[Hafsa Afzal]

After dabbling a little in teaching myself, I have come to realize that a lot of parents’ major complaint is that their children do not read. After interviewing a group of avid readers and based on personal experience, I have found that there are a few things that all parents do that encourages their children to become life-long readers.
Read aloud to them.
Yes, you may have seen these on the streets in Karachi, ‘Read to your child 15 minutes everyday.” Trust me, it works. Children love being read to and it is a chance for you to become a child with them and put on a show. Soon, when they start reading those stories for themselves, your voice will resound in their minds and they will feel the thrill all over again. Read them Sherlock Holmes, Enid Blyton, Harry Potter. There is no limit to what they can absorb in their formative years.
Indulge their passions
Alright, so your daughter has an unhealthy obsession with Mary-Kate and Ashley books or your son only reads spy thrillers. Indulge these phases. From personal experience, I was a Sweet Valley hoarder, I wanted to have them all. I thought I would never get over them but I did. I often see parents complaining that their child does not read the classics or something age -appropriate. Don’t rush them, after their initial infatuation has passed they will seek out better things to read.
Source: http://blush.com.pk/give-your-childr...gift-of-words/