that happens, parents can do these things that can make their child love reading books. Here are the tips!

1. Prepare a child-friendly book!

The important thing in introducing books to children is the compatibility of books with the level of child development. This level of development includes the child's age, language, cognitive and social. It doesn't stop there, customizing the book also includes the child's interests, emotions, and point of view. It would be less appropriate when introducing books to children with books that contain only writing. Finally, children will not understand and they will not get a pleasant feeling when reading a book. We can say that this book is not in accordance with the reality of children. So by knowing the level of development of children we can choose books that are suitable for children. So that they will be able to relate more to the books that are introduced.

2. Prepare a book reading schedule.

After choosing a book, the next step is to prepare time for reading activities. Families can arrange a book reading schedule. Most of the reading schedule is done before going to bed. Make this activity routine and consistent. You can also find a comfortable reading spot. Then, together you read a book. Another tip is to try to sit in front of the child instead of the child sitting on the lap. This is so that children can see their parents' faces clearly so that they will make a connection that the story you are reading comes from a book. You can also ask the child to turn the page with the aim of introducing how we interact with books. Occasionally you can also play peek-a-boo with your child.

3. Time to explore the book!

We can explore the book further by using the sensory texture that is felt. Especially when children have an interest in exploring something using their mouth and touch. Let your child touch the book and we can vary the touch from thick pages to soft pages and so on. In addition, children can also explore books by demonstrating pictures in books or looking for similarities in pictures with those around them. For example, pairing a picture of a foot in a book with a child's foot in the real world. This also teaches children about limbs. Then, we can explore the book by making sounds based on the pictures in the book. Exploratory activities like this certainly make reading books more enjoyable.

4. Finding and understanding books!

The essence of reading a book is to understand the contents of the book. In this section, we can get children interested in reading books because they understand what is in the book. Initially, you can offer the child a choice of what book he wants to read. Furthermore, in building children's understanding. we can ask some simple questions to the child about what he reads. For example "who turned into a frog?" and so forth. Or you can ask questions by asking for pictures in the book like “who is this? What is this?". Apart from parents asking children, children can also ask parents if there is something they don't understand. You can read the same book if the child is interested in one of the books.

5. Making books become like a game.

Another way to introduce books is to turn the book into a game. This is done so that the book can be associated with a fun activity for children. You can make games such as: (1) finding the book in the box, (2) the challenge of finding books alphabetically, (3) demonstrating what's in the book, (4) storytelling, (5) counting the objects in the picture and other games. Parental involvement in this game also plays a very important role in introducing books to children.

6. Be a model

Parents are models for their children. Apart from involving yourself in reading activities with children, you also have to model or get used to reading books. When you read a book, you indirectly become a model and introduce books to the world of children. This is because children will model what they see every day. It will be ineffective if parents push their children to read too much when they don't do it themselves.

Those were the steps parents can take in introducing books to their children. By implementing this as early as possible, we can make children who not only know books but also love books. By loving books, children will become human beings who have broad insights. Hope it is useful!

By Salsabilatuzzahra Jaha S.Psi from the BehaviorPALS Center

Source :

Katz, K. (2019). Baby Steps with Baby Books. New York : Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing. https://d28hgpri8am2if.cloudfront.net/tagged_assets/6874_kkatz_baby_reading_guide.pdf

Çer, E. (2016). Preparing Books for Children from Birth to Age Six: The Approach of Appropriateness for the Child. Journal of Education and Practice, 7(6), 78-99. 

Introduce, Book, children, Read

Baby 6 Months - 18 Months / Bayi 6 - 18 Bulan / Reading / Membaca / Education / Pendidikan / Steps to Introduce Books to Children

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