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.

Eva Ibbotson wrote some excellent novels - each one funny, sad and in places serious - all written really engagingly and lightly. Might be worth trying one yourself and leaving it around? They are now marketed as young adult but I still enjoy rereading them.

For all the posters saying it doesn't matter about reading, you are simply wrong. Reading matters hugely and can influence GCSE grades plus oral fluency, sophistication of vocabulary etc.

It's really sad to see how many people place so little value on reading 😞

Libraries also provide I believe access to online magazines & newspapers

What about graphic comics too

Reading is good for developing a range of skills, but I don't think turning it into a battle by removing screens or dictating reading times is a great idea.

DS was a straight A-student in English but didn't particularly enjoy novels and still doesn't. You may find she'd be more into short stories or quality magazines/newspapers. DS enjoyed the weekend Sunday Times/Guardian magazines at that age.

Thanks for the advice, she just says ‘it’s boring’ if I ask her. I’ve tried to get her to read some books but anything I advise she’s not interested. It might be worth asking others to recommend books for her as she might take more notice of them.

There are lots of books in the house including several she could read. I read a lot and use the library all the time. I don’t want to force her, hopefully in time she might take it up a bit more.

Listen to your own advice @Yourinmyspot. If your daughter wants to read then she'll do it in her own time. Please don't project your own views on her.

FWIW, my Mum was often surprised and I think, mildly disappointed, that I didn't turn out to be a bookworm, in spite of me being a spirited storyteller when younger and achieving an A in O-level English Literature. But then all she read was Mills and Boon. That suited her but not me, ergo what suits you may not suit your daughter.

My daughter who is 14 and was very anti reading is now obsessed with the Shatter Me series and the Powerless series, as are all her friends.

The Outsiders is always my go to recommendation

My thirteen year old DS has been the same. His spelling and written English is suffering as he doesn’t see things written down.
In our case the problem is audiobooks and screens which are so low effort. We take devices out of his bedroom and have taken him to waterstones to their young adults section.

He has enjoyed the Hunger games books finally on holiday.

You are allowed to not like reading. I read all
the time, my sister has never read a book in her life, not even at school. Forcing her to read will make her hate it even more

The question is what is she doing with her spare time that makes reading appear rather dull? Gaming? Screen time? Unfortunately a book - often black and white small print - seems unable to compete with fast-paced colour and constant stimulation. If this is the case, let her “earn” her screen time by reading chapters daily eg one chapter gets her 20 mins of screen

Same

I would definitely take her to a nice big Waterstones which is an experience in itself and let her browse and see if anything captures her imagination. My kids think this is the best treat ever. I think what she has now probably might not be interesting her as my just turned 9 year old is currently on Lottie brooks so I don't imagine it would really catch the attention of someone your daughter's age.

Terrible idea. That will only make her see reading as a chore, which it should not be.

Definitely introduce audible. Maybe also try some books of tv or films she has seen. My eldest is autistic and a reluctant but very able reader. She had trouble picturing in her head and we only realised this later so she likes to read things she has seen to help with visualising the story.

You could also try graphic novels. My eldest doesn’t like those but my youngest loves them. She has read all the heart stopper graphic novels. She’s only just 13 but read them in y7. She doesn’t like reading things she’s seen on tv or watching things she’s read as it spoils what she’s has imagined. Her and her cousin loved the good girls guide to murder and follow up books. She r rad them last year when she was 12.

what helped with the eldest reluctant reader was a family reading time each day. Their school insists on 20 minutes a day logged into a diary and signed by parents then by teachers. They don accelerated reader quizzes at school which really helped the eldest with motivation as they earn points. We used to sit after dinner and read 20 minutes in silence together - separate books - and by me modelling reading this helped.

But, some people just aren’t readers. I’m not a reader but have realised more recently I need silence to take it in or I actually couldn’t tell you what I’ve read.

Finding a good series helps. 13 year old currently enjoys the ‘shatter me’ series.

Like so many things in a child’s life, the love of reading develops by seeing the parental (and generally adult) example. Lots of parents expect their children to be a bookworm but you never see these parents with a book in their hand when the child could see it and copy the behaviour. And at 13 it’s a bit late to start showing her the example. Not to mention that nowadays introducing screen and devices early on in a child’s life is not going to help.

OP says she’s an avid reader and is always at the library so I think that’s a bit unfair.

Ultimately reading is a hobby like any other - you can try and influence your kids as much as you like but at the end of the day you can’t force them to be interested in something.

It really doesn't matter what she reads or whether it is too young for her. The key is to find something she likes.
Just keep trying: E Nesbitt, Enid Blyton, Philip Pullman, Harry Potter, Nancy Drew, Alan Garner.... What did you like as a child? Are you a reader?
Finally got my boy to read on Famous Five and now Terry Pratchett

Yes. DDs primary had a ‘reading challenge’, with badges awarded - it was very much quantity rather than quality. It made reading akin to eating up your greens rather than a pleasure for her. They also had a book quiz in year 6 with questions on 4 set books. The head of English who ran this was rather obviously put out when it was DD who won this - she’d read, properly comprehended and retained the information. (Well, in the first round she hadn’t finished them all but was able to make some intelligent guesses…having got through that she ploughed on😂)

They can have an extra 30 mins extension on bedtime purely for reading? Read something they’ll enjoy to them and leave them to carry on after they’ve gone to bed? Tricky at 13, I wouldn’t worry as long as they can read fluently and have good comprehension of what they’ve read, not everyone enjoys reading.

Read with her. Pick a book you’ll both like and take it in turns to read a page each. Make it a special thing you do together. (English teacher)

Ok, this is probably not a very "pc" response, but I'm going to be honest...

I hated reading books that were given to me by school, so read stuff my parents recommended as they knew what I'd enjoy ( and were mostly stuff like Ray Bradbury etc ).
At 12 my teacher said I should read whatever appealed from the library, so I went with Stephen King - loved it, scared the crap out of myself reading by torchlight when I was in bed ( supposedly sleeping 😅).

So, I gave my own kids Stephen King at 12, they both enjoyed reading then (and still do), no harm done and no longer found reading dull. They don't read King anymore, but he was helpful to encourage them when they were younger.

Result, she asked me to buy her a book this morning so I ordered it for her, she said she’ll read it. She’s not against reading its finding something she likes.

It’s called The summer i turned pretty. I did have a look to see if it was suitable before I ordered it,

Ah that's also a film so she could watch it afterwards