How We Raised Kids Who Love Reading Early.

One of my core parenting strategies has been books.

Reading has taught me how to parent more effectively, and by God’s grace, I’ve also been able to pass that same love for learning on to our kids. Through the simple strategies I share here, both our children were reading by 3 years old. To God be all the glory.

Recently, I bought my daughter a couple of books based on skills I wanted her to learn, and the results have been amazing.

She went from reading one particular book 👇🏾 all by herself,

to organizing her drawer beautifully, without me asking her to do it or giving her any help. In fact, she did it while I was away, and I only got to see the finished result.

With my younger daughter, I’ve seen the same kind of fruit.

One night, we read Little Pilgrim’s Progress and learned this lesson: “It is not everything you see that you eat.” We repeated it again and again.

The very next night, after dinner, my husband came in with some snacks. She immediately asked if they could have some. I calmly bent down to her level and reminded her, “It is not everything you see that you eat.” The lesson had already settled in her heart, so there was no tantrum.

That moment stayed with me.

Imagine if I had tried to teach that lesson right there in the heat of the moment. It could easily have turned into frustration, raised voices, and tears. But because the lesson had already been taught in a calm, loving environment, she didn’t feel attacked or judged. She simply felt reminded. That is one of the beautiful things books can do in parenting. They help us teach lessons before pressure comes.

Why Reading Is Such a Powerful Parenting Tool

Books are more than entertainment. They are one of the simplest ways to train a child.

Through reading, you can teach values, habits, emotional control, life skills, wisdom, and even faith. You can prepare a child’s heart, so correction later does not always feel harsh or sudden.

For me, reading has become part of what I consider my real work as a parent.

Anyone can feed a child, bathe a child, or dress a child. But one of our core assignments as parents is to train them and instill values. Reading helps you do that in a natural, loving, and consistent way.

How to Help Your Child Love Reading

1. Start early

It is never too early to read to a child. In fact, the earlier, the better.

When I was pregnant with our first child, my husband was encouraged to read to her even in the womb. After she was born, I started reading to her at random times during the day when she was about a year old. Looking back, that was actually late. You can start from birth.

The earlier you begin, the more normal books become to your child. Reading will not feel strange or forced. It will simply become part of life.

When our first daughter was about three and a half, and our second was about eight months old, we started morning devotions that included reading devotionals. Months later, we added bedtime reading too.

At that point, I was reading to them at least three times a day.

To be honest, it didn’t feel stressful to me because I already love reading. The books were also short, so it wasn’t hard. More importantly, I saw it as one of my main parenting moments, a daily opportunity to shape their hearts and minds.

2. Make reading fun.

Reading should not feel like a chore. It should feel enjoyable.

If you want your child to love books, let them connect reading with warmth, laughter, and closeness.

Even the simplest children’s book can become fun if you read it with life. Use silly voices. Act out parts of the story. Laugh at funny lines. Pick books with playful titles. Turn reading time into something your child looks forward to.

Children love what feels alive.

And at a young age, your child mostly just wants you. They want your attention, your closeness, and your presence. So let books become part of that bonding time.

Make reading the thing you do together.

That alone can build a strong love for books.

3. Let them choose

One thing that really helps is involving your children early by giving them the power of choice.

Children love to feel included. They love to feel like their opinions matter. And honestly, who doesn’t like to feel a little powerful?

So give them simple options.

Pick two books and let them choose which one they want first. Then after that, you can read the one you chose. It is such a small thing, but it makes reading feel like something they are part of, not something being forced on them.

That sense of ownership can make a big difference in helping your child love books.

4. Take them to the library

Take them to the library and let them experience the special place book lovers go to.

There is something beautiful about children seeing shelves and shelves of books and realizing there is a whole world waiting for them inside pages. It also gives them a chance to read around other children, join story time, and enjoy the atmosphere.

In that kind of environment, books become more than just objects sitting at home. They become part of an experience. And when reading becomes an experience, it becomes something children look forward to.

5. Let them mess around with books

I know, I know. Clean-up can be a lot. And books will get torn. But honestly, the payoff of raising kids who love reading is huge, so sometimes you have to be willing to loosen up a little.

Let books be part of their play. Let them carry them around. Let them flip through pages. Let them point at words, scribble in workbooks, highlight things, stack books up, spread them out, and interact with them in all kinds of ways.

As long as they are engaging with books, that is a good sign.

Of course, you can set boundaries depending on the kind of books they are using, but the bigger point is this: don’t make books feel untouchable. Let your child feel comfortable around them. The more they interact with books, the more familiar and enjoyable books become.

6. Ask older kids to read to younger ones

This one is such a win-win. When older children read to younger ones, you are building sibling bonding and a love of reading at the same time.

The older child becomes more confident and improves their reading skills. The younger child feels included and enjoys the attention. And mama gets a little breathing room. Everybody wins.

It also helps create a family culture around books. Reading is no longer just something mom does with the children. It becomes something the whole family values.

So yes, let everybody be involved — dad, mom, and siblings too.

Final Thoughts

One of the things I love most about books is that you can use them intentionally.

You can choose books based on the kind of skills, values, or habits you want your child to develop. That’s exactly what I’ve been doing lately, and the results have been beautiful to watch.

Books can help teach:

responsibility

orderliness (like you saw with our daughter)

patience/self-control

wisdom and godly character

healthy habits

Manners

Even emotional lessons like dealing with bullies etc.

Instead of always correcting in the moment or trying to fix situations that have already gone wrong, you can plant the lesson ahead of time through a story.

That changes everything.

Happy reading! I hope your kiddos love to read like mine.

Which of these points are you already practicing and which ones would you add to your list? Let me know in the comments.

Please do pay this forward by sharing to your mom friends, mom groups, dad (to get him on board 😂)etc.

Rooting for you,

Mrs Omoghene.

P.S: are you also looking to be more intentional about praying for your spouse and kids? Prayer Proof is the book that helps you do just that.