12 ways to nurture young readers

1. Read with your children at least once every day
2. Make sure they have plenty to read. Keep books or other reading materials in their reach.
3. Notice what interests your child, then help find books about those things.
4. Respect your child's choices. There's nothing wrong with scary fiction if that's what keeps a young reader turning the pages.
5. Praise your children's efforts and newly acquired skills.
6. Help your child build a personal library. Children's books, new or used, make great gifts and appropriate rewards for reading. Designate a bookcase, shelf or box where your children can keep their books.
7. Check up on your children's progress. Listen to them read aloud, read what they write and ask teachers how they're doing in school.
8. Go places and do things with your children to build their background knowledge and vocabulary, and to give them a basis for understanding what they read.
9. Tell stories. Its a fun way to teach values, pass on family history and build your children's listening and thinking skills.
10. Be a reading role model. Let your children see you read, and share some interesting things with them that you have read about in books, newspapers or magazines.
11. Continue reading aloud to older children even after they have learned to read by themselves.
12. Encourage writing along with reading. Ask children to sign their artwork, add to your shopping list, take messages ang make their own books and cards as gifts.