5 Ways to Keep Your Child Reading this School Year
If you’re like me then you don’t love to read. Yes, I said it – I do not love reading. But if your daughter is like me then I know there are days you feel like pulling your hair out.
Reading is such an important part of learning and schooling that it’s impossible to avoid. I’ve been lucky that both my girls do love reading; my boy was a different story.
Thankfully, he survived his distaste for reading throughout high school and has embraced it (more) in college. But that didn’t come without some peak parenting lessons on my part. And these five things I’m sharing are ways I helped my boy embrace reading and how I keep my girls loving it.
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Skip the Novels
Let’s face it. The last thing a kid the doesn’t like to read is going to do is pick up a book. And that’s OK. Move more toward the type of material they’ll enjoy.
Current recommendations are for children to read 15-20 minutes straight per day. If your son likes Highlights (do they even still publish those?) let him read that. If your daughter loves pop culture get her a magazine subscription.
Do what you can to get them reading regularly. It won’t hurt his/her potential SAT score. I promise.
Watch The Movie
When I was a child my father insisted that I read the book Sounder. I was not interested, at all. I don’t even like dogs. And a book about sharecropping wasn’t really my cup of tea.
But when I discovered the movie, my interest in the story piqued. The same could be true for your young readers.
With such an extensive list of movies that have recently been adapted from Young Adult books, there’s a good chance your son or daughter may be willing to learn more about it by picking up the book.
Start a Series
Who doesn’t love a good sequel? Following the story of a beloved character is great way to encourage continued reading. Start a series with several books, like Dork Diaries, to keep your daughter coming back for more.
Trevone was in elementary school when Diary of a Wimpy Kid was first released. And even though the school librarian was not in favor of the series, Trevone loved them. And now Alexandra keeps his collection. She even pre-orders the new releases through her school book fair. She always excited to see what Greg’s up to now.
Give Books As Gifts
The year I left my corporate job Harold and I made a commitment to cut back on our spending. We loosely adopted the 4 gift Christmas plan: something you want, something you need, something to wear, and something to read. When we started viewing books as gifts our children got more joy in receiving them.
Read It With Them
I already told you that I don’t really like reading, for pleasure at least. I would much rather listen to pleasure books on Audible. So when I started listening to Trevor Noah’s Born A Crime the kids began to enjoy it as well. So we listened together.
After listening to a chapter we’d discuss what was said regarding the social or political impact. Sometimes we’d just laugh hysterically at what Trevor had to say. But we all enjoyed the process of “reading” a book together. And you can too.
How will you help encourage your reader?