Digital entertainment has become the new norm of today’s kids, and to be honest, it is hard to compete and completely get rid of unless we remove all the gadgets and the internet in the house. (At least for us.)
Digital media, YouTube, to be specific, has successfully dominated every home with young viewers–as young as infants and toddlers!
On this account, YouTube has been barraged with mixed opinions from it being ” a digital babysitter” to being a useful educational tool for others.
Yet, despite all the positive claims on it being a valuable educational tool, it is, however, considered one of the main reasons contributing to children’s decline in reading.

The recent UK survey alone shows that the number of preschoolers who are being read to regularly has significantly dropped, thus poses a serious risk to child development.
What is far more alarming is that, as most parents struggle to achieve work-life balance, they overlook this risk. Parents sometimes forget to consider reading as entertainment also and as an excellent opportunity to bond with children.
As young parents of this budding generation, it is important to note that our choices, habits, and lifestyle have great significance to those of our children’s.
That being said, we cannot simply wait for the teachers to train our children to read. Learning to read is totally distinct from learning to love reading itself as the latter is rather a habit formed over time. And such a habit can be best fostered through parents’ dedicated support and guidance.
A little backstory
My firstborn for instance has begun showing interest in printed materials since she was 8 months. We started with the cloth books that were gifted to us by some friends, then two months later, I got her first picture board book (first 100 words), which was actually a clever investment. You could see her fascination on the pictures with different textures and the flipping of the pages, though most of the time she just nibbled on them.


We made it a tradition to read to her every day.
Bedtime became her most favorite part of the day as she gets to spend moments with us when we come home from work – reading, role-playing, drawing and craft making.


Like most parents, we struggle in keeping such balance, too–YouTube, in fact, has been a reliable companion on most days to keep her occupied. (There I said it!)
Yet, despite the presence of digital media, her love for reading and learning off-screen remain the same. In fact, every time we have friends who come to visit us, she would always appreciate and feel excited to request them to read a book to her. She would ask tons of questions and would always find reasons to have them read a book to her often.

Benefits of Reading
Reading offers many lifelong benefits to both parents and children as it not only promotes healthy brain development, fuels imagination, stimulates curiosity, develops self-esteem, improves social skills (esp learning empathy), communication skills as it expands vocabulary but also, it encourages strong family bonds.
Studies also show that early years reading help children achieve better in schools, not only in select subjects but across the curriculum.
I owe my daughter’s good critical thinking skills and rich vocabulary from the books we read. She loves having the

Reading has also made her become interested in writing as she was more curious about forming letters, besides, it was easier to encourage her to write.
At age 2.5, she has mastered

As of now, she’s already independently able to read some Oxford Reading Tree books (Biff, Chip, and Kipper stories). We also have recently started the Julia Donaldson Oxford Reading Tree series which we also find engaging and fun for early readers.

Here are some tips to help you raise a young reader:
1. Establish a reading culture at home. Practice a daily reading habit, begin with picture books for the littlest ones as they have a very short attention span. (A 10-minute session can be a great start.)
2. Be considerate if they ask for the same book over and over. Re-read books and try creative ways to deliver stories. You may use their favorite toys as additional characters in the story. Play dress up, drawing, art and craft making are also great ways to jazz up your reading sesh.
3. Encourage them to think by asking questions without expecting for perfect answers, rather provide suggestions you both can explore. Encourage them to think and talk as this helps big time in developing new vocabulary.
4. Stock up on various printed materials – not just books. Model and encourage good reading behavior. This will help make reading as a normal part of their lives.
5. Take advantage of the internetinstead of just letting them binge-watch on the unboxing ‘surprise toys’ videos. There are some free apps and YouTube videos that can be very useful in helping kids appreciate reading. (One of the great shows on YouTube that my daughter really loved was Paw Patrol as she has this great fascination on dogs. It has also helped her love bedtime reading more after one of my friends gifted her the Paw Patrol books.)
6. Let them visit libraries. Expose them to the world of different printed materials and teach them some basics when visiting libraries like speaking in quiet voices and putting the books back in the right place.
7. Let them choose their books.It is always easy and best to inspire them to read something they really are passionate about. This is also a great opportunity to establish responsibility and teach them decision-making.

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What are some ways we can do to encourage our children to be readers and not just become YouTube zombies?
Kindly share your thoughts below.
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Hey,
thanks for the informative post. You know when I grew up I was in the lowest skill level for reading and my mom put herself into hyperdrive and started reading with me on a daily basis. It completely changed me and I owe everything that I’m capable of writing today because she took the time out to make sure i learned to read proficiently. Making reading a fun environment was a crucial part of her success and she definitely had to think outside the box to make me read. I thought it was boring but she made it fun. Your article validated all of this and I appreciate the thoughts.
Thanks,
Michael
So so many useful tips and tricks all on one page! Wonderful! I bookmarked to look further. Thanks for sharing your little experience with us. I do say readers are leaders , so the best thing we can hope for is to become a reader and also help our young ones to also become one.
The outlined tips on how to raise young readers are lovely.
Thanks for sharing this lovely article. its well appreciated
Hey, I REALLY liked your article and your whole website. I agree with your ideas of getting our children back to reading and other things like that. I appreciate your goals!
I think you are going to be very successful!
Hi, I think this is a very great topic to touch on, all too often parents forget that reading to their kids from the beginning is the start to an excellent routine and path for them. I love to read to my baby even though he’s at the age of taking the book and doing his own thing with it. I think it’s important to keep this up with young children as it helps their imaginations grow and helps their understanding at a young age. Thanks for sharing.
Hi! Great article and great reminders of how important reading is. They get so many benefits from taking some time each day to pick up a book.
Great read!! We have you tube on way too much in my home but thankfully my children still love books more!! Your tips are fantastic and necessary!
I agree that reading is so important for everyone not just kids. I have a 6 and 8 year old and although they both watch their fair share of YouTube, they also both enjoy reading. My oldest is a ferocious reader and likes to read chapter books to herself and my youngest struggles with reading and usually prefers to read together although lately he wants to read to me. One of my kids favorite things to do is take books out of the library or look for books at goodwill. Who doesn’t like getting something new? I am also a constant reader and they see that model.
Reading gives you so many opportunities to educate and interact with your kids. Great read! Thanks for posting!
This is such a great article. My boys are 2 and 4 and even at day care they experience more screen time than they do play and/or reading time. We try hard to incorporate reading time and we have found it best to stick to a schedule and they have been better at adjusting to it ever since. Thanks for sharing!
This is such an important topic today! “We cannot simply wait for the teachers to train our children to read.” Thank you for stating this! As a teacher myself with 4 children of my own, I couldn’t agree more. Fostering a love of reading at home is of tremendous importance. Parents will always be their child’s teacher first and foremost.
Reading changed my life and I am so committed to ensuring my daughter loves to read. Thank you for these tips.
You make a really great point. My daughter just turned 6 months old and the time to start reading to her is now! It’s so tempting to let her watch cartoons on Youtube to keep her entertained but reading is so much more educational.
OMG love this! Thanks for this post, it is so important for parents to give some time to read to their little ones. We read every night and all throughout the day. My six-year-old is great at reading and my four-year-old is already showing interest.
These are sch great tips! We love reading in our household and make it a point to read every day.
If only my parents read this when I was a kid. I’m.glad I now have this info for my kids! Thank you! So imfortmative
Great info and tips in this post! As a reading specialist I. A middle school, I often see later outcomes of this issue. Thanks for sharing!
I love this. I certainly need to be more considerate of my toddler choosing the same book every night. Lol