Reading is not only a skill but also a lifelong joy for many people, but getting kids into reading is not always so simple.
Schools now place a great deal of emphasis on parents reading with their children and the expectation is that your child will then naturally climb through the reading levels and end up as a self-motivating and curious independent reader. However, not every child is a born bookworm.
There are a variety of reasons why a child may not take to books – some are too busy doing ‘other things’, others find reading a chore, and some kids just hate doing anything to do with school when at home. Fortunately there are a number of ways to encourage reluctant readers to read a bit more and to not make it seem like hard work. Here are…
9 ways to encourage a child to read
1. Start ‘em young!
Normalise reading and books by making sure you read to your kids as babies.
It needn’t be expensive, a trip to the library is a great way to keep your book collection fresh and libraries often have a really good selection of board books, such as the highly successful ‘That’s Not My…’ series, to interest even the youngest children.
Choose book with bright colours, textures to touch, pop-up elements and simple rhyming stories to ensure babies are entranced.
2. Comics and magazines count too
Sometimes is hard not think that reading is just about books but comics and magazines count too and can be a great way to tempt kids into independent reading.
My kids’ favourite day of the week is Saturday because that is the day their new Beano plops onto the doormat! We have a yearly subscription (kindly paid for as a Christmas present from grandparents) and after years of weekly Beanos we now have an impressive collection of the comics which my children spend hours poring over.
They might not read every word at first, but over time they read more and more of the text with the pictures as their curiosity to understand the simple stories grows.
You can get an annual Beano subscription for £71 by using this special offer link (or just click the big banner above) or to really maximise the saving, if you pay by quarterly direct debit, you can get it for just £68. That’s about £1.30 per issue – better than the half-price of buying each issue in the shops.
Beano subscription for just £68
Plus, subscribers get a free sign-up gift too and other occasional goodies and exclusive giveaways.
There are also a number of really great magazines aimed at children most with an educational bent but written in a fun and accessible fashion.
My kids really like science magazine Whizz Pop Bang (which has some great ideas for home science experiments) but there are also more general interest magazines such as Aquila and The Week Junior which cover current affairs/National Curriculum topics.
Having a few of these laying around is sure to pique the interest of even the most reluctant reader.
3. Be seen reading
Let your kids see you read a book. This normalises reading and is a great way to relax together.
Often when my children have a certain reading target at school I’ll suggest we all read together for 20 minutes and we each sit on the sofa with a book, from the 6 year old to the 10 year old.
4. Start them off on a series
Many books come in a series which draws in the reader and makes them want to know what happens next.
Depending on their age/level choose the first book in a relevant series (see our post 10 Best Reading Books for a 10 Year Old for some recommendations) and read it to them.
This will get them interested in the story and hopefully keen enough to know what happens next to read the next one by themselves.
5. Reading recipes or instructions
For really reluctant readers try a different tack – think about what interests them. Do they like baking? Making Lego sets? Building models? Or doing crafts? If so get them involved in a task but make them read the recipe/instructions themselves.
If your child is a gaming addict that’s OK. Games can encourage reading too. Many games come with manuals, maps or instructions. To fully understand the game and play it effectively, they’ll need to read them.
This not only helps them to realise how useful reading can be but also improves their independence.
6. Mix and match
Brian Selznick has written a number of novels (The Invention of Hugo Cabret, The Marvels, and Wonderstruck are particular favourites in our house) which are told partially though words and partially through beautiful black and white pictures.
The stories are interesting enough to appeal to older children (9 and upwards) but by using pictures to tell the story alongside the text they are less intimidating and heavy going.
7. Talk about books and stories
Talk about what you are reading to your kids and ask them about the books they are reading at school.
By talking about books and the bits you love/hate it can create a common ground and encourage your child to want to join in with the conversation with their own thoughts.
It is also a great skill for kids to start deeper comprehension of the story/characters.
When reading to your children always build in a bit of time to reflect back on what you just read – ask your kids what they thought the character was feeling or what they think might happen next. Tricks like this help young readers to become better readers with a stronger understanding of story.
8. Graphic novels
There are some really great graphic novels aimed at kids. My children especially like Ben Hatke.
They started on his Zita The Spacegirl series when they were about 7 years old and the 10 year old still regularly revisits it.
The illustrations are wonderfully accessible and the words simple and short making them easy for younger readers to get to grips with.
Older children might prefer the Adventures of Tintin, (The Blue Lotus and Tintin in America are both good starting points) – following the young reporter as he solves mysteries.
9. Take the pressure off
Some kids are never going to be into reading and that’s OK, constantly pushing them is only going to make it seem more like a chore. You can still show them that books are cool though.
Read to them before bed, sharing a story together is a great way to wind down at the end of the day and as your child gets older you can explore more exciting books together.
If you really don’t have time for this then try audiobooks.
We have been listening to the Harry Potter series on CD in the car during long journeys and it has been such a hit with the children.
The full Harry Potter audiobook boxset on Amazon is an eye-watering £233 but we found CDs of the first three books with The Book People for a bargain of £24.99 (with a recommended retail price (RRP) of £95!):
Harry Potter Books 1-3: Audio Collection – 25 CDs – £24.99 – The Book People
There are some really good audiobooks out there, for example our kids all love Paddington and this BBC Audio series is great or you can’t go wrong with the Just William stories, and by taking the pressure off the child themselves to read the text it allows them to fall back in love with stories.
