Getting Your Child to Love Reading

Do you struggle getting your child to read?  Get your child a book about something that interests them.  I know this may sound basic to some of you, but to a child who struggles, they just don't want to read, period.  It doesn't matter what the subject or content.  They'll find a reason not to open the book. 

When my son was in grammar school, getting him to read was pure torture. He would rather do anything else. This went on for quite a few years until someone made that exact suggestion to me.  If you're anything like me you are probably thinking one of two things. 1.) There is no way this is going work, or 2.) He has tons of books about stuff he likes.  I'll admit that's what I thought.  But seeing him struggle, and knowing how hard it was for him, I decided to give it a try.  I racked my brain trying to come up with the one thing he loved the most.  At the time - he was around 9 or 10 - it happened to be 'Star Wars'.  I went out and bought him a couple very basic chapter books. (you can always use the library).  They were below the reading level he should have been at but I wanted something that would build his confidence.  It worked.  Once he realized he 'liked' reading it because of the content I got him a couple more that were just a tad harder.  Before I knew it he was just about caught up with the rest of his classmates.  I cannot remember who gave me that bit of advice, but I will be forever grateful.  

This doesn't necessarily have to pertain to struggling readers.  You can do this with any child.  My 8 year old daughter (pictured right) loves horses.  This is a complete understatement :).  She will read anything you give her if it's about horses.  The book she is reading in this picture is an adult book about every conceiveable horse around the world. The book itself weighs about 5 pounds and is about 18" X 26".  She can barely carry it.  Most of the content is above her comprehension, but that's not always a bad thing.  It's something that interests her, so she takes in all she can.  In years to come I'm sure she'll re-read it and get more out of it.

If you have a struggling reader I encourage you to try this.  With summer coming it is the perfect time.  They can read what they want instead of the required books from the school.  If you think you've tried with no results, try a different topic.   Re-evalute what is important to your child at the moment.  After all, kids interests change all the time.