How we got my daughter to sit and read.
There were always so many distractions around. There was always an adult to play with, a screen begging for her attention or toys she wanted to explore. It was impossible to try to get her to sit alongside us when we were reading. So we tried the two things mentioned below and we were golden. My daughter not only started sitting to read but she proactively got involved in the reading process. Also, there was the sweet ring of the words, “One last time, no more.”
The first thing we did
This was the ingenuity of my mother-in-law. She got out a booster seat and strapped my daughter inside at reading time. It was almost like potty training. She did it at the same time everyday. My daughter couldn’t squiggle out and within three days understood that this was the time to sit and read.
The second thing we did
We introduced her to Panda. At reading time, I would put her stuffed panda toy in her hand and made the event about us reading to Panda. We would try to think about what the Panda is like, his personality and hence what he may like to read. Of course, she would change her mind everyday about what the Panda likes but that made it easy for us to cover a wide range of books. Bringing the Panda to read allowed us to give her something more fluid to transition her reading from a booster seat to just about anywhere. This was the genesis of the book, 'The Panda who came to read.'
Do tell us how you got your kids to sit and read!