12 year old dd reads for pleasure for on average an hour at. Aibu to think this is the norm?

[Cheezepizza]

BTW this is not a boasting post. I know more kids will read much more, I'm just asking out of curiosity as I would like her reading more now that winter is coming in.

I guess I always presumed that if you were very good at reading you would enjoy reading for pleasure but nope not in my neices case the four others that are on same level as her which is the highest level are all reading for pleasure now. I just wonder by not reading books for pleasure it will pull her back though I know she reads in other ways all the train platform signs for example signs in cafes etc so fingers crossed

I don't know. I certainly read for more but we didn't have computers and smart phones and streaming.
My DD reads a lot now for pleasure (19), but don't think she read much other than for school at 11.
Don't push it. As soon as she feels she 'has to' read it will no longer be for pleasure. .

My 8 year old reads double that - but they really really enjoy it - it’s not forced. I fully expect it to change when older.

I have to beg my 10 year old to read ONE page.

Basically : all kids are different - be careful not to force reading onto her though - she’ll be totally turned off it, like my 10 year old.

I read for as many hours a day as I could get away with at 12. Still do. My DD read maybe an hour a day max at 12 (and not at all now at 25) and my DS 11 reads nothing but the subtitles on YouTube and Netflix. Averages are bit meaningless OP. Be glad she reads for pleasure and don't pressure her.

Yes you are unreasonable to think that's the norm. I also think you are aware that most children don't read anymore because it's been repeated over and over in the media. If you want her to stop enjoying to read I suggest you go ahead and make her read more in the winter. Then she will read to please you and start to loath it. Why fix something that isn't broken? Be happy your DD enjoys reading and find yourself a hobby instead of sitting with a timer outside her bedroom door.

I used to read 2 or 3 hours a day at that age. But we didn't have a telly or mobile phones or pcs or any games more advanced than a monopoly board.
Life would have been very dull without books. Our huge library was at the end of the road and opened until 8pm so there was a never ending supply, free of charge. Approx age 12 was my Agatha Christie period.

Any reading is better than imo, my 7 yo DS reads for about 1-2 hours for fun most days not including school reading

When I was 12 I'd have spent every hour of the day reading if I'd been allowed to. DS is 11, will only read a book if he absolutely has to.

Not in my house it wasn’t - not by 12.

I’m an academic - and I read a lot, so I probably read far more than an hour at that age. But my DSs probably read for no more than 10 minutes by then and not without complaining. Both are STEM subject focused…

Schools care. Children who read (fiction and or non fiction) have a distinct advantage over other children who do not. (And before anyone suggests that their non-reading child gets 100% in everything, this is generally speaking - there will always be outliers.)

There's a big push on getting parents to read with their children from a very young age and instil a love of books. This graphic illustrates how important reading can be from a young age for language development.

My former line manager advised me never to force reading or music practice. She did the latter - and discovered that her teen had recorded himself playing and just played the recording when he was made to practise…

Well DD1 did about 10h of sport a week at that age but she still had time to relax in the evening for over an hour. She chose to spend some of it watching TV and some of it reading but it would be perfectly possible to spend it all reading.

None of my three were reading for an hour a day at that age. Two are voracious readers as adults; one has possibly never read for pleasure in their life.

My 8 year old reads more than that...it's his safe space and we set up our life to give him that space (ie do not wake us before 7 - he reads, needs downtime at school (asd) he reads, after bedtime when adult time and he isn't sleepy - he reads, slow day in the house..he reads).,,it's not about what's normal it's about what works for the kid, family, routine - if they enjoy reading great...if they don't they will find something else they like to fill the time...-also great...what is the point of the question?!?

my kids don’t have the choice 😂 reading is a must. They can read what they like but 30 minutes for the younger 2 and 60 minutes a day for the eldest. It’s not an option.
they can read together and anything age appropriate they want. They are not traumatised either - always put books on their Xmas lists etc

they also play video games etc and have lots of free leisure time before a I am jumped on

Why?

People are being really mean on this thread. If someone was saying they were worried their kid isn’t kicking a football round more than an hour and it was summer so it would be nice to do more of it I doubt it would get the same response.

Reading has huge benefits, vocabulary expansion, focus, stress relief, knowledge expansion, improvement to writing ability which helps basically every subject in school. Why wouldn’t you want your kid to read?

But as it said to OP it depends on the kid, some love it some don’t. I was worried when my child started to read less as I’d be equally worried if he started to just sit on the sofa watching tv for hours when he didn’t used to or obsessively started gaming to exclusion of all other hobbies. I get it. Winter is a perfect time to curl up with a book as not as much opportunity to be outside. No need to sneer. OP wants to encourage something her child might enjoy. And never said it was to the exclusion of everything else.

its all a balance in the end.

One hour a day, seven hours a week - that's an entire working day a week she spends reading. That's fantastic.

Leave her in peace and stop counting - and especially stop criticising her for not being enough for you.

Make sure she has a cosy space to read, enough light, snacks. A nice bookcase, a reading chair, cushions and throws. Jo in Little Women always wanted an apple.

Let her see you sat quietly reading as the norm.

And let her get on with it.

I was thinking ‘oh how lovely’ till I saw your update about you wanting DD to read more. Surely that’s up to her if she wants to be reading more….

12yo Ds has been told off many times for reading in class. His screen time is limited so if he's not playing Minecraf or watching telly (an hour a day) or doing homework then he will usually be listening to a book or reading one. Probably 5-6hrs at a weekend and a couple of hours after school.

15yo DD reads a bit. Usually snap or twitter but sometimes books too!

I fail to see what the time of year has to do with it. Do we not all read in every season?

My 12yo reads roughly for between half an hour and an hour a day. I would sometimes like a little less Roblox and a bit more reading!

Oh, i get it. You don't think an hour a day is enough. That wasn't clear from your opening post,

Surely it is up to your daughter how much she reads. Some people just don't read much for pleasure, they will read for information but not, for example, novels. I don't think it is something that can be forced.

As an avid reader, I don't understand it but we are all different.

What does your daughter do instead of losing herself in a book?

Was when I was a kid 60 years ago.

Sadly not so much now.

Children read completely different amounts depending on various factors - friends outside of school/can they read/ activities outside of school.

If your DC likes reading, then let them. If they don't, it's good to encourage them to read, but don't make them. I have always loved to read. As a teenager, I would have spent hours reading, but my Mother decided that it was bad for me and stopped me from doing it - if it was affecting my social life, I might have understood (or understand now), but it wasn't. I had friends in School and did activities out of school (guides, orchestra etc).

Funnily enough, my Mother was always worried about my younger brother NOT reading......

Essentially, if your dc likes reading, let them as long as they still interact with other children. If they don't like it, encourage them, but don't make it an issue