Tips on getting a DS to read?

[BathshebaDarkstone]

He's 4.5, he announced yesterday that reading was boring and I could read all his favourite books to him forever! How can I get him to even try to read his reading books?

Do a page each? He's only little yet though, I have teenage DSs who still avidly read but didn't start reading at all until they started school at 5 as we always sat and read to them. By age 7 they'd finished the first 3 Harry Potters and by end of Primary they had a reading age of 15/16.

I'd just keep reading to him while he is seeing the pages so that he enjoys the stories and become familiar with the words on the page. Reading at that age isn't really an enjoyable thing as they take so long to sound out the words that they lose the meaning of the story imo.

Well tbh it is a bit boring when you're sounding out one word per page and the story isn't really a story. (I'm assuming you haven't got one of those 4YOs who'd read every volume of Harry Potter before they started school).
Why not do a deal: he has to read his reading book from school before you read to him? Suddenly - maybe when he's 5, or 6, or 7 he will come across something truly amazing that he doesn't need to sound out and he will do it.

Oh, total x-post!

He is little and probably not ready for reading books out loud. I suggest you carry on reading to him and get him to practice his letter sounds every day. The jolly phonics activity books are good for practicing blending and learning to draw letters.

I think undue pressure to read often back fires.

He's only little. Just do the one he gets from school and get him magazines aimed at boys, Star Wars or LEGO. Go to the library and get him ro pick what ge likes the look of.
He may never want to read much. Some people just aren't readers. As long as you're giving him opportunities to read, he'll be fine.

Ha ha Sunny

I think the main thing is to keep him interested in the magic between the covers of a book so that he wants to know what the story is and wants you to read to him. he'll soon want to do it by himself.

My DD hated reading at first! I'd always read to her and she loved stories. Was enjoying me reading a mixture of picture books and some chapter books (Faraway Tree, simpler Roald Dahl and so on) by reception. Then, of course, she had to read 'Sid sat. Rat sat. Nan ran' etc.

It was deathly. Possibly made slightly worse by me being a teacher and, at the time, listening to this all day as well!

Daily perseverance, a page each, with LOADS of me reading good books too. Finally, she is in year 2 and reads beautifully, with expression and a good degree of fluency.

I still read to her every night. She's always been worried I'll stop, I think. She's never yet picked up her own books to read, but I have just announced that I'm having a year long break from Enid Blyton so if she wants them, she's on her own...

Chinesealan that's pretty much what I'm doing. I'm trying to think of incentives to read, he thinks I'll read to him forever, I'll do the shopping forever...

He is still so little, my son wasn't reading by her myself at all at that age. Just gave fun with it, read to her m. My son us now 8 and can read perfectly d spite not showing any real interest untill he was 6, He reads but I read to him everyday as he is still very young himself and we enjoy that relaxing time.