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When the child becomes old enough to read on their own, have a set 'bedtime' where the child must be in bed. But allow them to keep the light on, and stay awake as long as they are reading. No reading means no light. My parents did that with me. As a child I would get upset that I had to go to bed so I would get revenge by staying up late reading. I always wound up falling asleep, at a reasonable time, while reading. It eventually became such a habit that I could not sleep without a book. I was reading adult level novels by the time I was in regular school. Not because of genius, but because of my parents manipulation.

I've seen this trick work on other children as well, and never fail.

When the child becomes old enough to read on their own, have a set 'bedtime' where the child must be in bed. But allow them to keep the light on, and stay awake as long as they are reading. No reading means no light. My parents did that with me. As a child I would get upset that I had to go to bed so I would get revenge by staying up late reading. I always wound up falling asleep, at a reasonable time, while reading. It eventually became such a habit that I could not sleep without a book. I was reading adult level novels by the time I was in regular school. Not because of genius, but because of my parents manipulation. I've seen this trick work on other children as well, and never fail.

12 comments

[–] E-werd 3 points (+3|-0)

I've been reading to my daughter every night since about 1 year old. Since she's been 3 it's been 3 per night. They're age-appropriate books. I'm test driving chapter books with her right now, reading a chapter per night.

[–] [Deleted] 2 points (+2|-0)

that's a great way to ease her into Novels. My father did that with "Where the red Fern Grows" and "Ol' Yeller" and I picked up books myself after out of pure frustration of not being able to read to my hearts content...