Children today have an amazing array of distracting diversions pulling them away from simpler, traditional forms of entertainment like reading.  It can be difficult for parents to encourage their children to read literature when the bells and whistles of video games are calling them like a Siren song as soon as they walk in the door from school.

Although not all parents are thrilled with the idea, may children in recent years have taken to reading popular story books like those in the Harry Potter series, or, more recently, the Twilight series of book.  Some parents would be very happy if their children took to reading these series however, as it seems that they will not read willingly at all.  If you have a child who refuses to read, there may be some helpful ideas that could spur the young reader on.

One thing that can help, if you start early enough, is to make a practice of reading to your children whenever possible. Children who learn to enjoy literature at an early age may be more likely to continue reading on their own for enjoyment as they grow and get older.

Seeing family members read can also sometimes encourage a child to read on their own.  Parents often forget that they are role models to their children in more ways than they realize.  If nothing else, a child may want to see what it is that they might be missing if everyone else has their nose in a book.

There are many styles of writing that one could encourage a child to read.  One of the more popular types of books written for young readers is the biography.  Biographies for kids are a great tool for teaching life lessons without getting too preachy.  The fact that they are based on real people can help them to carry more weight than a fable  or other fictional story might.  A great example of this is Salt in His Shoes.  This is a biography of Michael Jordan that was written by his mother and sister.  It tells of the childhood struggles of one of the most famous basketball players in history.  If a child can read about real life examples of triumphing over difficult times, he or she might be willing to apply the lessons of the book to personal challenges.

However you decide to go about it, encouraging your youngster to read is a great way to teach them to learn on their own and keep themselves entertained.  Next time you are looking for something to do as a family, consider a trip to the library or a local bookstore as something out of the ordinary to try.

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