(NewsUSA) – The first nine years of a child’s life are the most critical for learning how to read. In fact, national research estimates that 74 percent of poor readers who aren’t helped before age nine will continue having difficulties in high school, and only two percent will go on to complete a four-year degree.

“Besides being the foundation of communication and most kinds of classroom-based learning, reading skills give children a confidence and advantage that benefits them long after they finish school. And for those who actually enjoy reading? The rewards are endless,” says Richard Bavaria, Ph.D. (Dr. Rick) from tutoring service and education expert, Sylvan Learning.

To encourage parents to renew their efforts to get children and young adults interested in reading, the experts at Sylvan are taking a few pages out of Dr. Seuss’s many dog-eared books. Check out these Seuss-inspired reading tips for the could-be avid readers in your family.

Oh say, can you say? Reading aloud with your children is just as vital as you always heard. For toddlers and young kids, reading aloud with exaggerated voices and silly noises helps keep them interested and excited. For older children and young adults, getting them to read aloud builds confidence in their reading abilities.

One book, two books, red books, blue books. Most people love collecting valued items, children included. Support efforts to create their own library, and help them find new books to add to the collection. Turn trips to the grocery store or Goodwill into a treasure hunt for new books.

And to think that you saw that word on Mulberry Street. Car rides are ideal times to learn new words because you and your kids are being bombarded with new phrases and vocabulary around every curve. From billboards to street signs, new words are everywhere!

Oh, the places you’ll go! Let the Internet guide you. If your nine-year-old refuses to read anything other than horse books, what better place to find a reading list of age-appropriate horse books? Interactive websites like Book Adventure — www.bookadventure.com — allow kids to choose their own books and take short quizzes for prizes.

My book… By me myself. Challenge your kids by asking them to write their own stories with their own illustrations. It increases their familiarity with words and encourages creativity.

Learn more about getting kids to explore the vast world of reading, including more Seuss tips, at www.sylvanlearning.com.