For Parents


Don’ts when reading to kids

Don’ts when reading to kids

Good advice for parents, grandparents, teachers and all who want to read aloud to children.

  Don’t read stories you don’t like yourself.

  Don’t satiate the listeners. Never read stories that exceed the emotional development of a child.

  Don’t get deceived by prizes. The fact that a book has received awards is no guarantee that the book will read aloud nicely.

  Don’t confuse quality with quantity. Reading out loud to a child with attention and enthusiasm can leave a more significant trace in a child’s mind than watching TV in solitude for two hours.

  Don’t use a book as a threat (e.g. ‘If you don’t clean up your room, I won’t read you a bedtime story in the evening!’). Once a child or class senses that you have turned a book into a weapon, they’ll change their positive attitude towards books into a negative one.

  Don’t try to compete with the TV. Don’t give the impression of books being responsible for children being unable to watch TV.