Reading! Don’t tell me it’s not important!

[Bloodyhell15]

Like the title says. Don’t tell me reading for pleasure as kids isn’t important, all the data says it is! How do I get my youngest (7) to read?! We model lots of reading, her brother reads, she loves stories at bedtime, has a reading age of 10.5. But doesn’t seem remotely interested!

Looking for all your nifty tips, and also stories of your kids who suddenly got into reading later, thanks!

This is good advice and what I do.

I also "lose my glasses" and "my way" a lot.

"DD could you read these instructions/recipe/label"?
"DD how do we get out of this station"?

When she was little we had lots of Usbourne "lift the flap" books.

She's got absolutely no interest in reading for pleasure and never had, despite living in a house full of books.

Just to add that her vocabulary's very good due to being read to a lot, often from vintage fiction, which has a more challenging and wider range of words.

Definitely give audio books a try, nothing too long to start. Maybe try a book an hour long at first, you can do 15 mins at a time if attention span is short.

My son (6) loves to spell and I challenge him to read a little when it's story time at bed and practise new words with me, or I get him to read the chapter headings. I also stop every so often and check his understanding of the plot to ensure he's following along and not got lost in his own mind.

Adding a mixture of non-fiction books are good at sparking interest in reading as they can dip in and out of them rather than following along the narrative in the fiction books.

Go to the library. Let them pick out a book or two and read it. Make a little stamp card (like you get for hot drinks) and every book they read, give them a stamp with a reward after their 5/10th one etc.

Show them what making time for reading looks like. Read a book yourself, set aside 15 mins in the evening/weekend to do this.

Buy them a fun bookmark. Make a fun bookmark.

I was an English teacher and have always loved reading but I get the struggle in trying to foster that love in others. Don't push it so it becomes a chore. Have fun!

I agree with boring them into it. My parents never read to me, but I could read at an early age. I remember being about 7 when my mother sent me upstairs to tidy my "disgusting" bedroom. There had always been a bookcase in there with a few old books in it. Instead of tidying up I randomly took a book out of the bookcase, The Sea Of Adventure by Enid Blighton. I was transported to a far more exciting world and of course got into trouble for not tidying the bedroom, but my love of reading was born.

Yes, I did all that stuff, and more, @OddBalling. Come back in another 6 or 7 years and tell us if it worked....

@Needlenardlenoo As I found out when I taught 11-18 years old English Literature and Language...

It doesn't always work. Sometimes the child just does not want to read, and no amount of modelling, practising, creating fun exercises, rewards (or bribery) works.

Some weren't even interested in the film (if there was a film adaptation). If it's not 10 second clips on TikTok, they weren't interested.

It's a shame, isn't it? As a pp said, reading can transport you places, and so cheaply too.

Well yes it is but I’m afraid I never managed to get a way to get my non reader to read for pleasure. He did manage to get through his higher English but it was a slog compared to his avid reader brother who breezed it

Try magazines, recipes, reading isn't just about books. Sing a long movies?