Aha! Here's the Secret to Raising a Child Who Loves to Read

Raising a bookworm is easier said than done, but a recent report may have just uncovered the secret: let your child pick his books. 

According to the most recent study by Scholastic to determine how kids are faring in the reading department, the majority of kids (89%) say their favorite books are the ones they've picked out themselves. 

Scholastic surveyed 2,718 parents and children, with the kids’ ages ranging from 0 to 17 years old. Aside from finding that kids’ favorite books are the ones they picked out themselves, they also found that 88% of the kid participants, specifically those aged 6 to 17, agree they're more likely to finish reading a book they had a hand in choosing.


IMAGE Scholastic
And, for these kids who picked out their books, 81% of them said their parents read out loud to them at age 3 to 5. So, moms and dads, don't neglect story time!

What do kids look for when they choose a book? “It has a good story,” the kids said. The chances of a book to get picked up goes higher if it's funny. 

Based on the report, frequent readers read books for fun five to seven days a week, so that's almost every day. They read an average of 42.4 books in a year. Infrequent readers, on the other hand, read only once a week and average 7.4 books in the same span of time. Parents of frequent readers have an average of 141 children's books at home, while infrequent readers have 65 children's books.  


IMAGE Scholastic
The survey also noted how parents today are more committed with their storyteller roles. Seventy-seven percent of parents said they started reading aloud to their children before age 1 -- it's an increase from 30% in 2014. More than half of moms and dads with kids age 0 to 5 also say story time occurs five to seven days a week. 

If you're having trouble finding books for your little one (shelves upon shelves at the bookstore can be overwhelming), we have a guide that can help (click here) .

Take a look as well at what other parents and their kids are reading according to the report: 

Top books parents say they find themselves reading over and over again to their children

• Dr. Seuss books
• Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
• The Bible
• Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney
• Llama Llama series by Anna Dewdney
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Top books or series children (age 6 to 8) say are their favorite

• Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney
• Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling
• Junie B. Jones series by Barbara Park
• Dr. Seuss books
• Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborne
• Berenstain Bears series by Mike Berenstain

Happy reading!

IMAGE hoher/Flickr