Anyone have a successful DC who never picks up a book?

I don't think reading is some sort of miracle indicator of future successful adulthood. I come from a family of big readers on my paternal side and the only reasonable conclusion I can draw is that too much reading prevents humans from normal maturation and integration into society! It's important to participate in Real Life, not lose yourself in a fictional world.

Thank you for this thread OP and for all the people who've contributed with positive posts. My DD2 still struggles with reading (age 10), and though she can do it now, its hard work and so not enjoyable. Obviously I try not to but inevitably worry that this will hold her back from achieving her full potential elsewhere. So thank you for this, it really helps.

My DS1 read avidly as a small boy but pretty much stopped reading by the time he was a teen. I have an English degree and can't understand not reading for pleasure so I try my best to entice him. I've got him to read a few novels that might be said to be at the boundaries of taste e.g. American Psycho, The Wasp Factory, The Cement Garden in circumstances of remote holidays with no wifi, but it never translates to any ongoing enthusiasm. He has straight A* in his GCSEs and is now in Y13 with an Oxbridge offer for Maths. Two of his A levels are German and Politics so assume he has read something at some point. His set text for German is The Reader, but I'm not even sure he has read that in translation though he has definitely read the original a good many times.

It's such a shame. I remember him as a Y7 getting his MFL teacher to read The Book Thief because he loved it so much and her saying both the book and the way she came to read it would always stay with her.

My other 2 DC are less academic (good enough for me not to worry, but not Oxbridge material) and they both read for pleasure every single day.

He might in later life Bonsoir.

My DH never read as a child or teen or young adult. I remember him being shocked by all my book cases when we first met .

And slowly he began to read. And now is voracious. Reads two or three books a week of catholic taste. He's currently got his nose in the new Donna Tartt...

My DSSs are not readers - I doubt DSS1 has ever read a book for pleasure in his life! He's 19, French and reading Economics at Bristol University and is right at the top of his year group. DSS2 read a bit more for pleasure as a child than DSS1. He is frighteningly clever and performing way ahead of DSS1 in the same subjects at the same school at a comparable point in time.

I think it depends what other things a person does instead of reading.

If a person'a life is full of different activities and experiences, then they can still be successful (though I would say there would always be a hole ).

That said, I would say that even if a student doesn't read for pleasure per se, they still need to be able to read extensively and take in large amounts of material when necessary. And this is a skill that needs honing!

DP just doesn't read at all. He doesn't enjoy it, he gets bored and would rather go for a run.

He did an engineering degree and now is really successful in his job, having spent the past 7 years travelling with work. He's lived and worked in 8 countries and had the time of his life.

And still hasn't read a bloody book.

Buy them a kindle it has worked wonders with my children.

gardenfeature a holiday with no tv or wifi plus the hunger games books could be worth a try
Careful what you wish for though...I've got nobody to watch tv with anymore!!!

Do not despair! DD only ever read what she had to read for her studies, she never read for pleasure (unlike DS who always had his nose in a book). I always thought it was partly due to having a lot of other commitments- swimming , dance, instruments, orchestras and choirs. if she had any free time she would sit in front of the tv watching ghastly American teen rubbish However, she got 10 A gcses, 5 A grade A levels (before A) and a top degree from Oxford.
She now reads one or two books a year, whilst on holiday.

DCs are at university - one a medical student, other a course which involves reading a lot of scientific papers and books.
Both never got into reading except maybe on holiday when they were older - and then it tended to be fairly trashy. They both got A*/A grade at GCSE English.
IMO it is more the standard of English teaching, DC both did loads of comprehension at school and so knew how to read a text and understand it.

This thread is pleasing to read .

My DD never reads fiction. She'll sometimes browse through history or biology books, but that's it. She's on the G&T register at her school for English, and I can never understand why given her lack of reading!

Mind you I can't talk. I read fiction as a child, but don't now (have tons of philosophy books though!) by the time I did my A level English, I'd stopped reading, so quite how I managed to get a grade B when I never actually read any of the set texts in full, I'll never know!

I still can't read fiction, it just seems such a waste of time to me. I love factual books though as does DD and I'd say she's quite knowledgable for her age.

I do not read for pleasure never have, can't stand fiction books. Never read as a child and my mother was often told I lacked imagination!!

I did just fine, never even read the book for my English literature exam at GCSE and still got a B!

I do fine career wise, I think some people just can't get lost in a story. I have never been able to do it. I can read factual books however if I find the subject matter of interest but I could probably count on my hands the number of novels I have read in my lifetime.

Depends if Twilight counts as reading?

My older dyslexic DD1 is always reading, every imaginable teen fantasy world.

DD2, who is very good at English, has read a few of her sisters books, but mostly reread a Twilight.

Any suggestion that they read something more intellectual is met with blank stares.

DH (who went to Oxbridge) reads books with Maths graphs and circuit diagrams, not fiction.

Everyone I know who doesn't read, or didn't as a child, has a really poor grasp of grammar, punctuation and spelling. It drives me mad. Whether there's any correlation between reading and overall academic ability I don't know but it definitely helps in the real world if you have a solid reading ability behind you.

MillyMollyMama - that's an interesting opinion. May I ask- do you have any special skills or experience that could back it up?

It's a moot point really now, as the universities he applied to seem very keen to have him, with or without the prolific reading, but I'd be interested to know.

Garden I have a family (adults and children) of avid readers. we all derive great pleasure from all sorts of reading (fiction and non-fiction). However, I'm not sure there's a direct correlation between reading and writing. In the case of my children, I think writing skill ("technical" ie punctuation, structure, etc -- and creative) lags far behind reading ability. Writing is adequate, but definitely not on a par with reading. (A round-about way of saying that your son could develop into a competent writer without being an exceptional reader.)

As much as I myself value books, I think it is entirely possible for children to become successful academically and, eventually, in their careers provided they are given a broad exposure to the kinds of information, ideas, creativity etc that other children might get through books.

DS3 never seems to read anything beyond the bare minimum he can get away, didn't even read his set texts for his AS exam! DS1 is now finishing his history degree and is very proud, with himself, that he hasn't read a single book. As somebody who loves reading it leaves me a bit

Shodan. I think not reading will cause him huge problems when doing a History degree at Bristol. Also writing essays at a University like Bristol is very different from the spoon fed ones at school. I think any literature/research degree will be more difficult for someone who is not a great reader as it will take much longer to acquire the information.

How old is your ds? My dyslexic 14 year old suddenly and unexpectedly turned into a book worm after the Hunger Games film came out...the future may suprise you!

I refused to read 'story books' as a child.

I didn't see the point in 'reading lies'.

My parents were very concerned, of course.

I did read, just atlases, encyclopedias, magazines etc.

I was never good at English lit at school, scraping a pass at higher.

But I was an a grade pupil at everything else, including history which I did at a Russell group Uni.

Yet another non-reading DS here. He has dyspraxia and processing problems, finds reading difficult & unenjoyable and so doesn't do it voluntarily.
Despite that he got good-enough GCSEs (pre diagnosis), good A Levels (post diagnosis) in essay based subjects and is studying a Humanities degree.
Has your DS been giving coping strategies eg mine was told Read The Question - several times until you fully comprehend it (he gets extra time in exams for this sort of thing).
Despite his reading problems, DS is very good verbally. Don't forget to praise the things your DS is good at.

Depends what you mean by successful. My DS1 never reads fiction. He reads magazines about cars and computers but that is it. He got A levels, dropped out of University and is coming to the end of his 2nd year of an engineering apprenticeship. Doing very well and thoroughly enjoying it.

DS3 does not read at all. Didn't do A levels. Working in the CS and hoping to get a promotion soon.