Easy but amazing tips to encourage your kids to write

Are kids increasingly unwilling to write, or is it just a way of blaming everything on the advent of digital? Though many parents would want to point out that an increasingly visual culture is destroying writing skills, it’s unfortunately far from true. In fact, we have a bigger demand for writers and an increasingly large supply of high quality writers rising up to meet it as well.  

Here are some delightfully simple tips that most writers follow. Try it out with your child.  

Good writers read, watch, listen and observe 
Not a surprising tip at all, but we are stating it again. Get your kid to read whatever they like to begin with, even if it means a Marvel Comics binge. Then lead them out towards graphic novels, illustrated series, short fiction, longer fiction, and non-fiction as well. If they are slow on it, get them to watch movies in the meantime. Also, talk to them more. Encourage note taking, and introduce games based on observation. All this put together will help in building vocabulary, giving kids examples of how others are expressing and communicating emotions, and finally, create an urge to express themselves with greater clarity.  

Make writing a physically attractive activity  
Get your budding writer some cool supplies. It could be colourful notebooks, extra smooth gel pens or a new, comfortable keyboard. Let them put up thoughts in post its, or embellish document files with images and turn them into creative presentations. Once they find it attractive, they will automatically turn their attention towards the most impactful part of the whole package – the words – and start sharpening them.  

Play word games  
Scrabble, Boggle, Memory Game with related words, crosswords and vocabulary based mobile games are a great way to motivate a young writer. Apart from traditional physical games, both Android and iOS have a good arsenal of word games, a quick search on Google Play and iTunes will give you enough choices.  

Keep up regular practice  
Open a blog for your child, even if the two of you are the only readers. Inspire them to write daily, even a hundred words on mundane matters would do. And remember, like most skills, writing is also about practice making it perfect.