New Year’s resolutions that you will make you read more

Published on: 30 December 2015 Author: Kate Hancock

Want a resolution that's fun, easy and incredibly good for your family? Mum and publisher Kate Hancock has just the thing to get your children reading.

Once the excitement and over-indulgences of the festive season are over, many of us start to think about our plans and intentions for the New Year.

I rarely manage to stick to these resolutions beyond the first two weeks of January.

But whatever your previous experiences, now's the perfect opportunity to make some reading-based promises to yourself and the children in your life.

Make a reading resolution

Reading resolutions can be as simple (or ambitious) as you like. They will fit into everyone's lifestyle, no matter how busy.

Most importantly, sticking to a reading resolution can be easy and a lot of fun (unlike giving up chocolate or alcohol).

Four ways to get started

Here are some simple reading resolutions you might like to try in 2016:

• Join (and use!) the library. Libraries are a wonderful resource, whatever your age. If you haven't joined your local library or visited for a while, then do take a moment to see what's going on. There are often lots of great activities and groups (especially for children), as well as all the other resources you would expect.

• Celebrate and encourage reading for pleasure. Reading for pleasure can have some fantastic benefits for everyone, especially children. Encourage the children in your life to enjoy reading in whatever way they like best. Many children want to read the same old favourite over and over. And they don't even have to be books - it could be magazines, comics, game guides or even train timetables. It's enjoying reading that counts!

• Look for opportunities to make it fun. If the children in your life are learning to read or don't enjoy reading at the moment, there are lots of entertaining, easy games you can try to help them. Try word I Spy, or challenge someone to spot how many words begin with a certain letter. It can also be fun to read part of a story and then see who can come up with the silliest or scariest alternative ending.

• Get involved: Reading doesn't have to be a solitary activity. Find a book that you can all read and delight in together. Talk about what might happen next or what is going on in the pictures - and make reading something you can all enjoy.

Now flex your book muscles

Whatever your resolutions for 2016, finding time to celebrate the pleasures and magic of reading is something that everyone in the family can do.

It just so happens to be much more fun than going to the gym every day, too. Have a very happy New Year!