How to foster a "reading culture"

Kids who live in a "reading home" will be readers, it's as simple as that.

What does that mean, and how do you create a reading culture in your home? Here are some key things you can do to create a "reading home":

*Read to your child every day.

*Have lots of books around. Give your child his own books.

*Let your child read things he's interested in.

*Go to the library together every two or three weeks.

*Let your child see you reading.

*Ask your child questions about what he's reading. Be interested in what he's reading.

*Let your child read to you.

*Offer him a variety of reading options. Novels, comic books, picture books, manuals, recipe books, pages printed from the Internet, graphic novels, magazines, even the side of the cereal box at breakfast time - it's all reading.

*Set limits on TV and video-game time ("screen time").

If you can only do one thing, to create a reader, it should be: "read to your child." Every book and website about reading says the same thing. Read to your child, every day. It's the most important thing.