Helping children build a reading habit…

…from a young age.

Hello all. Welcome to the 160th edition of TEPS Weekly!

Aadya and Aarav are in Grade 2. They are best friends because they live in the same colony, play together every evening, come to school by the same bus and even get similar marks in every class test and exam. 

Every day, their class has 20 minutes of independent reading time, right after their snack break. When the teacher says, “You may choose a book,” Aadya walks straight to the class library shelf, picks a familiar favourite book, and begins reading before everyone else has settled down. Aarav, on the other hand, lingers near the shelf, pulls out one or two books, puts them back and finally chooses the thinnest one. A minute later, his eyes are no longer on the page. He is watching the room and waiting for the 20 minutes to end.

This difference is often explained as a difference in interest – one child “likes reading” and the other does not. But lack of interest is a symptom, not the cause. The cause is the lack of a reading habit.

The Habit Loop

Adults (parents and teachers) often encourage children to read by giving reminders: “Go read your book.” “Finish your reading.” “Read for twenty minutes.” But reminders do not form habits – the formation of a reading habit is a neurological process.

The habit loop is a simple way to understand how habits form in the brain. It has three parts: a cue, a routine, a reward.

• The cue is the trigger that tells your brain to start a behaviour. This could be a time of day, a place, a feeling or something you see. 

• The routine is the behaviour itself, the thing you do after the cue. 

• The reward is what you get from doing it, such as pleasure, comfort, relief or a sense of achievement. 

When this same cycle happens again and again, the brain starts to connect the cue with the routine and reward. Over time, the behaviour begins to feel more automatic and needs less effort or decision-making. That is how a habit gradually gets built.

So, in order for children to build a reading habit, they need a habit loop. 

• The cue could be bedtime, snack time or seeing a book on the table. 

• The routine is reading a story together, talking about the pictures and events, or spending a few quiet minutes looking through a book. 

• The reward could be enjoyment, closeness with a parent, praise or the comfort of a familiar routine.

Conditions to Support the Habit Loop

Now, let’s deep-dive into the conditions needed to build and sustain a reading habit:

1. Rituals: 

Aarav’s parents usually tell him to go pick up a book when he is being noisy, restless or difficult to manage. 

Aadya’s parents read with her every night after dinner, before bed.

Rituals help build a reading habit because they make reading a regular part of the child’s day. For example, if a teacher reads aloud to the class every day after lunch, or if a parent reads a story every night before bed, the child begins to expect that reading will happen at that time. This regularity makes it easier for the child to settle into reading, because it is no longer something that happens only once in a while – it is part of the daily routine. Over time, the child begins to connect that time of day with books and stories.

2. Access: 

Aarav’s parents keep his books in a cupboard and take them out only when they want him to read. 

Aadya’s parents keep books in a basket near her bed and on a low shelf, so she can pick one up on her own.

Children are more likely to read when books are easy to see and easy to pick up. If books are kept locked away, stored on a high shelf or brought out only during lesson time, children have fewer chances to choose them on their own. But if books are placed in a class library, on a low shelf, beside the bed or in a basket at home, children can reach for them more easily. This increases the chances that they will look through a book, revisit a favourite or start reading without much prompting. In this way, access helps turn reading from something controlled by adults into something children can begin to choose for themselves.

3. Choice: 

When Aarav brings home a book about animals from school, his parents tell him to keep it aside and read the chapter book they think is better for him. 

When Aadya brings home a book, her parents ask, “Which one do you feel like reading today?” and let her start with that.

Children are more likely to read when they find books that interest them. A child who loves animals may happily return to animal stories or fact books, while another may prefer funny books, comics, adventure stories or books about vehicles and space. If every book is chosen only by the adult, the child may not feel much interest or ownership. But when children are given some choice, they are more likely to stay with the book and come back to reading again. This does not mean adults should leave children completely on their own. It means adults should offer a range of good books and allow children to choose from them, so that reading begins to feel enjoyable and personal.

4. Environment: 

In Aarav’s house, most evenings are spent with the TV on, adults busy on their phones, and very little conversation around books or stories.

In Aadya’s house, books and print are part of daily life: someone may read aloud, talk about a story, write a list or draw her attention to words around the house.

Children build reading habits in spaces where books and reading are part of everyday life. A classroom with a small reading corner, labelled shelves, displayed books and time set aside for reading sends the message that books matter. A home where children see books near the bed, on a table or in a basket nearby does the same. A literacy-rich environment strengthens this further by surrounding children with meaningful print, such as labels, charts, storybooks, class-made books, calendars, word walls, signs and simple written messages they can notice and use. The environment also includes what adults do in that space. If children regularly see a teacher or parent reading aloud, talking about books, pointing to print or encouraging them to browse, they begin to connect that space with reading. In this way, the environment helps make reading feel familiar and worth paying attention to.

5. Interaction: 

When Aarav reads, his parents mostly check whether he has finished the page or read the words correctly. 

When Aadya reads, her parents stop to laugh at funny pictures, ask what she thinks is happening and let her talk about the story.

Young children build reading habits not only by looking at books on their own, but also by sharing books with adults and other children. When a parent, teacher or sibling reads with them, talks about the pictures, asks simple questions, listens to their ideas and lets them join in, reading becomes more engaging. The child is not just listening to the story but taking part in the experience. This positive interpersonal experience makes it more likely that they will enjoy books and want to return to them.

6. Medium: 

When Aarav is given something to read, it is often on a phone while someone is also getting calls, checking messages or opening other apps. 

When Aadya reads, she usually sits with a physical book in her hand and stays with that one story from beginning to end.

Physical books are usually easier for young children to stay with. A printed book has fewer distractions – there are no pop-ups, notifications, links or buttons pulling the child away from the text. This helps children give their attention to the story, the pictures and the language for a longer stretch of time. Physical books also make it easier for children to turn pages, go back, notice details and feel their progress through the book. This is why, especially in the early and primary years, print books are often better for helping children build the habit of sitting with a book and staying with it.

Research has shown that while the number of children and young people who read for pleasure may be going down, reading as a habit is not easily replaced once it begins to serve an important function in a child’s life. When reading serves the function of being a source of enjoyment, comfort, imagination or quiet personal time, habits such as social media use or video games do not simply take its place in a one-to-one way because they cannot serve the same function as reading. This is why the aim should be not only to get children to read now and then, but to help them build a reading habit that becomes meaningful enough to stay with them as they grow older.

A reading habit does not usually appear on its own. It is built – gradually and consistently – through repeated experiences at home and at school, through the books children see around them, through the routines they live in, through the way adults talk about reading, and through whether books begin to feel like work or like a meaningful and enjoyable part of life serving an irreplaceable function.

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Edition: 5.15