Time and again emphasis has been laid on the need to develop skills associated with reading and comprehending. If one just takes out a few moments to wonder why it has been always stressed one can find that reading has been and will always be one of the essential skills that can nurture the growth of an individual. 

In the words of Fran Lebowitz, 

"Think before you speak. Read before you think."

Now that it has been an undeniable fact that reading leads to optimum results of the purpose of education what becomes necessary is to look through strategies that can make one a better reader. Meanwhile, it is also important to realize that reading as a habit can be cultivated in an individual irrespective of the age group.

Storytelling has been a worldwide activity that nearly every other individual has encountered in his/her life. Many parents read out stories to kids when they are too young to read by themselves. As the child grows up parents try to ensure that the kid learns to read and supervise them in the same way. However, reading as a daily habit needs to be cultivated because in this digital world kids right from the age of two or three have access to online audio stories which can hamper their ability to read aloud.

Few strategies that parents can use for the same are:

·        Set a DRT (Daily Reading Time)

To make it a habit, it is important to do it consistently. While children are generally not inclined towards the same, it is important on the part of the parents to generate their interest in it and then kindle it. 

·        Make sure it is fun reading in the early stages

Leisure reading can be fun and especially important in the earlier stages of education where the interest of the kid is more towards games and play.

·        Get involved in the reading process

It will have a greater impact when the parents themselves get involved in the reading activity. To make it more interesting, they can also add some voice input and intonation and actions while reading out the text so that the child would want to look for more each day.

·        Encouraging activities that require reading

In addition to conventional book reading what can be done is adding more activities that would involve certain directions to follow so that the child also has to read out the instructions in addition to performing it. Say, for instance, cooking and reading a certain recipe, some craft work like making a kite, reading road signs, etc.

·        Treat them with the stages of reading that they reach

It can be an incentive for them when you acknowledge the efforts they are putting in and keep a track record and show them how significantly they have improved and mastered certain skills.

·        Rope in the technological advancements

Technological advancements have made the kids of this generation even smarter and helped them to start learning even before getting a formal education. Parents can make use of audiobooks and videos and then can make them read it to better the pronunciation and oratory skills.

While all these strategies can aid in improving reading, parents need to track the progress of their kid and not compare it and simultaneously set an example of consistency so that the child gets inspired to read.