Do you read? Do your children see you reading, not just with them but as something you do and value?
If you read newspapers, magazines and books regularly, your children will learn that reading is a valued activity. Children are natural mimics. They will notice what you do about reading, not just what you say about it.
It's simply not enough to tell children to read while you plop down on the couch for another marathon evening with the TV or VCR. Books and reading must have a valued place in your own life for your children to learn good reading habits.