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Original poster

how do I get my boys interested in reading?

46 replies

Mumlicious · 27/12/2011 23:27

Hi
I was wondering whether any one has any tips on how I can get my kids enthusiastic about reading. I fear I may have left it too late, my eldest is 10, and I also have an 8 year old. They've never had a real interest in reading, both very fluent but will not readily read books if given the choice, especially my 8 year old, who has started to lose his confidence in reading books as he feels he doesn't understand.
Anyone have any tips for me please??

OP posts:
jeee · 24/01/2012 13:00

Non-fiction. For many years my brother said he never read. In reality he read all the time - but only enjoyed factual books. As an adult he reads about history, political biography, current affairs... but as a child he was told that non-fiction didn't count with the school insisting in library class that he had to read a novel.

My brother was lucky in that my parents actively encouraged him in his choice of books - but he could easily have been switched off reading by the school's insistence that reading only counts if it's fictional.

CDMforever · 25/01/2012 22:18

My DS also read non-fiction for years then at about the age of 10 I bought him Captain Underpants and he's never looked back!!

He's now 14 and has just read The Life of Pi (proud mum emoticon!)

I ADORE reading fiction and was tearing my hair out trying to pass on the reading bug, lets hope it stays with him nowSmile

GrimblesMother · 25/01/2012 22:19

yes, Captain Underpants did it for us.

Merrylegs · 25/01/2012 22:25

I prescribe 'Mr Gum'.

StorytimeDad · 27/01/2012 19:59

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by Mumsnet.

crazygracieuk · 29/01/2012 10:19

Annuals are great for easy reading and often available for 99p in January.

seeker · 29/01/2012 10:22

Beast Quest for the younger one. Mr Gum and Hiccup for the older one.

Bribery for both. Oh, and rationed screen time. Why would you read if TV's available!

seeker · 29/01/2012 10:24

Oh, and get their dad to read when they are around. There's research to show that boys need to seem men reading or it becomes a female only activity in their minds.

And read to them.

Quattrocento · 29/01/2012 10:28

I have this particular T-shirt, and have started threads on this in the past, and received some brilliant advice.

  1. Try to read with them at bedtime, just for a few minutes so that they get into the habit of settling down at night with a book
  1. Take books for them wherever you go, in lieu of a Nintendo
  1. Try books that are funny. A particular favourite of DS's at that age was the Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Captain Underpants is funny as well
  1. Try books that are short and factual - unusual facts get them interested - Horrible Science books worked

Above all, don't worry. Relax and don't get uptight about it - they'll sense that and it won't feel like fun. I'd worked myself into a real state about my seemingly illiterate DS, only to find when the school did a reading age test with him that he was the best part of 3 years ahead of his chronological age, despite never reading. Don't compare sons with daughters (I have a DD who never puts her books down) or with friends' daughters.

purpleroses · 29/01/2012 10:33

Try books that are part-comic - eg Diary of a Wimpy Kid got my DS back into reading after a bit of a gap when he was about 9. Then Harry Potter books gripped him from about 9 or 10. You do need to restrict time on computer consoles though with boys, or take them on holiday away from such things, if you want them to read. My DS needs to be bored for a while first in order to get into a book.

SaraT123 · 01/02/2012 11:05

We had the same with our son who is aged 4 who couldn't be bothered to try to read and didn't like books, then my mum bought him a personalised story book with his name in the story called "A holiday on the Farm" as he is obsessed with farming and tractors. He loves it because it is about him, and the character looks like him. As there are quite a lot of words he can only pick out a few, including his name, but he is learning new words through it, and we can read it to him as well. She bought it online from a company called www.personalnovel.co.uk, and there are other children's books available on there.

guardian123 · 24/09/2015 23:46

my children are aged 9 (boy) and 6 (girl). they love reading a lot. I bring them to library every 2-3 weeks and they usually borrow 25-30 books on every single trip. i suggest parents do these to encourage kids to find interest in reading; 1) read story books to them from young age. 2) get rid of all possible distractions like tv and consoles from home. 3) bring them to library regularly.

guardian123 · 24/09/2015 23:50

I won't recommend reading on ipad either. kids can easily get distracted by games on the device. Like saraT123 said, kids have to be bored for a while first before they will read.

spiderlight · 28/09/2015 09:54

The Tom Gates books were the magic key for my DS - he was a very fluent but reluctant reader until he came home with one of them from the school book fair a few months back and now he's devoured them all. He's currently reading 'Hamish and the Worldstoppers' and has also enjoyed the 'Thirteen-storey treehouse' books and the Dennis the Menace diaries.

vdbfamily · 28/09/2015 10:07

My son (now 10) hated 'chapter books' so we collected old Beano's and Dandy's from charity shops. He then got into Tintin and Asterix and still loves comic type books. We started him on the Narnia collection last week and he just came down to tell me he is starting the 3rd book in the series and loving them (he is off school today poorly) Try books based on their interests too, football,motor racing,gaming,art,fishing....anything that they will read....does not need to be classic library books.

vdbfamily · 28/09/2015 10:09

Just remembered he also reads the Ripleys 'believe it or not' which can be quite shocking/gory/'out there' but he loves it.

tribpot · 28/09/2015 10:12

This is a thread from 2011 in case anyone wonders why the OP doesn't respond - good tips, though, I'm looking at Stormbreaker right now.

vdbfamily · 28/09/2015 10:31

well spotted Tribpot........gotta love a zombie thread.

tribpot · 28/09/2015 10:34

Will raise with MN once again whether archiving or at least locking threads might help prevent confusion, vdb. I fear it's a lost cause, however.

maud876 · 05/10/2015 23:18

Have just implemented a new rule no x box until you read a chapter of a book with me every evening. Started today reading book about Lionel Messi and after initial complaining he seemed to enjoy it.
This is my 10 yr old grandson who lives with me. Never even wanted the *** x box but he called my bluff. Said I had no intention of buying one and if he wanted one he could buy it himself. To my great surprise he saved up his £3 a week pocket money, came to me with £120 and asked me to order one. Not much I could do.
Neither of my sons read much. Well one used to read the bible, authorised version, cover to cover. The other very little.
They've both got degrees and good jobs so guess it's a boy thing.

Laralu92 · 09/10/2015 10:07

This is an old book that may be out of fashion now but I think it's fantastic for boys - 'Biggles of 266' by Capt WE Johns. It's a set of short adventures about a pilot in World War 1. These are just great action stories. Short, sharp and with a twist in the tail. My son loved them and they're also great to read aloud..he still picks them up now - aged 13 - when he's run out of something new to read

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