Children, read - Ten recommendations

Reading has a beneficial effect on people - it develops vocabulary, expressive skills, imagination and long-term memory. In addition, reading is a great way to relax. Let's find together a natural way to teach children to love books. Be inspired by September's Skibi Ten and the quote by Jiří Žáček:

"Do you want to wise up? Oh my world - open a book and read!"

1. When to start

It's never too early to read. You can read to a baby, show pictures or touch fabric books together, stimulate your baby's touch and develop his senses. But at the same time, it's never too late to start reading. If you have a child at home who has already learned to read at school, but won't open a book on his own at home, continue reading our top ten to find out how!

2. Reading through play

One wonderful and well-functioning technique that promotes the development of reading skills is the two-player or multiplayer game. One person flips through an illustrated book and selects a drawing that he or she thinks the other would find interesting. He explains why he chose it, and then asks if he is right. This activity spontaneously leads both you and your child to work with the book - you don't have to read from it right away, just look at it, think about it, justify it. Remember to switch roles regularly, we promise you will be both amused and impressed by what your children choose for you.

3. Reading aloud to children

Many parents would like to know exactly what age it is right to read aloud to their children. However, the latest findings from neuroscience show that many children and teenagers are only able to have their own real reading experience around the age of thirteen or fourteen. So let's be patient and take the time and care to read aloud with our children, even if they already know how.

4. How it will continue?

With preschoolers and kindergarteners reading aloud together, we can then play another game. After reading a paragraph, a page, a chapter, ask the child: How it will continue? What does he or she think? What does she or he expect? What does she or he suspect? Do they not know the answer yet? Nothing happens, try to make up the story together or give a choice of multiple continuation options. Abstract thinking develops differently for each child and takes time.

5. Regular bedtime reading

Regular reading has many benefits for children. One of the most important is to promote language development and expand vocabulary. Lying down in bed with your child every night and opening their favourite book has its charms. In addition, reading before bed has a calming effect - it helps children relax and prepare for a restful sleep, which improves their sleep patterns. Moreover, this time spent with parents strengthens the relationship and brings a sense of security and well-being.

6. I see you, mom and dad

Another way to get our children to read is to set an example and read to them ourselves. To let our children see that we really love reading books - that reading enriches our world and can equally enrich theirs.

7. Read what you want

A common question parents ask teachers, child psychologists or speech therapists is what children should read to get them to read. The answer to this is the broadest possible - children, read what you want. Let your child read a favorite book repeatedly. The second, third, tenth installment of the popular series. Let them read a Simpsons comic book. Really, years of experience show that every reader will crave better literature at some point. So let's not mock children's choices when they're entertained.

8. To the moon and back

What would you say if we recommended a magazine for you to read together. Subtitled For the children of smart parents, it's called Rocket and each issue is dedicated to a theme such as travel, theatre, food or space. And always inside you'll find interviews, challenges, stories, fun educational posts, a board game or cut-out, and a recipe too. On Rocket, everyone's entertainment is taken care of!

9. Difficult topics

More difficult topics such as emotions, death and war are also part of a child's development. Some of these topics children ask themselves, others we parents would like our children to handle well. Do you and your children like the film In Your Head 1 or 2? Then be sure to reach for the affectionate picture book What Feelings Do When No One’s Looking. In it, author Tina Oziewicz has made strange creatures out of feelings; joy jumps on a trampoline, patience grows roses and sadness curls up in a blanket to bring them more closer to children in an unusual way. The emotions in the book are neither rated nor classified in any way, they just are and act. Just like in all of us!

10. Experience the book

These are the reading workshops that we organize at the Vindyš's factory in Radotín and to which we cordially invite you. Book authors regularly meet with children to introduce their works. Writers and illustrators not only read from books, but also lead art workshops for children. Together we listen to stories and create - with Tereza Říčanová, David Böhm or Aneta Františka Holasová. Let's combine reading with a wonderful personal experience for children. Let's show them that behind every book there is a real author. Join us for a glimpse into the world of children's literature.