To really not understand why DD doesn't like reading...

[firstchopanonion]

DD is 8. She has always been in the top reading group at school, she taught herself to read while she was still at nursery. She loves books and loves being read to.

BUT she says she hates reading to herself. She did during lockdown, probably because she had so much time, but it has really tapered off now. She got given so many wonderful books for her recent birthday but she hasn't picked up a single one to read by herself (I will read them all to her, in time). Getting her to do her school reading is a huge chore, even though she can read all the books fluently.

Has anyone had a similar DC and is it just something I need to accept or is there a way for her to discover the joy of reading? I feel like she is missing out in a funny way - how lovely it is to get lost in a good book - but maybe that's just imposing my own thoughts/beliefs on her...

My DS is the same. Never very interested. It hasn't held him back.

The Phoenix comic would be good to try. My 8 yr old loves it.

I was like your dd until I studied English Literature for A level. From then, I loved books. Sorry, not much help(!)

Have you tried her with a kindle? Sometimes the text /paper / ink can have sensory issues and seen a few reluctant very able readers take to a kindle much better.

Also do try the magazines, comics like Phoenix etc are brilliant in engaging children.

It’s a tricky age. My DD has been a free reader since Y1, never struggled with learning to read at all but is only just beginning to read for fun. Many books at that age are rubbish, or chosen by adults as what they think children should like.

Despite being a fluent reader, DD struggled with chapter books and I think she found the length and structure complicated. However easier books are mostly shite (endless Fairy nonsense). She did much better with short form - non fiction, the Week, and anything to do with Minecraft. For actual novels, the lighter ones such as Tom Gates, Diary of BUG are hits.

She also really struggled with any kind of danger/peril/monsters/angst/meanness.

Also meant to add that my other child is a complete bookworm, reads anything and everything.

I think reading is a bit of a sacred cow for some parents. I remember a thread a while back from a mother who needed shelf space in her son’s room, but couldn’t bring herself to remove his (dusty) books because it was would be ‘giving in’ and admitting he wasn’t ‘a reader’.

I certainly recognise the stories about parents feeling disappointed or upset that their children don’t share their love of reading. I can remember my dad being rather put out when I was about 13 and suddenly preferred to listen to my Walkman in bed rather than read. It was partly just that I was developing different interests, and partly that I was at a stage where I was too old for kids’ books, but probably not ready for a lot of adult ones.

I ended up doing an English degree, which meant I did very little other than read for three solid years, so it can’t have put me off that much But it’s worth saying that it’s not the end of the world if a child just isn’t interested in reading. I think some people equate it with stupidity, which is a bit unfair.

I think reading is a bit of a sacred cow for some parents Yes, I think there’s a lot of truth to this! I’m hopefully not one of them, but there is a very slight element of sadness - which really makes no sense objectively, when I consider how enriching and full of fun and imagination her life is!

I think my other worry has been that school starts to change around this age from ‘learning to read’ to ‘reading to learn’, and sometimes she gets homework which involves finding info on the web - something she really doesn’t enjoy because of the trawling through a lot of text. I assume there will be more and more of this as she gets older.