Instill the Love

Instill the Love
Post written by Leo Babauta. Follow me on Twitter.A teen-ager wrote to me theLineage 2 Adenaother day, asking how he could build the habit of reading he spends too much time on Facebook and playing video games.
The short answer: read amazing, fun, exciting, lovely bookswow goldthat you just can’t put down!I’ve been a lifelong reader, so the pleasure of a good book is one of my favorite things in the world. I love to lose myself in the world of a novel, to become best friends with a character, to curl up in the silence of the early morning or late night hours, wrapped in the deliciousness of a book.
I think many people approach reading the wrong way: they try to force themselves to read, and see reading as a difficult and tedious chore. Well, if that’s how you look at reading, no wonder you don’t have the habit! Instead, see it aswow golda wonderful thing. Reading is a joy. It is a time of peace, of adventure, of exploration, of just enjoying a good story. If you learn to love reading, as I do and as many others do, it’s not really a habit you have to develop it’s something you look forward to doing each day.
First let’s take a look at a deeply entrenched concept: that reading is wholesome and healthy and Good For You. Well, I think it is, but is it inherently better than any of a thousand other activities? Maybe sometimes.Is reading a book better than playing outside? Better thanArt paintinga good conversation? Better than exploring websites on a topic that excites you? Better than exploring nature? Better than playing sports? Better than drawing or painting or playing music or dancing?I don’t think so. I think each activity has its own benefits and pleasures.Is reading betterice cream machinethan watching TV? I tend to believe it is, if learning is important to you, but not necessarily so if pleasure is your main concern. Both activities can be pleasurable in their own way.Is reading better than playingbusiness card printingvideo games? This will be controversial, but I’m not so sure it is. Read this article for more about the learning advantages of playing video games.Reading might be better than many activities if your main concern is educating yourself and improvingsticker printingyour chances of succeeding in various careers. However … reading is more than a means to an end … reading is an end in and of itself. It’s a joy, and that’s how you should approach it.
If you gain a side benefit of becomingposters printingbetter prepared for school and life, well … so much the better! Many parents are concerned because their kids aren’t readers. Well, I wouldn’t worry so much. What’s more important is that youHydraulic fittingsare loving and compassionate towards them, that you instill a love for learning (by any means) and give them the tools they need to explore whatever they’re excited about.How do you do that? By not forcing them to learn, but by being a role model for them and showingmetal stampingyour enthusiasm for learning, by exposing them to all kinds of exciting things and talking with them about it and learning about these things together (when they’re interested), by helping them explore things that excite them (whatever those things are).
However, if you’d like them to learn the love of readingWire edm machineyou yourself have, there are things you can do that are consistent with the philosophy in the paragraph above.Start by reading to your child. You can start from the moment he’s born (or earlier), but wheneverCable Tiesyou start is good. Read fun books, exciting books, adventurous books. Here’s a good place to start: Best All-Time Children’s Books.
Make reading fun. Make it aEd hardytime of bonding between the two of you. Make it something your child looks forward to doing each day. Do not make reading a forced thing encourage it, make it fun, don’t force them to read if they don’t want to.Make it a routine do it at the same time(s) of day, in the same place, such as at night in bed or in the morning in a favorite chair or couch because children find comfort in routines.Alsofoley cathetermake it a habit to go to the library regularly and read with your child there. Help your child find books that interest her. Visit used book stores (and new bookstores too). Provide a variety of reading materials for your child, about topics she’s interested in. Lots of books, lots ofcheap ed hardymagazines, websites, etc.And be a model read yourself. Do it every day, and let your child see how much you love reading. He’ll pick up on it.Whether you’re trying to instill the love of reading in your child or yourself, the key is in finding books that you just can’t put down. If you find that, the rest is easy.