Embrace Technology to Keep Kids Hooked on Reading

Developing a love of reading in our four children is of paramount importance to us and is critical to most parents. But "how to" is very elusive. Why doesn't my second child love to read when it seems everyone else's children are avid and engaged readers?

When my son was 2, he would grab his favorite book ("We're Going on a Bear Hunt") and jump on my lap. We read it in silly voices and never skipped a word or missed a page. It was memorized and cherished, and I felt happy at the prospect of having a good reader on my hands. But when he went to kindergarten and was asked to read every night -- he started to protest! And when he went to second grade and was asked to keep a reading journal, he became a "short-cut taker." As parents, we needed a strategy! How could we get our son back to being hooked on reading?

As children grow, there is a critical step that occurs, when the child switches from "learning to read" to "reading to learn." This is why, as parents, we strive to create a love of reading and a core competence in reading in our kids. When children are "learning to read" it can be a wonderful journey with their excited teachers and parents. When they begin to have science and other subjects (starting at about second grade), kids have to use their reading skills to understand directions, read materials, and complete work. So how can we grow engaged readers who can later become great learners?

My husband and I had an idea. Our kids are addicted to electronic devices and have been since they could ask for a DS. Every gift list now includes a request for a Kindle, an iPad, an iTouch, or an iPhone. We say no to many of these gift requests as electronic devices are expensive. And we worry that when our kids are on their electronics they do not glance at the scenery from a car window, engage in table conversation, or even utter complete sentences. But what if instead of being the "electronics police," we could use them toward scholastic achievement, most specifically reading?

We started to research and found the digital revolution offers even more than we hoped to get our kids hooked back on reading. All children excel and struggle in different areas. They learn differently and they may need to read differently to increase their satisfaction and confidence. Children usually like what they are good at and do not like what they struggle with. Today's children feel very comfortable with technology, especially their handheld electronics. And the biggest trend in building reading skills and reading comprehension in the best schools is using a multimedia approach. At more and more schools, using the computer and, increasingly, electronic tablets in addition to traditional books is a core piece of the reading curriculum.