Summer Reading!
Keep literacy and parenting skills going strong over the summer

Summer is a great time for everyone to do some reading—both parents and kids!

For kids
Here are some ideas for summer literacy activities for kids:

• Ten tips for summer reading fun—with creative ideas and a list of books for reluctant readers.
• Ten ways to keep your child reading this summer
• Reading together is a great way to jump-start your child’s interest in books.  Check out Buckaroo Bunny’s tips for reading books with children.
• Why not help your child start a journal this summer?  Here’s how:  Reading skills and journal-keeping
• On the road this summer?  Try this:  Traveling light: family language fun to go.  This 90-page booklet has great ideas for family language activities for all the kids in the family, from babies through teens! 
• Summer Reading, from GreatSchools has summer reading tips and book picks for all ages, kindergarten through teens. 
• For more about reading, literacy and kids, see YourChild:  Reading and Your Child.

For parents
Now, what do parents have on their summer reading lists?  These parenting books are classics that every parent can learn from, and that warrant a second read if it’s been a while.  And what better time to practice your well-honed parenting skills than when the kids are around more!  You may want to bring your novel to the beach or pool, but keep one of these parenting books on your nightstand this summer:
 
Here are our top picks for excellent parenting books:

• How to Talk so Kids will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk, by Faber and Mazlish.  A great book for parents of kids about age 3 and up, that every parent should read to improve communication and family harmony. If you only read one parenting book in your lifetime, make it this one! 
• Parent Talk:  How to Talk to your Children in Language that Builds Self Esteem and Encourages Responsibility, by Chick Moorman.  Learn the words to end power struggles and communicate calmly what you really want to say.  Helps parents of kids age 3 and up develop better communication skills.
• Without Spanking or Spoiling : A Practical Approach to Toddler and Preschool Guidance, by Elizabeth Crary.  This approach to guidance and discipline allows parents to choose tools that fit best with their child's temperament and their family's values.  Explains what kinds of behavior to expect at different ages, what discipline strategies are likely to encourage the desired behavior in children, and what behaviors can safely be ignored.
• 1-2-3 Magic: Effective Discipline for Children 2-12, by Thomas W. Phelan.  Learn to teach your kids good behavior without yelling—by using counting and time-outs, and keeping the emotion out of your discipline technique.  The book is filled with common-sense, concrete examples, and lots of reassuring humor. It covers homework, active listening, self-esteem, public behavior, and more.
• Raising Your Spirited Child, by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka.  Support and proven strategies for frustrated parents of “difficult” or “strong-willed” kids.
• Siblings Without Rivalry, by Faber and Mazlish.  Do your kids bug each other more over the summer when there’s more time together?  This is the best book on how to handle sibling relationships, and family dynamics.
• Raising a Thinking Child:  Help Your Young Child to Resolve Everyday Conflicts and Get Along With Others:  The ‘I Can Problem Solve’ Program, by Myrna B. Shure et al.  Help your child learn to resolve conflicts and get along with others.

If you want to read some helpful parenting Web pages, check out YourChild: Parenting Resources for the best of the Web on parenting.

For parents and kids
Here’s a way to sharpen literacy and parenting skills all at once, with one excellent book! 

• The Read-Aloud Handbook, by Jim Trelease.
  A great book that looks at the research on reading and tells parents and educators what they need to know about reading aloud to kids. It includes all kinds of specific tips and strategies that you can start using right away, and a giant annotated list of recommended read-aloud books. Think of all the opportunities to read aloud over the summer:  in the car on a trip, by the campfire, at bedtime, or on a lazy afternoon in the hammock.  This book will inspire you and give great suggestions to get you started
  
  Happy reading!

Compiled by Kyla Boyse, RN
June 2008

U-M Health System Related Sites:
U-M Pediatrics

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The information and links we provide are reviewed by University of Michigan developmental and behavioral pediatricians and child psychologists who are experts in child behavioral health. In choosing the links we provide, we use strict criteria to ensure that the information is accurate, and the source is reputable. As much as possible, we focus on information that is based on research. In areas where there is inadequate research, we include information compatible with prevailing expert opinion.

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