You have given some excellent practical tips on reading to the young.

Just like when we start to introduce new foods to them, we need to do it right from the beginning for we may not get a second chance. Force that chunky spoonful of healthy carrots into a tired, sick or upset child’s mouth, and we may have alienated him or her from that vegetable (possibly, for life).

Gently enticing them into the world of books require some care and thought when our young charges have short attention span.

Let me suggest that the key is to start them as young as is practical. Baby board books fascinate the little ones who will gaze at them as we read and turn the pages. They don’t run away from us and over time they get used to this cosy feeling of being on your lap while enjoying the sights and sounds of the reading experience. This is an easy way to get them hooked on books. My four-month old granddaughter likes her board books and I know she will be a reader one day!

As they get older, read to them when we put them to bed. This routine is comforting and pleasurable for them. Bedtime reading calms them down, reinforces the delights of reading, tells them to go to sleep now that the day is done. When we close the book, kiss them goodnight, or pray with them, they know the sequence of the routine and will not fight sleep. The key is to start early.

Do not underestimate our kids. They are sharper than we think and can pick up things that surprise us. They store amazing information in their little hyperactive mind to astonish us later. Whatever subject that excites them may be the gateway to developing their passion for reading. When my youngest son was about four, he got interested in collecting Pokemon cards (which horrified me), but before long, he started to read what was in those cards. By elementary school, he was breezing through novels.

There is so much to be said for helping our children to read early before other distractions snatch away this invaluable gift that can be theirs. They will do better than average in school, but beyond that, these are precious moments of bonding between parent and child and one day, they will have a much richer and more meaningful intellectual life.

Start real early, make it fun, and establish time for reading routines.

KittyCat, you are offering an invaluable service to parents who share your passion for creating interest in reading for kids. I hope your site will get more of the exposure that it deserves.

Larry