1.    Be a reading role model.  You are your child’s hero. He wants to emulate you in every way possible.  So when your child sees you reading at home, he is that much more likely to pick up the habit himself.  In this regard, turning your child into a great reader is as easy as catching up on all your favorite books.

2.    Spend more time at the bookstore.  Make a weekly sojourn to your favorite bookstore.  And don’t just get in and get out -- take your time.  Make a Saturday morning event out of it.  The major chain bookstores encourage loitering. Head to your local bookstore, plan to buy the kids some snacks, and  spend time poring through the thousands of books and magazines in the store.  It’s a simple, powerful bonding experience and one that promotes a love of reading to boot!

3.    Use books with strong visuals.  Children, especially boys, respond to stories with strong visual elements!  Compelling pictures make them want to know more about the words that accompany the images.

4.    Read to your child every day. The most obvious point is also the most powerful.  Reading to a child is the single most effective way to build a love of books.  Set aside time to read with your kids.  Make it a regular occurrence at a given time every day.  It’s good for you and even better for them! Your "reading ritual" will  anchor the experience with the emotion of love. It’s the best gift you can give your child.

5.    Keep  TV watching to a minimum.  Another seemingly obvious point, but television watching is a passive exercise that does little to help build a child’s reading skills.  Click off the TV and grab a book.  Then, head for the couch with your child!

6.    Move from the book to the real world.  If you read a book about dinosaurs, why not accompany it with a trip down to your local natural history museum?  The more you make reading “come alive,” the more your child will hunger for more.

7.    Connect reading with the things they love.  If your child loves baseball or dance, then get them books about baseball and dance.  Non-fiction books are just as good as fictional stories when it comes to building a lifelong love of reading.

8.    Sing a song … act it out.  Kids (especially boys) acquire knowledge more effectively when stimulated by music and movement.  So sing a song when you read.  Act out the stories.  Get up and do a dance.  Heck, it’s in the privacy of your own home – so go nuts and enrich your child!

9.    Keep books in your car.  Turn your minivan into a bookmobile.  Unhook the portable DVD player and fill the back seat up with a selection of your child’s favorite books.

10.    Reading:  It’s not just for bedtime anymore!  You read to your child every night before he goes to bed.  Good for you!  Begin by taking an hour on a weekend. Then gradually make more “regular” times every day that focus on reading. After breakfast?  Before dinner?  Those work!

Above all else, enjoy the time you spend reading with your child.  These are among the most precious and special moments you will ever share together. This is the stuff memories are made of!