Enticing children to read at an early age helps inspire their imagination and introduces them to diverse concepts.

Parents and caregivers play an important role in promoting these skills.

During the summer months, children are out of school and often not encouraged to read. Even though class is out of session, parents can spend time with their children reading books to them, or allowing them to read on their own if they know how. Even if a child has started developing those skills, keeping them honed requires nothing more than practice during the summer months. 

The U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences states that by encouraging a child to read assists in the development of critical thinking, language skills and problem solving.

Margaret Reed Crosby Memorial Library assistant Megan Nix Miller said the best way to encourage children to read is for adults to take time in the day and read to them aloud. An average pre-school level book takes only about 10-15 minutes to read, she said.

Adults can find better success in encouraging better reading habits by discovering ways to make reading fun and finding subjects that interest their child.

Miller said using stuffed animals, puppets or any other props to narrate a story will help keep children engaged while reading a story to them.

Another option is to bring children to the library and allow them to find a book that interests them, Miller said. 

Another way to encourage children to read is by utilizing a reward system to recognize their literacy milestones.

Miller said the Summer Reading Program at the library rewards children for completing reading for one, five, 10 or 15 hours.

The summer reading program at the Margaret Reed Crosby Memorial Library is ongoing. Parents can sign up at pearlriver.lib.ms.us.