Love to writing is a great thing for kids and teens. Writing on a regular basis develops creativity, motor function and, naturally, writing skill itself. Many kids struggle not with only learning how to write, but with the understanding of why they need it so much and with actual enjoying it. Having worked as a teacher for some time, I realized that kids don’t like being forced to love writing. They do need a push, but it has to be a push, not a kick. I have several tips for parents on how to give that impetus to your kids.

Love to writing comes out of love to reading

Many kids learn to read before they learn to write. Even before they know how to read, they may be excited about it because you read to them. The point is to read to your kids often and to make them fall in love with different stories and with books in general. Often it brings to a desire to create those magically written worlds on their own and kids show interest in writing after all.

Explain the practical benefits of writing

There are many life situations when your kids can see the benefits of writing. When you create a shopping list, write Happy Birthday words on a cake, sign some documents when receiving a package, etc., you can tell your kids that it all wouldn't be possible without the ability to write. You can also come up with hypothetic yet inspiring situations to encourage your kids to write more. For example, you can tell them that if they became famous tomorrow, they would need to write autographs and letters back to their fans. Situations can be different; the most important thing is to evoke the interest and to show that going through life without writing is not an option.

You can motivate a bit older kids with job opportunities that creative writing opens. It is even better if you can bring life examples of you or people you know. You can tell them how your sister won a scholarship by writing the best essay; how you were able to freelance when you were raising kids and how your writing skills helped you progress and quickly create great papers; how your friend wrote a creative letter to the owner of Adidas, Google or some other cool brand and got the job, etc.

Make the learning fun

If your kids only learn how to write, you can be creative and turn the whole process into a fun activity. Don't make them just sit for hours and do the boring exercises (well, don't ignore them at all, too). When you go to a beach, for example, you can practice writing on the sand. When there are a rainy weather and lots of mud, you can put on your raincoats and go write words on the garden mud. When you are at home, there are also many ways to be creative. You can spray shaving cream on some surface and write words there. Or you can use your imagination when cooking and ask your little one to draw words on cream, ketchup or any other watery food. The nice benefit here is that your little kid can also enjoy licking their fingers after that; kids tend to love it (make sure they don’t do it with the mud, though).

Come up with creative assignments

Of course, your kids get enough tasks and assignments at school. Occasionally, you can add something different to that list. For example, ask your kids to write a letter to their favorite cartoon character, create a list of the things they want for their next birthday in an essay form, write a speech that they would say if they were selected a president, etc. The assignments may depend on your kids' interest and level of writing skills.

Support and encourage

Naturally, your kids won't enjoy writing if you yell at them for making mistakes and criticize everything they write. When you see there is a problem with spelling, realize that you need to teach them instead of blaming their school teachers or saying your kids are stupid. Encourage their every attempt to write and reward their progress in any possible way.

Create books or albums out of your kids’ works

You can publish small books or albums containing your kids’ writing. Maybe it’ll motivate them to write more and to create a real book someday. Besides, it will be a great memory for you to look at when your kids are older.

No matter if you are a teacher or a parent wanting your kids to love writing, hopefully, these tips can help. My teaching experience tells me that kids can learn and do anything if you teach them right. The main rules are to love writing yourself and not to be lazy with your teaching techniques.