How to encourage reluctant readers
Encouraging kids to read is not as hard as you might think.
In a nutshell: Kids are motivated by their own interests-if they find reading fun, they will read.
While this may seem like an over-simplified idea, working with thousands of kids – including my own two boys, it has been my experience 95% of the time.
If your kids do not already love to read, we’ve got you! It’s never too late to grow a reader.
There are many ways to encourage reluctant readers and we’ve got a bunch of them in this post. Read thru them and pick one or two ways you think will encourage your kiddo the most.
I realize now that I was already doing lots of great stuff with my kids, laying the foundation for future voracious readers.
1. Take away the pressure
The pressure for kids to read at an incredibly early age is real – and ridiculous.
Reading happens according to one’s own very unique development, not by a universal age or grade. Many kids are just not ready to read at 4 or 5-with some not really starting until 7 or 8. They just need a little extra time to develop and catch up to their peers.
Older kids who don’t yet love to read, certainly do not need any extra anxiety-producing pressure. More likely than not, they just have not been given the right opportunities or discovered the right reading material. Keeping your attitude about reading light and fun will do wonders for getting your kids hooked.
2. Make reading a daily habit
When you work reading into your daily rhythm, it will not take long before it just becomes something your kids do, without even thinking.
It’s easier to create a habit if you link it to another habit. Try reading during snack time, after dinner, or before bath time. In our family we read for about 30 to 45 minutes before lights off every night. We have been doing it for as long as I can remember.
You must make time to do this….That means if you are over scheduled, you need to give something up. Most kids need to have time when screens are not an option, in order to pick up a book.
For kids who have a hard time putting down a screen, I recommend reading an old fashioned book, rather than using a kindle or ipad to read a book.(In fact, I recommend this to anyone.) There will be less temptation to start playing a game.
3. visit different libraries.
Its always fun to take a little trip to a nearby town and visit their library. Find out which libraries are in your local library’s network and then, you can even check out books.
However, even if you can’t checkout books, it’s always fun to take a look around. Check out their kids section–maybe they have an extra cozy area to read or a big fish tank to look at. These visits are perfect for a rainy day or when you need a break from bad weather.
4. Give Your kids a book light.
Booklights are super fun – even if your kids don’t stay up late. Kids can make a fort and read under a blanket covered table or couch cushion hideaway during the day.
I don’t mind if my kids stay up late, if they are reading! I make sure their book lights are fully charged.
This amber one won’t harm your kid’s natural circadian rhythm.
5. Get your child to love stories
When kids get hooked on stories, they are more likely to pick up a book themselves. Here are a few ways you can go about getting your kids to love stories:
Read aloud to them
No matter what age your kids are, they will enjoy listening to a book. Kids become interested in the story and often beg you to read more. Sharing a story together connects you as a family and cements their love of stories even more.
Once kids are able to read on their own, we often think there is no need to read aloud to them. Quite the contrary –
My kids favorite read alouds: The Green Ember, Hank the Cowdog, Winnie the Pooh, The Wind in the Willows, James Herriot’s Animal Stories for Children
Reading with your kids – even tweens and teens – is a great way to form a lasting bond and instill a love of books.
Listen to audio books
Audio books are a great way for struggling readers to get hooked on stories. Kids can listen and understand stories on a higher reading level than they can read themselves. (Bonus! They’ll be exposed to lots of new vocabulary.)
When kids listen to books, they can just enjoy the story – there is no decoding going on. Kids who have not caught the reading bug yet often spend so much time decoding the text that they can’t focus on the story.
We love Audible for the ease….we can listen to just about any book anywhere, anytime.
Listening on an iPod is a great quiet, screenfree activity for older kids. The whole family can listen to audio books during road trips or on the way to school each morning.
Sneaking in 10 minutes a day can really have exponential results.
Our favorite audio stories: Farmer Boy, The Railway Children, Tru and Nelle, Mary Poppins, Shakespeare StarWars.
Listening to books does not replace learning to decode words and read, but it does go a long way in getting kids interested in stories, making them infinitely more likely to pick up a book on their own.
Try listening in the car or as a family. Check your local library for audiobooks, too.
6. Find a Little Free Library Near You
Little Free Libraries are sweeping the nation and they can be so fun!
Found outside schools, churches, and private homes, these miniature libraries offer books for free. It is customary to leave one and take one, so it’s a great way to recycle old books.
Check the Little Free Library Website for a location near you.
7. Put down the devices!
You have to make time for reading. Time without a device in sight.
(Yes, some people do read on devices, okay.)
But a lot of kids have little self control when it comes to devices. My boys rarely read on an iPad because they’d be playing a game on it in no time.
Encourage (this might look more like enforce) screen free time at your house – this means you, too – so kids will have the opportunity to pick up a book.
8. Take a field trip
Go someplace new with your kids. Spend a leisurely hour at an independent bookstore or Goodwill just looking at the books. I give my kids an allowance for books every month – read more on that HERE.
I have such great memories of going to an old fashioned magazine stand with my dad when I was young. We’d peruse for as long as I wanted and I’d always get to pick out a magazine to take home.
Expose your kid to lots of different kinds of reading material – magazines, digital books, printable pdfs….
9. Model Your Love of Reading
Kids who see their parents reading understand that reading is FUN and something many people CHOOSE to do in their spare time. Modeling a behavior is very powerful!!
Participate in a reading challenge yourself this summer. Make a reading bucket list for all to see!
Your kids are watching you – always. If they see you reading and enjoying a life filled with books, they are much more likely to follow suit.
Check books out of the library when your kids do, read in front of them, talk about how much you are loving (or not loving) your latest read.
Your kids reading life starts with YOU.
10. Create a cozy spot for reading
Mix it up during the year and create a few special places to read.
In warmer weather, bring a comfy chair outside or throw a bean bag in the yard.
In cooler weather, create a cozy fort inside with a special book light.
Try a hammock outside, a fun floaty for the pool, or a tent you can set up indoors and out.
My kids love their FatBoy Lamzacs, because it can be used inside and out, as pictured above.
11. Put away incentive charts and gold stars
Rewarding kids for a desired behavior actually backfires and totally kills intrinsic motivation. Children who are rewarded for reading will end up doing less reading in the end.(Alfie Kohn’s book is a must read!)
Reading, itself, is the reward. The goal is for kids to learn that reading is fun!
12. Strew interesting books around
Entice your kids by placing interesting looking books around the house. Keep a basket by their bed, by the sofa, in the bathroom – anywhere they might sit for a spell.
I often pick books out at the library that I think look inviting. I find my kids are attracted to non-fiction books with lots of great images, like the Dorling Kindersley Eyewitness series.
My kids still love Stephen Biesty’s Cross-Section Books .They sit for hours and pour over the pictures!
Over the years their tastes have changed and I have fun keeping
Overwhelmed with all these ideas?
Which idea sounds like it would bring you and your child the most joy?
Start with that one, for sure.
Kids who see reading as a fun pastime are the ones who will stick with it. Period.
