how to teach a child to read who isn't interested

[littleoctonauts]

hello

4yo dd is not interested in learning to read. so i need to find new and interesting ways to teach her. i know the school is teaching her but i want to support that learning. does anyone have any ideas of how to teach a child to read who doesn't want to sit down and do it?

over the last year dd has learned her phonic sounds and can blend 3-4 letter words but doesn't want to sit down and practice reading. any ideas of how to get her from this stage of reading words to reading sentences and short stories would be great.

[littleoctonauts]

Thanks for everyone's comments, sorry it's taken a while to come back to this thread, we've all been ill with colds in the house and still are..

Definitely not trying to push her, just want to know how to encourage it in a positive way.

We used to read loads at bedtime but over the summer the kids developed a love of made up stories. Having read these comments I've started to say we'll read at least one book and then make up some stories.

I've recently got a kindle but I make a point of telling the kids each time I'm reading inn it that that's what I'm doing, it's not like a normal gadget.

Screen time is pretty controlled, 2 cartoons when they get home for 'down time' before dinner, but I regularly have no screen days as well.

I've also tried to get her to read actual stories when we practice phonics rather than just boring words in isolation.

Thanks again for your helpful ideas

[Ta1kinpeece]

Read TO her.
When she is playing quietly, read to yourself
Get recipes out of books and read them
Show that reading is something YOU value
and then wait.

DS refused to read right through year R and most of year 1
He is now doing his A levels

[sportinguista]

we too did Teach your Monster to Read and I really recommend it. DS was not really keen up until that and he was the youngest in his year which didn't help. It really seemed to help that it didn't seem like work to him.

He's now in year 3 and doing really well (we're currently reading kids Shakespeare).

It does come. It doesn't help that some of the early books are really boring. Some of the books that he gets sent from school are still hugely boring still but at least we now can read home books which are more fun.

I found also doing it in bitesize chunks and doing reading words when out and about helped too.

[Zoflorabore]

Hi op I was in a similar situation last year with my dd.
She is now 5 and in year 1, she's loving reading.
2 things have helped- the app " teach your monster to read " has been brilliant- your child designs their very own monster and then takes it on a journey of learning to read- dd was thrilled that she was "helping" her monster when she didn't know certain words! ( dd's monster was a girl )
Secondly- this is only a recent thing but the difference is amazing, dd will read to me and will then " act " the story out as I narrate it to her, it becomes more real and seems to sink in.
Reading is now something that she asks to do rather than it being a chore. I was getting a bit worried as she had stalled and all of a sudden is becoming much more fluent.

As a parent I have had to stop obsessing at the colour of the reading scheme, dd is on yellow ( average I think ) and has been since march, it's frustrating that she's not reading higher books but there is obviously a reason why and I'm sure she will progress at a good rate.

Best of luck :)

[Notenoughsleepmumof3]

Read to her. I always did 1 hour/night myself. All my DC's would come with a huge pile of books. Get some books with CD's to go along with the book. I loved those as a child and so did my children. She will probably start listening to them in time. It sounds like she is doing fine so far, but you have to establish a love of reading. It's important for her to see you read as well. Once she is reading independently in a few years you can read side by side together and cuddle up before bed.

How often do you let her look at screens? That will have a huge impact on her wanting to read. Why read, when you can just stare at a screen and be entertained. It's easier. When mine were that age they only watched one family film on the weekend. Nothing during the week. I know that sounds extreme, but it wasn't, and they are all huge readers now and love reading.

[HalfStar]

Threads like this on mumsnet make me feel a bit anxious! My DC is also 4 but in ROI and there really is none of this pressure as far as I can see for them to be reading independently so soon (most of her class are 5).

FWIW, I could apparently read at just turned four (and I do remember this). My DC has been read to since birth, and loves being read to (and told stories to), is bright and quick - but, she can't read and I don't see it happening soon! She gets pretty stubborn and clams up if she catches us trying to push it. So we're letting school take the lead and she is much more likely to go with it there.

Sorry OP no help but I just wanted to say I don't think it's at all unusual that your child is not free reading at age 4.

[Aeroflotgirl]

My goodness, she is only 4, sit down and read books to her instead, ask her questions about what she thinks is happening. Don't pressure her, that's a sure way to put her off. I learned to read at 6, and have a good BA and Msc. As I have gotten older, my reading has become a lot better. She is tiny, relax!

[TheTantrumCometh]

Thanks all of you for the advice. I'll definitely be speaking to her teacher to make sure I've not got the wrong end of the stick, though I'm sure I haven't and if it turns into an issue I think I might be adopting my own 'fiction in the reading record'

[CMOTDibbler]

Mine preferred writing the shopping list (esp to ensure they got what they wanted on the list!), reading the Argos catalogue to put things on their christmas list, reading recipes to make cakes or other things they wanted, helping me by reading the instructions and so on. Practical reading for a reason.
At 4 he hated school reading. At 7 he discovered BeastQuest and wouldn't put them down, so it hasn't done him any harm.

[Salmiak]

Dd refused to read her books in reception, outright refusal and lack of interest. So I didn't force it.

What I did do however was make a game out of spotting sight words (the, at, school, up, all the colours/numbers, etc) so when we were in town she'd have to spot the word 'red' or 'the' or 'of' 5 times (in shop Windows, on menus, on the side of busses, etc) and then she'd get a treat when she'd reached her amount of words (normally something I was in town to buy anyway like more paint for her craft box, or a pack of stickers or a pudding she likes in the supermarket).

Then in year one she suddenly decided by herself that she wanted to learn to read. By the end of the year she'd progressed to being a free reader and I celebrated the end of fucking biff and sodding chip

[Mishaps]

She is 4 - if she lived in Scandinavia there would be another 3 years before she started formal schooling. There is no earthly reason why, at the age of 4, she should be interested in reading. So....read to her, anything and everything. Cuddle her under your wing and read, read, read - so for her it becomes something friendly, loving, joyful. Leave the formal stuff to the school. You are supporting them by setting up pleasant associations for her with the act of reading.

Above all else do not try to force her to be interested when she is not - that would be the final nail.

[Timeforausernamechange]

I can't believe they are taking time out of reception play time? I'd be writing my own fiction - in the reading diary! Best let her enjoy books - and read, read, read TO her. It will come

[TheTantrumCometh]

This post has made me feel so much better. DD just isn't interested in reading the book herself, though she loves learning the sounds and is actually quite competent in what I've managed to get her to read. I don't want to force her to do it (not that I could anyway) because I want her to love reading.

The letter that came home with her reading record says the school want her to be reading, as in on her own or to us, not us reading to her, at least three times a week and if the record doesn't reflect this then time will be made during their playtime. I'm not happy with this at all as I believe playtime to be vital, and I'm not prepared at this stage to be strict with her on it because it will just put her off

[GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER]

As others have said, 4 is very young.

The best way to get a child interested may well be to read to them a lot, so that they see that reading is a pleasure, not a chore.

My dd2 was a very reluctant reader of the school reading books, and TBH I couldn't blame her - they were so tedious, all about the Red Pirate's Boots, etc. It was very frustrating, since she could be quite stroppy about doing her reading homework - just wasn't interested.
However, I kept on reading to her, and one day, after we were well into one of the My Naughty Little Sister books, and I'd stopped for the moment, she just picked it up and carried on reading herself - because she wanted to see what happened. However she was at least 5 at the time

TBH by then I'd begun to wonder whether she'd ever do it, so I'd say just keep reading to her - really interesting or funny stories - and please don't despair.

[hippy1952]

My grandson is 4yrs5mts. He is not enthusiastic about school but has a fantastic imagination. He loves Star Wars and Doctor Who so I've got loads of books from the library and he loves them . I think this is the way to go getting him into reading stuff he's really interested in rather than the boring Biff, Chip and Kipper.

[elfonshelf]

My DD refused to read in YR - she'd do the phonics lessons and learnt all the sounds etc, but would not read an actual book to us.

School said not to worry - she's a summer birthday and plenty of 4 year-olds don't have any interest and when she did that she would fly.

Y1 was a similar battle, she's now in Y3 and just had a dyslexia diagnosis confirmed. She can read, but way below where they would expect.

She always loved having books read to her, and we have enough children's books in the house to start a library so we just tried to avoid the battles so as not to put her off. She never had any interest in letter or words pre-school - hated if I pointed them out on buses or shop signs, whereas most children enjoy that kind of thing.

There were two other children who were resistant to reading in her YR class and they both just clicked in Y1 and were free-reading by the end of the year.

Sometimes they do just need time, but worth keeping an eye on it if it does't click over the next year or so.

[eyebrowsonfleek]

My dd loved playing schools- writing registers, reading to the "class", writing lesson plans and teaching phonics and maths to the "class". When she got "great work!" stamps in her Xmas stocking she was over the moon. (it was the same one as her beloved teacher)

If you want her to read, do it by stealth. Ask her to read out what TV programme is on next, shop signs at the shopping centre, shopping lists...

[Ifonlyoneday]

Try making it less obvious. Try comics, reading the shopping list when you are out, reading to look for shopping items. reading road signs. Go to the library and let her choose whatever book she wants easy or hard, then read it to her. It will come.

[BackforGood]

I came on to say what a few others have already said.
Read to her - foster a love of stories and books and funny poems and rhymes. All that 'turn of phrase' and so much more will be absorbed like a sponge.
Also, let her see you (and Dad?) reading just because you enjoy it - let her see you curled up with a book.

[LoadingDishwasher]

My ds 5 in reception has no interest in reading books or having books read to him. He is struggling with just the basic letters they are learning in class. If you do the phonic action he knows the letter, but can't match it to the written letter.

[Undersmile]

How often do you read to her. And at what age did you begin reading books to her?

[user789653241]

Agree with mrsmortis as well. One of my ds's friend was not interested in reading at all when he started school. His Mum just kept reading to him, not forcing him to read. He is one of the top student in literacy now in YR4.
Children click at different times. Some of the top children in reception/yr1 are now very middle level. Just keep them interested in stories.

[mrsmortis]

I second the 'read to her'. Read anything and everything and eventually you'll find something that she's desperate to read and that will motivate her (though be prepared for the fact that it might be the dreaded rainbow fairies - it was for my DD).

[user789653241]

Agree with Autumnsky.
Magnetic letters are great to get children interested with letters. We bought loads from charity shops along with magnetic board.

[MMmomDD]

Just keep reading TO her. Worst thing you can do now is force it - a sure way to make her not like reading, even if you manage to make her able to do it.

There is no rush! Best thing is to make her interested in books - and reading will follow.