Growing up a bookworm, I also want my kids to become book lovers. Reading, for me, is as important as breathing and eating, and it has a lot of benefits especially when you’ve learned to love reading at a young age.

I am a blogger/writer because I am a reader. Reading and writing, they definitely go hand in hand. Pero first love ko talaga ang reading bago pa ako natuto magsulat. I guess my writing skills were developed because I really read a lot back then.. (ngayon medyo nabawasan ang time because.. kids! LOL) Sa gabi na lang kapag tulog na silang lahat!

Epic! Books for Kids

We’ve been using Epic! Books for Kids App since 2017. It is a digital library for kids 12 and below offering unlimited access to 35,000 of the best children’s books of all time. Imagine having a library of unlimited ebooks! It’s basically Netflix for books, so ang saya lang. 🙂 I had a friend who used these books for her SoundCloud podcast, where she read these books out loud for kids. It was so successful that she didn’t ever need to buy SoundCloud plays!

Anyway, as of today, my eldest has read over 700 books, my youngest has already finished 53 books, and my sister with 18 books.

I’ll write the next few lines in a Q&A format, ’cause I know you’re wondering how my panganay managed to reach his reading milestones this early.

‘Wow! 710 books? How did Z do it?”

Z is 9 years old and he’s a fast reader. I let him read at least 1-3 books or ebooks everyday. When we don’t have Epic! (for instances that we stopped subscribing for a while) I let him read a book from our bookshelf.

Length of books varies from 15-30 minutes then up to a few hours for comics and adventure books as mentioned in this link https://www.facebook.com/AllYouCanBooks/. Z started with 15-20 minutes. When he finally developed his own reading habit, he can read for hours. Pero kapag ebooks, he takes a break every 30 minutes.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BhdA9bWHB92/

“How come N only finished 53 books?”

N and my panganay’s learning skills are polar opposites. N has Autism and [he could also have] ADHD. His short attention span is a real challenge for me because most of the time I need to embrace him while we read so he won’t run away. He would also deliberately switch apps to Pinkfong or YouTube whenever he likes it.

I choose Read-to-Me books for N because it’s like he’s watching a kiddie video. Most special kids are visual learners so I choose books that are visually-appealing. I also set his age to 2-3 due to his developmental delays. He won’t be able to understand books for his age (6) yet.

For kids with other disabilities, Epic! has Read-To-Me collections, videos, and audiobooks.

“Do you select the books or do you allow your kids to pick?”

I select books for N because since he’s obsessed with the Alphabet, he will be choosing alphabet books over and over again, and according to his OT teacher, we should try to lessen his repetitive behaviors.

Sometimes I let Z choose what to read. Epic! is kid-friendly so there are no topics na off-limits. Epic! also sends a weekly reading log in my email kaya I can regularly check the titles that he finished. Kapag nakikita ko na puro comic books na lang binabasa, that’s the time I ASSIGN BOOKS to him.

“What book categories do you recommend for kids?”

I suggest that kids read a wide variety of books. In Epic!, while setting up your kids’ profile, you can choose kung anong book preference ng anak mo. It’s actually good to start with the topics na interesado siya especially when your child is just starting to form a reading habit. But as time goes by, you need to introduce books from other topics as well.

Z’s interests are Science & Technology and Humor. He would definitely read a book or two under that collection in a heartbeat. So ang ginagawa ko, I explore the library for other interesting books and assign thoe books to him. I regularly assign books about Autism to help him fully understand hi brother’s condition & books that teach good morals to help build his character.

Be observant of what’s “current” in your child’s life. There will be times that your child will struggle in one subject or topic in school, so for that I suggest that you search for books under that subject or topic.

Or for example, if your child had a bad experience recently, search for related books in Epic! so you can help him cope.

“How much is an Epic! Books for Kids Subscription?”

USD $7.99 or PhP 415 per month. Unlimited access, no ads, no in-app purchases, and up to 4 profiles (4 kids).

The good news is, if it’s your first time to register, they have a 30-day FREE trial. You can cancel anytime.

They also have frequent season sales so follow their Facebook page for Epic! promo codes. We were able to avail this Fall Sale USD $5 or PhP 260 for 2 months. Again, you’re free to cancel your subscription anytime you want if you don’t want to get charged for the next month.

“Do you prefer eBooks over real books?”

“No one is greater than the other.” Same with how I see ebooks and print. I love books, especially the old ones na may captivating distinctive smell. But ebooks are also great because they’re environment-friendly (yes, when it comes to going paperless and no, due to the fact that an e-book reader or a tablet is an environmental waste) and they are convenient to use.

A word of caution lang for parents who let their kids use gadgets for long periods of time. Take it from me.. my eldest is already using graded lenses. Mahilig talaga siya magbasa, magcomputer, at manood ng TV when he was younger. So now we have a restriction na kahit pa ebooks yung binabasa niya –not more than 30 minutes a day for screen time (especially for toddlers) and take breaks in between.

The husband is now a reader too (finaaaaaaaaallllly hahaha) pero non-fiction ang gusto niya (again, opposites na naman kami!) 🙂 He also blogs about the books he read (of course I proofread, pero hindi lagi) 🙂

As a reading advocate, I hope this blog post of mine inspired you to start a reading program for your kids.

Published: 2019-10-03 15:18:16