Dear Pg.59,
Reading is a true passion that I absolutely love! It helps me relax and get away from those things that have me stressed. While I love reading, I can't seem to get my child, 8 year old son, to get into it. I have tried a few things but nothing seems to work. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks in advance!
Sincerely,
Passionate Reader
First, let me begin by saying thank you for writing to us and sharing your story! It is so good to hear from parents who take interest in the reading habits of their children. Well, we are not experts but, here are a few suggestions/questions to ponder....do you have a good idea of what his interest are? Does he like watching certain cartoons or action heroes?? If so, many cartoons/action heroes have books to coincide with them. Try choosing a book based on them. Comics may be a good choice to get him started! Yes, comics are reading material too!! Also, who does he look up to or maybe view as role model? If they have a children's book available, market (yes I said market) this to your child and see how he responds. Are his friends into reading? Have a quick 2 minute conversation with the parents of his friends the next time you drop him by or when they come over and visit. Maybe a joint effort will help.
One last suggestion: Sit and ask him how he feels about reading. Maybe there is a deeper issue that has not been discovered which has him reluctant to read. Once you identify this ( if this applies), you can work towards eliminating the problem he is experiencing with reading. Try reading with him (if he hasn't reach that "I'm too big for that" phase). Well, that just about does it! I hope these suggestions have been helpful to you. Good Luck!
Tasha
Are you experiencing a similar challenge?? Tell us about it in the comment box. Thanks!
Are you experiencing a similar challenge?? Tell us about it in the comment box. Thanks!
Those a great suggestions. One thing I've seen with many of my nephews, even the 16 year olds, is that they'll read books that have to do with the video games they play.
ReplyDeleteAlso when you find books for him try to find books that are in a series. If your child likes the first one, they'll want to read the rest of the books in the series.
When he sits down to read, grab a book or magazine and sit down next to him and read.
There are so many fantastic books for the younger set, that parents can read with their kids. The Warrior Cats Series by Erin Hunter or her Searchers Series. Or even start them on books they liked that were made into films..
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great suggestions!! And books in a series are great!!
ReplyDeleteI'm a teacher and I love to read, so in my daily life I put the two together by trying to infect my students with the love themselves. One thing that I've found is particularly successful is reading aloud. This is especially great for students who aren't natural readers or who can't read fluently. One of the problems that I frequently come across is a student whose reading ability hasn't caught up with his/her interests. How can we expect to encourage reluctant readers if we don't give them interesting material?
ReplyDeleteThe other thing that tends to really appeal to children is humor. That's why the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books have become so popular. (Well, that and the pictures). It's also a good idea to require a child to read a book before they see the movie. This also encourages critical thinking skills.
Another thing I've run across (though this is rare) is students who aren't interested in fiction. Sometimes I'm tearing my hair out trying to get a student interested in reading by pulling out my failsafe books (the Wimpy Kid books, Magic Treehouse for the younger ones, Percy Jackson) only to find out that I should have given them an Eyewitness book about spiders and he would have been happy. It's an anathema to my because I'm pretty much a fiction reader, but it does happen.
I'm glad I found this post because this is one of my pet interests.