How can I encourage my 8yo DS to read for pleasure?

[Sideofnoreturn]

My 8yo DS is an excellent reader - I taught him before he started school, he’s always ahead of his class and consistently got greater depth on all aspects of English.

I did an English lit degree and reading has always been a huge part of my life. I constantly read at home. The DCs are coming down with books. DS even has all my old ones that I lovingly treasured!

BUT whilst DS (just turned 8, year 3) loves being read to and loves listening to his yoto player, he doesn’t really read for pleasure at all.

How do I encourage him? I want him to be able to find the joy in it, and to be able to entertain himself. He’s a bright and curious boy in all other respects so I find it very weird that he doesn’t yet pick up a book, or want to read ahead in his bedtime story himself. The only thing he’s really ever voluntarily read is joke books as he loves making people laugh.

Have you tried comic books or graphic novels?

Also, if he is doing well, I wouldn't pressure it too much.

Personally, I didn't get "into" reading until i was a teenager, and then I went crazy for it. It can appeal to children at different ages, and as long as your household is modelling reading as an enjoyable and normal hobby (which you obviously are) then chances are he will get it at one point.

Thank you - I’d never heard of Phoenix before this thread so will try it.

I only mention Famous Five because he has a set of yoto cards of maybe 5 of the books and is obsessed - has probably listened to them most nights for a year. Yet has never been tempted to read any of them, even the stories that he doesn’t have on yoto. It’s not a case of me trying to force something on him that he doesn’t like!

Get him books he wants to read even if it's not story books, if he likes cars books about cars, or football, or marvel, or horrible histories whatever he's really keen on. Roald dahl, Harry Potter...

My son has about two year’s worth of Phoenix in the binders they sell and he goes back through them regularly. Find him in a corner giggling away. They’re great. You can find bundles of older ones on vinted or marketplace and get a few to try - you can read them in any order though some of the strips do have ongoing stories if he gets into it

The old books like What Katy Did and the Chalet School can be extremely verbose, and hard to keep the interest of a younger reader.

Beware of nagging him to read, or turning it into a chore. My mum did this, and I soon disliked reading. One thing I had about reading is that I didn’t learn to empathise with characters until I was about eighteen (I simply couldn’t understand why my mum cried over stores like The Happy Prince), I only liked books where lots of things happened; I got very bored by books which were more about feelings than about action.

If he likes joke books you could try some funny poetry books. Our daughter liked The Day I fell down the Toilet poetry book. Harry Hill has some books he might enjoy.
Magazines or comics as others have suggested would be good.
I’d maybe remove your own book collection from his room. Let him choose some bookends and build up his own collection.

I have an 8 YO who is a strong reader but also won't read much for pleasure. She really likes to put audiable on her alexa and loves for me to read with her but won't often pick a book up of her own accord despite having hundreds of them. I also find it hard to process because as a kid I always had my nose in a famous five/babysitters club/judy blume/jaqueline wilson/point horror/goosebumps book. I've resolved to accept that my daughter might never develop that love of books but that's ok. She's into other things that could be just as beneficial. She loves to junk model for example and play with lego and is a good little dancer. She's her own person just as I want her to be. For now I enforce daily reading and I work hard to enjoy books with her to try and nurture that love. I do agree as above let him read what grips him. Mine is Harry Potter obsessed and also loves dork diaries and horrid henry

Try to find something that he’s interested in. It doesn’t have to be fiction, it could be something like Guineas Book Of World Records, or a nature book or whatever.
Also, how about reading a page each at bedtime?

Good luck with that OP.

I think reading actual books is a dying art/hobby destroyed by the internet and 24/7 media so don’t take it personally if you don’t succeed. It’s not you, it’s the generation.

I was a child of the 70s and 80s and I read a lot well into adulthood but even I don’t read much now. I did all the Harry Potter and Minecraft stuff to try and get my boys to read but none of them are readers. Although DS2 ordered the Game of Thrones novel from Amazon the other day although whether he’ll actually read it is another matter.

The books my son sits and reads for long periods of time are -
the diary of wimpy kid (he’s rereading some of them already),
bunny vs monkey (read all in the series in no time)
all the dav pilkey ones (dogman, captain underpants, etc)
I do still tell him it’s reading time but after prompting he sits and devours the book if it’s funny to him. He also made a habit of taking a book in the toilet where he can be sitting for a long time (sorry if tmi).

Other books he reads quickly and picks himself are ‘easy’ books - picture books he wanted to reread, books for 7+ yo (rather than 9+, which is his age now). I think we, grown-ups take 7+ recommendations as for seven years old only, rather than a starting from that age, and are rushing kids to read books that are a bit too challenging for them, which is just not that fun.

We read the first two Harry Potter ones together, and we are reading the Narnia chronicles now together, as I know he won’t sit and read them by himself even though he likes the stories (the font is too small/ no pictures, etc).
I also choose his books for bedtime when we can talk through unknown words etc. Again, just a habit of always reading but it’s not ‘reading for pleasure’, I guess, as it’s parent-guided.

So, in short, I’d make sure I have plenty of silly/ easy books for him and ‘boring’ time with nothing else to do, as well as exposing him to age appropriate and/ or more challenging books when reading together.

Thanks for more replies. @Comeinsideforacupoftea yours resonated with me - he is definitely his own person - a person I adore - and nice to be reminded of that! I think DS is maybe similar to your DD in that he prefers doing practical things over reading - drawing or building something, he loves origami for example.

I should say that he does read daily with us - it’s always been part of our bedtime routine and I deliberately choose things that are more challenging/ that I wouldn’t expect him to read himself (which is why I can be confident of his reading ability), and we discuss inferences and new words etc. We’ve done a lot of classics and currently about 2/3 of the way through The Hobbit. He has also read maybe the first 5 Harry Potters independently, during his class reading time which he has for 30 mins daily. Again, even with those I couldn’t believe that he was happy to leave them in his schoolbag overnight despite seemingly enjoying them - I’d have been desperate to know what happened next at his age!

He is reading Mr Gum in class atm which has been recommended by some on this thread - I’ll ask him later if he’s enjoying it.

My 8 year old only started reading for enjoyment I'd say 6 months ago. Around Christmas.
He got some of the Frankie's Magic Football books for Christmas. They have larger font and wider spacing than older reading books. That seemed to get him started and now he is onto 'normal' books.
Also as awful as the writing is, the David Walliams books seem to capture his attention as they are funny.
We are also a reading household so he has access to a variety of books. Roald Dahl is the current favourite and Impossible Creatures.

He also does a good amount of listening to books on spotify as well. He likes to listen to the book then read it.

It's potentially controversial, but a new rule: "I can't send you to bed if you're reading". Most children hate going to bed, so any reason to stay up would probably work! It did for Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas (apparently, their parents said, "We can't send you to bed if you're making music"), and they got careers out of it 😂

Funny books that get very popular in primary schools might work, like Diary of a Wimpy Kid or Captain Underpants (but I admit I am out of touch these days!). Even if the same books are read over and over again, it's reading!

Lots of good tips but can I also suggest my top tip: "Ds its 730 now (insert ahe appropriate time) so its either bedtime or you can read for half an hour which would you prefer?"

Add in a book that will grip him when he starts to read it and I almost guarantee the choice to read every night. Once he gets into a book he loves he will remember he likes to read.

What worked with my younger DS (a perfectly good reader but reluctant) was Lord of the Rings. He watched the films (his older brother was a big fan) and then asked me to read him the Battle of Helm's Deep section. So I did, Then he wanted me to read it again. I got him reading half and then me reading half and then he got fed up with asking and read the scene himself. Before I knew it he'd read the entire trilogy.

There was just something about having seen it first and wanting to experience it again that kicked off his love of reading (he's now in his thirties and recommends books to ME).

Really hard when you start them early it often puts them off reading for pleasure.

TinTin. Asterix.

I have known so many reluctant boy readers get turned on by the boy detective and the hairy Gaul!

Or get him interested in cooking. Or any hobby which requires reading to develop skills and knowledge.

First I’ve heard of this and doesn’t really make sense. His school always expect him to be a keen reader because he is so competent at it.

I started teaching DS because he was desperate to learn - and picked it up very quickly. My parents taught me before school and as I said it’s always been one of my passions.

My younger DD who is 5 has also been reading since 3 and is now fluent. Unlike DS she is already choosing to read for enjoyment by herself. This is partly what prompted the thread as seeing DD take herself off with a book has made me realise that DS doesn’t do it, even though he is older and much more competent. I appreciate of course they’re different people, but have had the same opportunities and exposure to books and reading.

My brother was a reluctant reader but the series that got him reading independently were Captain Underpants, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Alex Rider and HP.

The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier may appeal? I remember it being one of my favourite primary school reads.

There are lots of things that influence this...

Does the child have space in their day - not just as a slot, but where there is enough time that the choice is being bored or reading - it can often take a bit of time to get into a book / reading - even for those of us who are passionate about reading - you need to step back from everything else in the day to be able to lose yourself in a book...

Definitely agree with others who have mentioned that just because he has a reading age of 12+ doesn't mean that is the age level at which he wants to read for his own pleasure - so younger books may help...

Also, I am often reminded of the poem by Julia Donaldson:

I opened a book and in I strode
Now nobody can find me.
I’ve left my chair, my house, my road,
My town and my world behind me.

I’m wearing the cloak, I’ve slipped on the ring,
I’ve swallowed the magic potion.
I’ve fought with a dragon, dined with a king
And dived in a bottomless ocean.

I opened a book and made some friends.
I shared their tears and laughter
And followed their road with its bumps and bends
To the happily ever after.

I finished my book and out I came.
The cloak can no longer hide me.
My chair and my house are just the same,
But I have a book inside me.

For me it sums up my love of reading so accurately (I have it hanging as you go into my library) - unless he has something of that feeling then reading may just be a chore / exercise / academic task for him... is it worth thinking about how you might be able to help him feel like that - new worlds that he enters - how does his imagination work at present - how might you encourage it more?

You say he has 150 books in his room. Maybe he finds that a bit overwhelming and he doesn’t really know where to start. A bit like when you find it hard to pick what to watch on Netflix or whatever because there is so much choice. Maybe you could not saying get rid of the books but redistribute them around the house . So that all is left is a few choices including some of your famous five books and a couple of others.

think 150 books in one room is amazing btw

If he’s reading every day and does lots of other enriching activities then I think you just need to leave him be. Not everyone reads for pleasure, it just might not be his thing. He might come to it later, or not. He sounds like a bright, inquisitive boy who has lots of interests and that’s great. That’s enough.

My son went through a really fussy eating stage and the dietician told me - it’s your job as the parent to provide him with a wide range of healthy and balanced food without any pressure, it’s his decision whether to eat it or not. Gradually he started to become more adventurous and to be honest it took a lot of stress off my shoulders because I did my job and that was that. Your job as a parent is to provide access to reading materials, it’s his decision whether to read them or not.

I don't disagree with you, but it's our role as parents to make sur it's not dying at least for our own kids.

There are enough research already showing how damaging are dum scrolling, shorts etc, so we need to counter that with reading. Other people might stop reading, but when it's your kids you make sure (as much as you can) they are keen readers

I agree with this. I loved reading for pleasure, my sister did not. She was essentially bullied in to it by my mum and really resented it and hardly ever did it. She was well into adulthood before she picked up a book just for fun. I gave up reading in favour of audio books about 20 years ago. Our levels of vocabulary and literacy are pretty similar.

There is a lot of snobbery around people who don’t enjoy reading. It’s just another hobby some like it some don’t.

@Sideofnoreturn My daughter loved being read to when she was younger but tended not to pick up a book. Her reading level was excellent, she just preferred to be read to. So, I kept doing it as long as she wanted me to, we were still reading bedtime stories well into her teens. She is 17 now and her book count this year so far is massive, she’s studying advanced higher English and is currently reading Iain Banks. Don’t push him, encourage his love for stories and one day he might choose to read them himself.

Try the Dog Man books or Cat Kid Comic Club. Both by Dav Pilkey. They’re very silly.