Many parents think their children aren't actually "reading" unless they've picked up a library book or are doing school-related reading. But there are many ways to indirectly enhance a broad range of reading skills in the home. Aside from food boxes and packages, directions for using tools and making repairs, taking medication, and other printed matter, there is a daily "reader" that reaches practically every home in America. It’s the newspaper-and it's a veritable goldmine for encouraging and developing reading, thinking, and learning skills. The same is true of magazines of interest.

If you are seen reading newspapers and magazines and not relying on television as the sole source for news and entertainment, chances are high that your children will do the same. Enough cannot be said about the importance of parents as role models for what their children do, think, feel, and value.

The advantage of a morning paper is that time may not be as "tight" in the morning as it is in the evening. Morning time allows reviewing important parts of the newspaper and getting a feel for critical issues as the day begins.

Key sections of the newspaper that offer special appeal are:

• The front news section (world and regional events of interest, such as disasters, conflicts, trends in legislation, deaths of well- known personalities, etc.)
• Columnists such as Dear Abby and Miss Manners
• Comic strips with special favorites
• Display ads featuring sales and new products
• Movie, theater, concert, and television program reviews
• Sports pages, batting averages, outcome of key games, highlights on sports personalities, interviews
• Financial news-while they may not have immediate interest to teenagers, often the financial pages will highlight fascinating trends and new products
• The classified ad section will be appealing to teenagers interested in such things as stereo equipment, cars. part-time jobs, etc.
• The editorial pages which sometimes carry fairly dramatic letters to the editor
• Assorted material-recipes, book reviews, human interest stories, et cetera

Perhaps a comment such as "Oh, look at this! Can you believe this?" will perk up interest as a parent sees something that relates to the child's life or interests. Or "I think you'll be interested in" might be just enough to stimulate reading the article. Or even a casual comment between parents, "I couldn't believe that article about"-----may catch the youngster's fancy.

You can "teach" skimming and scanning techniques very quickly with the news sections of the newspaper. Newspaper writers are extremely skilled at writing various levels of headlines and giving the important facts in the first paragraph of the article. Show the youngster that he can first quickly scan, for example, the news section and check those articles he may wish to go back and read in full. This highlights articles that may be important to him and he can then go back and check the opening paragraph to see if it really does hold interest for him.

There are many magazines available either by subscription or at the local newsstand that provide an abundance of enjoyable reading material. Some may seem to be targeted to girls, some to boys, but, happily, in today's world there are no longer, for the most part, clear demarcations. Your daughter may be just as interested in Popular Mechanics as your son!

Encourage Your Child To Read - Subscribe to Magazines of Interest To Children
Encourage Your Teenager To Read - Subscribe to Magazines of Interest To Teens