It is no secret – my little girl loves her books. Our usual weekend hangout is the library. If there is one thing I want her to retain in life it will be her love for books. They stay with you for life. As a book worm I cannot imagine anything better than lazy afternoons reading and discussing books with my daughter in the years to come.

I have friends ask me all the time how I do it. How and why does kuttyma like books? What did I do to encourage it? I wish I had long answers and a fool-proof method. I just dabble along this parenting pathway and I have had some success so to say. And I live in constant fear – fear that she will lose the love for books amongst others.

Here are few things I think worked for us

Never say NO

We started young – when she was probably a year. If she pulls a book (and later ages asks us to read or brings it to us) we will stop whatever we are doing and read to her. It was not easy. Food left uncooked, chores undone but we never say no to reading in our household.

Lead the way

She never saw me idling around without a book. If I crash out on the sofa I have a book in hand. I even read when watching TV. We had/have a bedside stack of books to read before sleeping. She watches us do it and follows it.

Visit the Library

They inspire. I am lucky I have had access to some good libraries. If you do not have a public library, plan a book swap with a friend every month. Also make sure you walk along the “big people” section to show big people also read.

Have a book shelf

A good book shelf is worth its weight in gold. A collection of books with some classics and favorites will do. Also try to include some “advanced” book to show reading is a learning process. Add some books in other languages you may speak or learn in school

Make it fun

Reading is not just looking at pictures. Act it out. Sing it. Craft it. There are lots of inspiring material on the internet. One of my favorite memories is R singing “Hop on Pop” and a giggling kuttyma begging him to stop.

Reduce electronics time

This is a hard one. TV/Ipads and DVD players are convenient baby-sitters. But try to reduce them and use books as baby sitters. It is not easy. I am not perfect and I struggle with it. But we try to balance it out

And if you are not sure what books to pick up for your toddler, stop by my Goodreads page. I have a huge list of books kuttyma enjoyed/enjoys.