Read regularly to your children, starting when they are in the womb
Set the example. A child who sees a parent reading is more likely to pick up a book
Put a bookshelf in your child's room and fill it with a variety of books
Create a comfortable, cheerful reading space - a sofa, a pile of bright cushions or a pretty corner of the garden
Help them find time to read. You could allow reading time between bed and lights out, or have some TV-free times
Encourage your child to enter 'Read-a-thons'. They feel a real sense of achievement at the number of books they have read. Awards, such as certificates or book prizes help too. 'Read-a-thons' that earn money for charities help others too, not just the readers
Let TV help. Ask your child to read the TV guide, select and mark shows they wish to watch. You could also ask them why they chose those particular shows. TV log books can be an interesting idea, and children can rate their watched shows with a star system or reviews
Share stories with your children, perhaps about your own childhood, or tell them the story of their birth and the funny things they did as toddlers
Have books readily available throughout the house, including the smallest room
Visit the local library as a family. Introduce your children to the librarian. Arrange for your child to have his or her own library card. Go to the storytelling, puppet or author sessions
Use booklists that say, 'If you like this book, then you might like to try...' Public libraries, school libraries and websites like Amazon these lists
Ask teachers or other parents which books their children have enjoyed
Visit bookshops
Consider a book allowance, in addition to pocket money to be used only for books or magazines
If your child starts a book but doesn't finish it, that's okay. But praise them for finishing a long or difficult book
Borrow or buy 'talking books' on tape or CD to play at bedtime
Let them read to you, but don't force them
Read the books your children are reading at school and talk about them
Subscribe to a magazine that interests your child. It's exciting when the postie brings it to the house with the child's own name on the front
Help children find suitable websites that suit their interests. For example, if your daughter is mad about horses, search for child-friendly sites on that subject
Select computer games that encourage reading
Include reading outside of the book. Ask your child to read out instructions for new purchases, the backs of DVD's in the rental shop, children's sections of newspapers, comics or graphic novels, catalogues, labels or cookbooks. An easy way to encourage reading of recipes is to give your child a simple cookbook, then ask them to choose a recipe that you will cook together
Play games that include words. A couple of examples - cut out words from old newspapers that your child would say describes his or her self, then put them together to make a poem. Or, if you go to the cinema, try to find the entire alphabet in the credits
Relate books and reading to your activities and hobbies. If you are planning a holiday, read material about that place. For example, a trip to Hallet Cove, in South Australia, might mean researching glaciers or coastlines. Visiting an airport to watch the planes take off could fit nicely with a book or website about flight
Play talking books on tape or CD in the car on long trips
On walks, make it a game for the child to read out signs
Allow a child to write his or her name in their own books (not library books, of course!)
Suggest a book in a series. If a child has really enjoyed reading a book that has 'companions', it is easy to find similar books
If your child has enjoyed a book, encourage them to write to an author
Give books as presents
Read with your children in those boring waiting times - in long queues or waiting rooms
Ask your child to write or read out your shopping list when you are in the supermarket
Draw and write stories together
Think about joining a virtual book club like 'Book Crossings'. You and your child can choose a book, register it on line, then release it 'into the wild' - you give it away by leaving it in a public place. Then you check the website to see if anyone has picked it up and read it. (I was delighted to see that some books I've written were let loose all around Australia, in America and Portugal.)
Encourage your child to write a review of a book they have enjoyed. There are websites and magazines that will publish them. Including this website - Click here to read reviews by young readers. Well written reviews in this site earn the writer a signed book and publication on a website
Make or buy bookmarks, so your child doesn't feel they have to read the whole book in one sitting
Help your child make placemats that are decorated with poems and drawings
If your child enjoys movies, encourage those that are based on books. Then read the book
