My kid, soon to be 9, is NOT a reader. Believe it or not, I am sick and tired of asking her to read. She is just reluctant to read. What she likes? Playing with a ball, running, playing tag with her friends, riding her bike, watching cartoons on her tablet, …
Anyone with similar experience? If your kiddo is NOW an avid reader, let me know please what you did to make them a reader. That would be highly highly appreciated.
by Vegetable_Tangerine8
6 Comments
Do you read to her?
Starting with comics or manga might help, or audiobooks. Getting engaged in alternative forms of storytelling other than cartoons or tv shows or movies might be the “gateway” drug for reading for her.
There’s a lot of reasons someone might not like reading at that age. It may be difficult for her to find subject matter she likes and relates to. It may be harder for her than she lets on. It may be hard for her to sit down and do it. Reading is supposed to be fun, not a chore. There’s no point in forcing her, which definitely wouldn’t encourage her.
If she has specific interests in media though, people could recommend books in that vein. You said she watches Cartoons, not all cartoons are the same.
A book my brother and I loved around her age was called Lioness Rampant by Tamara Pierce, but if she doesn’t have great reading skills (yet) it might be too much for her.
You could try taking her to a library or book store and letting her look around and literally pick some books up based on what their cover is like.
What her friends are into might also help. You could ask their parents what they are reading, and suggest to your daughter it’s popular among her friends.
A really good way to encourage behavior is with rewards. Reading may not be an inherent reward right now, but there’s a reason they do sticker charts and things in school. If you want to encourage it as a habit you could set up an arrangement where if she reads like 3 books you buy her something she wants.
It’s important not to force anything though, and including reading books she doesn’t like.
Do you like to read? Maybe there’s books you can read together– but if you aren’t a reader it’s gonna be hard to encourage her while you watch TV or whatever else.
If she has a tablet, you can install a dictionary into the e-reader and if she’s unfamiliar with a word she can literally click it to learn the meaning (based on another comment of yours that I saw).
Talk to her also. Ask her about the book. Ask her what she thinks about it. Engage with her to get her to engage.
As a child my niece had a horrible time learning to read. At 8 she was really struggling. I used to let her read to me. I would sit down with her, let her go at her own pace, non judgemental, and only offer help if she asked for it. She read a bunch of books really quickly.
It’s okay to read picture books and comics too. Those can be gateways. At 10 I was reading Manga, comics, Stephen King, goosebumps, and picture books. Love of reading manifests in a lot of ways.
You can stay up past your bedtime as long as you’re in bed reading a book.
I dont have a child but when I was little I used to really hate reading. I guess I just didn’t like being made to read and the books they make us read at school were boring so I assumed all books were bad and boring.
When I was 14, my friend handed me this book and ask that I should read it (eventhough i told her i hate reading). Not wanting to disappoint her (also I guess it was also kind of like peer pressure lol), I figured I might as well try since it was my friend that asked. I ended up really loving the book and requested to borrow the rest of the series from her. After that, the first few years, I became like a sponge wanting to read more books that interests me.
Now, I can say I love reading! What I want to say is that sometimes all it takes is one good book that your kid will love for them to love reading. And I don’t think it should be forced because that may deter her. It should be something she’s willing to do on her own.
Idk how you’d do this artificially (without being coercive) but… my family lived in a rural area without cable TV or video games beyond Frogger and Oregon Trail haha. When you’re a curious kid and the alternative is boredom…