Parent to Parent: Reading with your kids

WSVN -- Julian Gorelick loves to jam out on his drums, create masterpieces with his crayons,

Julian Gorelick: "I got one!

Deborah Sherman-Gorelick: "High 5! Awesome!"

And play with his mom!

Julian Gorelick: "All tall we are all tall."

But what this five year old looks forward to everyday is reading.

Julian Gorelick: "Hop on Pop, Go Dog Go, Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham."

His mom says reading was always a big part of her life growing up.

Deborah Sherman-Gorelick: "Because I could take a book into my room, close the door, and disappear into another place for hours and hours."

She wanted Julian to share the same love of books, so she read to him when he was a little baby until he started to read on his own.

Deborah Sherman-Gorelick: "What word is that?

Julian Gorelick: "Out!"

Deborah Sherman-Gorelick: "Very good!"

But she admits it's not always easy.

Deborah Sherman-Gorelick: "It's like trying to get your child to eat a vegetable, sometimes it's much more difficult than you would like it to be."

7's parenting expert Dr. Valerie Goode says reading is a natural process and should never be forced.

Dr. Valerie: "Remember that reading has to be enjoyable, you're not the teacher, you're not going to ask them to repeat it verbatim back to you."

Dr. Val says make reading part of their daily routine so it's something they look forward to. Switch off who reads- one night you read to them, the next they read to you. And make sure there's always a book within reach!

Dr. Goode: "There should be books everywhere in your house, everywhere you look, you want to have some type of little library, in the bathroom in the car."

Julian has his own library set up in his room!

Julian Gorelick: "It's right under my bed!"

So he can grab his favorite books anytime he wants!

Deborah Sherman-Gorelick: "We found books that interested him based on colors, based on sounds, based on rhymes."

Another good tip- Deborah says pick your favorite childhood book and read it to them!

Deborah Sherman-Gorelick: "Find the book you have the connection with and then you can share that story with your child."

Julian has his own advice to those reluctant readers.

Julian Gorelick: "What's your favorite type of animal, what's your favorite type of anything? If you have a book like that then just go get it and just read some words that you can know."

(Copyright 2011 by Sunbeam Television Corp. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)