Think your child is a “reluctant reader?” Foster a love of books and reading with these tips.
“I don’t want to!” Little Miss yelled as she threw a level one book across the room.
I’ll admit: it broke my heart. I wanted her to love books and reading as much as I did. I hated to see her struggle, and I hated that it (appeared) she had no desire to learn. I took a deep breath before I attempted to calm her down. Once again, as we had many times before, we put the book away, and I decided not to push her into attempting reading when she didn’t want to. We would try again another day.
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Looking back, I wish I knew then what I know now. It wasn’t that Little Miss didn’t want to read. She just wasn’t ready at the time. This, I’ve learned, is often the case with reluctant readers. “Reluctant,” in fact, is a pretty misleading term.
Rather than being reluctant, kids are more often not ready — and pushing them into learning to read can often backfire.
So how can we foster a love of books and reading without pushing our kids? Here are a few things that have helped our family over the years.
Surround Them With Books
This is number one. Kids can’t fall in love with books if they’re not exposed to them! Create their own library of books and put them everywhere for them to find. We keep them in the car, in our living room, in all the bedrooms, at the dining table. The more opportunity they have to discover a book, the more likely they’ll pick one up, even if it is to look at the pictures. (Be sure to check out the Dolly Parton Imagination Library to see if you can get free books for your kids.)
Read to Them Often
Reading out loud to our kids is another great way to get them hooked on books. As Jim Trelease says in his popular The Read-Aloud Handbook, “The single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children.” (I’ve written before about how Trelease’s book changed how we read to our kids.)
Visit the Library
What is it about the stacks and rows of books that’s so exciting? My kids love to search through the books as they look for familiar characters, like Pete the Cat, Paw Patrol, or Pinkalicious, while also finding new ones that pique their interest. While I always let them pick their own books, because they’ll more likely ask to read that way, I try to add in a few I think they might like too in order to expand what they might be interested in.
Connect Books to Crafts, Activities, and TV shows
Make the books you read to your kids come to life through crafts, activities, and TV shows. There are loads of craft/activity ideas online, including on the blog Buggy and Buddy. As for games, my kids not only love the If You Give a Mouse a Cookie book, but also the back of the book that features a simple game: who can race to the end and get the cookies first? Another favorite around our house: the Very Hungry Caterpillar Surprise Slides game.
Create a Comfy Reading Nook
As a kid, I remember curling up with a comfy pillow and cozy blanket when I read my books. Kids are never too young to have a reading nook of their very own. Ask them where they want to have their reading spot, and make it as comfy as possible with pillows, blankets, and plenty of books within reach. (Bonus: it’s a great quiet time spot, too).
Read in Front of Them
Kids naturally mimic what they see… and that goes for reading too. It took me far too long to realize this: it’s okay to relax and read in front of my kids. But I also realized that reading my kindle versus reading my books made a difference. When I read on my kindle, my kids just thought I was on my phone. But when I read a hardcover or paperback? My kids occasionally ask me what I’m reading — one of my favorite questions of the day!
Go Beyond Picture Books
My oldest, now seven, still loves picture books, but when it came time to learn how to read, picture books weren’t what hooked her. It wasn’t even the leveled books (at least not at first). Rather, it was graphic novels, Dog Man books in particular. Once she found something that interested her — the potty humor helped — and the books were just about at her reading level, she became obsessed with books and finding new ones to read.
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As you may have guessed from the above, Little Miss has not only changed her tune about learning to read, but she’s become an avid reader. So much so that she’s created her own little library in her bedroom, where she encourages both her brother and me to check out books — and return them within a day.
If your child is struggling with learning to read, take heart. Sometimes they’re just not ready. Keep sharing your love of books and exposing them to stories, and, in time, they too will fall in love with reading.
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