Reading for pleasure, when?

[IsabelleRinging]

Do your 7 year olds read on their own for pleasure without having a timetabled reading slot?
My dd is 7 (just) and in y3 at school. She is a capable reader, and when asked to read she will and appears to enjoy it, she is not on the reading scheme anymore so is choosing her own books, and she is able to read them well. However, she doesn't read for her own enjoyment of her own accord (not regularly anyway) and if I don't tell her it's time to read she won't bother!
At the beginning of the half term week I helped her choose a suitable book form her bookshelf (her choice) and she read the first chapter to me. I told her that I wanted her to finish the book by the end of the week, so she left it next to her bed, but it's the end of the week now and the book hasn't been touched since, despite her having time when she wakes in the morning, before bed and time to play in her room.
Just wondered what everyone elses kids are like with reading and if they start to read more as they get older, or if she isn't interested now is it a sign she never will be?
By the way, she has access to any books she fancies from the library, home school and bookshops!

Prarieflower - does she choose books from school and do assignments on those or do you supply all her books?

No she doesn't seem to.Doesn't do assignments either.We have a book mark with questions to ask though.Tbh we've never had a lot of input from school-very sore subject!!!!

I best you could give her a regular reading slot and it would be fine. Mine does an hour before bed - so between 6 and 7.

I agree with letting the child choose the books by the way.

DS reads just 6 reads for pleasure, but only at bedtime and when he wakes up occassionally. Other times of the day he can be sometimes seen reading, but it will only last a couple of minutes before he remembers something else he wants to do . Am thrilled he loves reading before sleep though.

Thanks for all the replies everyone. We have loads of books and DH and I both like reading so really want to see her take pleasure in it too. Has anyone read the new 'Fright Forest' books by Marcus sedgwick? DD saw an article about the books in her magazine and expressed an interest in it, but looking at it on Amazon it seems it might be a little old for her?

My DS is the same age/yr as your DD and he loves reading. It's been his routine for being a toddler. We always read together before bed.
He reads his school books or a chosen short story and I read to him the faraway tree. He loves Enid Blyton books.
He probably enjoys that bit of 1-1 time too.
DD 3yo gets read to first and put to bed then his turn.

DD only turned into a book worm over the summer - also y3 but a mid year bday. The Wishing Chair did the trick - 3 books in 1 so over 1" thick and she devoured it in just over a week. Since then she loves the Michael Morpurgo books and things like Dear Hound and History books. It will come when you least expect and it won't be the books you expect either!!!! I was like you and she has masses of books at home to choose from - in fact I think I should open as a library!!!

DS, 7 and also in Y3 is on Gold level. He always hated reading and writing. We read every evening (Tom Gates at the moment) and we swap, I a double page, then he. He will always moan, seems to like the book though. Before that we read The Magic Tree House (he read a chapter a day and I usually started him off with the first paragraph).

His teacher said to persevere and that it will click at some point.

Whatever you do, don't make it a chore- a set reading time, or assignments or anything like that. How is that going to make them think of it as fun?

You could say, well, lights out can be half an hour later if you use the half hour to read?

But I think modelling reading for pleasure, reading aloud to her and having lots of books around is the way forward.

I also think the idea of reading aloud and stopping at a cliff hanger can work ... she may decide she can't wait until the next night and want to read on herself.

We always did bedtime routine early enough to allow for half an hours reading before lights out. This was books of their choice - lots of library trips and Book People and special trips to buy a book from the bookshop as well as whatever they had chosen at school. We read to them and modelled reading for pleasure (especially me on holiday )
Both would also just go off and read at times and DD in particular devoured books at an astonishing rate.

Now they are both at secondary school and don't have the time/energy/inclination to read for pleasure very often

D2 would sometimes from about 7, but still at 11 likes her dad to lie on her double bed and share Asterix books or Garfield with her.
Doesn't read except in bed or by the pool on holiday, being a laptop, iPod, DS wielding modern child.

DD1 is dyslexic, she didn't learn to read until she was in Y6.
She hasn't had her nose out of a book since. Books real and electronic are her main spending.

I was very similar, I did read a huge amount until I was 12 and then started on Sherlock H and Mum's thrillers. DDs teen fantasy didn't exist.