Parents everywhere want meaningful and relevant ways to get their kids reading and learning every day.

Luckily, we have a great solution right here in Alameda with the Alameda Sun.

You may be surprised at how interested your children become in the news once you start reading it regularly. A local paper can provide context to some of the conversations they here throughout their day and with the variety of articles in a single newspaper, you can bet that children will find something that speaks to them.

Being exposed to nonfiction allows kids to become familiar with a variety of genres, so newspaper reading will add to their reading repertoire and help mix things up a bit. Along with the children’s books and stories that many families read with regularity, newspapers will give children a chance to expand their reading skills with this slightly different genre.

Newspaper reading will help children stay in touch with the world around them. National events and local events, sports stories, and current news will keep kids enthralled. Many papers have a kids’ section with kid-friendly pieces, puzzles and comics.

Whether parents read the news stories to children or the kids are reading on their own, the newspaper can help children become better readers and listeners. Newspaper reading is a different style for kids that is worth chatting about as you read; usually the important information in news articles is shared in the beginning of the article, and the details and specifics can be skimmed through at the end of the article.

Some of the best — and even award-winning — photos are published in the daily newspaper. These photos are worth a million words and many of them tell multiple stories, are open for interpretation, and are true works of art. Giving your children access to these photos will open up a whole new world to them.

Newspaper reading has huge payoffs, and even if you try out a short-term subscription, I’m betting your children will be better for it. You may be surprised at how interested they become in the world around them, and they will be thrilled at the adventures that it holds.