Any tips on getting my 13 year old DD to read more?

[Yourinmyspot]

DD who is 13 only reads when she has to for school. She never reads for pleasure. I’ve tried to get her to read more but she’s just not interested. Has anyone got their reluctant child to read more?

Has anyone got any good book recommendations. She has read a couple of the Lottie Brooks books as she has to do a book report every term for school. She seemed to enjoy those.

I have a 12 yr old foster granddaughter and she sounds like your DD. This week, she has just started to read a novel alongside listening to the audible book. I would never have thought of doing it, but she is reading a book for pleasure for the first time in 2 years!

In discussion with her set a reading time (where screens are not allowed).

I would have thought Lottie brooks is abit young for her. I would suggest taking to book shop (we’ve always found Waterstones fab for this) and getting her to chat to the staff about what she might like.

what sort of tv does she watch? (For genres)

Mine read then got a phone! No reading since,

Only if you take away her screen time.

reading for enjoyment is a self-discipline that doesn't come easily to everyone. I would try a few different things, such as finding out what genre she likes and looking for similar authors. Maybe see if your local library or bookshop has any free events going on during the summer, such as a book club or talks with authors. If there are any influencers/celebs she follows, see if they have any books they have written or would recommend. Maybe an incentive that she can have an extra 20 minutes before bed if it to read. Could she have a few friends round one day during the summer holidays to maybe do a book swap if they all bring a book from home they have read and do a switch, or have their book club/review of something they have all read? Could you create a space in her room for reading, like a little tent, or some pillows and a nice light, and a bookshelf/case. Lastly, does she see the rest of the household making time to sit and read? It is easier for this type of thing to be caught, not taught.

Audio books, graphic novels, comics - a book series they enjoy.

DD1 liked How to teach your dragons/ Goth Girl series - greek myths as graphic novels series - Lucy Worsley did some chidlren/teen books that she rad at that age. She struggled with reading so also got dyslexia friendly style books - some she liked some not - she like Jane Austin and other classics as audio books/plays.

DD2 - compeltely different style of books - much more YA style. We go round waterstones and she take photo long lists to get for birthday/christmas. Not many classics TBH.

DS - comics then graphic novels - some classic retold - then terry practhet,Douglas Adams more straight sci fi - then break then more non fiction books and now YA books like DD2.

DD2 did like Dracula daily - also https://theweekjunior.co.uk/ though by 13/14 I think we were stopping it as she was reading it less.

In my experience, a lot of 13yos fall out of love with books at that sort of age. They're in secondary school, their world is growing rapidly, and there are more "real life" things to take up their time (rightly) than reading. Or if they are still reading, they're reading books intended for younger children for comfort/predictability.

I was a real bookworm as a kid, but then fell out of love with reading between the ages of about 12 and 16. Re-discovered my enjoyment of it in my later teens, and from then on always had a book on the go. I read about 25-35 books a year, depending on what else is going on in my life.

There's not much really that you can do to encourage a reluctant reader. Do you read a lot? Are you modelling regular reading for pleasure? If you're not, you can hardly expect your child to do the same. Just keep taking her to book shops and libraries, and follow her interests.

Take away screens.

Recommendations:
Good girls guide to murder
A murder most unladylike
All the boys I knew
Harry Potter
The fault in our stars
Teacher's dead
I who have never known men
The school of good and evil
The Hunger Games

I accepted that mine doesn’t want to read a lot at this stage and I’m happy that she has picked her own hobbies.

Some people don’t enjoy reading and they will enjoy it even less if it’s pushed onto them.

My ds is a bit older now (16) but he prefers to read non-fiction books, or listen to fiction audiobooks. He’s not a big reader of fiction in book form. Whenever we go to London, his first port of call is usually Hatchards - even though our local bookshops do have much of what he ends up buying. So maybe find a lovely shop to take her to, and explore non-fiction alongside the fiction options?

We didn't take screens away though it may help - though did find you tube channels like and watched them as family before they all started disappreaing up to their rooms as much.

https://www.overlysarcasticproductions.com/

Which ignited interets in greek/roman myths some history and did summaries of some books and encouraged eldest to think about story structure - trope talks and writing herself as a hobby. They still watch them now.

DD1 also like Freakanonics book - and then found their podcast.

Audio books are good as they can paint/sew do other things in room and listen.

We've tended to find decent you tube channels so kids have picked up wider information there - so don't tend to demonise screen time - and some of them or podcast recommend books the kids then want.

They are all readers in late teens early adulthood - just kept buying books thought they may like and try and kept them interested despite struggling with reading and despite hitting exciting teen years.

DD has re-started reading and I accidentally got her back into it through a light psychological thriller by Shari Lapena which I read on holiday and then she started when we were stuck in an airport for several hours. It’s not the best written/edited book ever but its a page turner and, whilst dark things happen, there’s nothing too graphic - the sex scene was referenced by the female character sitting up & pulling the sheet over her naked body; a child was kidnapped & locked in a cellar but taken plenty of meals & a glass of milk. DD has since read a few more books by her, is currently reading Someone is Lying by Heidi Perks (similar) and has also read some by Antony Horowitz. I try & read at least one or two books by the author first to get a feel for their style and then read reviews to understand if there’s going to be any scenes of violence or sexual assault.

Does she see you read, are their books in the house? I would join a library but honestly if she doesn’t live in a house where others read why would she.

The problem is though that continuing to read throughout teenage years increases grades at GCSE. The average reading age in UK is 9-11yrs old (that includes adults) so it's actually imperative to encourage teens to continue to read.
DDs secondary school has a whole school reading hour every week, the whole school has a full lesson of reading each week because they understand the importance of it.

Not everyone likes reading. Why does she need to read more?

Out of interest, what does she say if you ask her why she doesn’t like reading?

This. I'm not a fan of reading either and never was. Trying to encourage a seemingly unappealing pastime is counter-productive and somewhat disrespectful of that person.

Do you read in front of them or get on with chores or go on your phone when you want them to read?
you could try paying them £5 per book read or having phones locked up and only given back after half an hour of reading

Does she have a school librarian? They always know what is on their shelves and are great at pairing people with books.

Join local library

Can also borrow audio books, music

Some libraries have toys to borrow too

My dd was never keen on reading. She did read a few of the YA things like The Hunger Games, and I carried on reading to her into her early teens - Discworld mostly by then. But she did read various nonfiction books, some of the entertaining mathsy ones for instance. Also we took her to the theatre to see Shakespeare - English lit killed that stone dead for a few years unfortunately .(they’re plays fgs…why read something intended to be watched for pleasure?)
now she’s a young adult she’s started reading a bit… old fashioned murder mysteries such as Sherlock Holmes and Morse, as well as more nonfiction.

What films does she like? There’s books like Angus thongs and princess diaries which are well known. Is she on tik tok? There’s a book section on there (not sure on ages though)

Have you spoken to her about what reading is like for her? My husband is a non-reader although he loves listening to podcasts and non-fiction audio books. I am a bookworm and love nothing more than getting stuck into a new novel. We chatted recently about why he doesn't enjoy reading and it turns out that when he reads, he just sees words on a page. His mind does not conjure up images or scenes or the faces of the characters. He also believes that he is mildly dyslexic and reading requires a huge amount of focus from him. He doesn't find reading entertaining, but rather a bit of a slog. On the other hand, when I read I see images in my mind like a movie playing. It makes total sense to me why I love it and he sees it as a chore.

Reading is brilliant for expanding the vocabulary, learning and challenging ones own world view, but this doesn't have to mean reading fiction. If for whatever reason your daughter just isn't entertained by reading fiction, perhaps she could try audio books and/or some non-fiction titles. Maybe starting with familiar and interesting subjects and expanding into other themes.

Dd13 used to read a lot but lately not so much. We went to a holiday where in first part we stayed in cottage without electricity. No phones or telly. Both started to read. Second place had electricity but they didn’t have they phones so they read.

i think we got dd back to reading.

Op what about graphic novels or anime? Could she have a look in her library and maybe pick something out that looks interesting? No worries if she doesn't like it.....