Why is it important to allow children to pick their own books?

Do you have a child who prefers to spend time on the smartphone or tablet to reading? Does he or she see reading as a chore and would never pick up a book during their leisure time? 

“You become a lifelong reader when you’re able to make choices about the books you read, and when you love the books you read,” 

Credit: Pam Allyn, Literacy Advocate, Washington Post

Multiple different pieces of research and surveys have shown that one of the surefire ways to change this is to start by allowing your child to pick the books they would like to read. 

In a 2015 survey conducted by Scholastic, children who are allowed to read a book of their own choice are 3 times more likely to be a frequent reader. These are astounding numbers and shows the huge impact of allowing your child to browse and pick the books that they would like to read. 

So if you hear your child drag their feet about having to read something, think about what might be the reason for this. Could it be that they're being forced to read something they do not enjoy reading in the first place? 

With that in mind, the next time you're about to express disapproval for your child's choice of book from the library or the bookstore, remind yourself that allowing them to pick their own books makes it more likely that they'll read the book and enjoy the activity of reading itself. 

And the most important thing is, the earlier you allow your child to browse and select a book they'd like to read, the better!