3 Big FAT Lies about Reading!
How to get your child to love reading, when they currently hate it!
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It’s hard to raise a lifelong reader if they, you know, absolutely hate it.
And, realistically, there are plenty of voracious readers and those who avoid reading at all costs within our own social groups. Some people just don’t like it.
While there is more than one path to success for coaching your child toward a lifetime of reading, there are three big, fat lies that can stand in your way!
As an educator who has taught a sibling, countless early readers, and three of my own six children how to read, I have had some failures and plenty of successes in getting those students to like the process of reading.
Let me share my wisdom with you, and save you some frustration and heartache with your own kiddos.
Lie #1 Your Kids Need to Read the “Right Kind of Books.”
I know that there will be librarians clutching their pearls at this, but this is false. Repeat in your mind again and again these words: “Reading is reading is reading!”
Classic literature, magazines, road signs, cereal boxes, and yes, even graphic novels, all count as valid reading materials!
Feel free to skim all reading materials like manga and graphic novels (and please do–it’s a great way to build connection and transparency) for content, but take a deep breath and quiet your qualms about them not being “real books.” If they have words, they count!
Yes, the educational weight of reading materials does vary, and there is nothing wrong with wanting to expose your darlings to the great classics, but if they resist save the classics for read aloud opportunities!
So, don’t be worried about the “right books.” Let your children do interest-led reading. Take them to libraries and used bookstores and let their inner muse guide them to books they want to explore! Check for content and compatibility with your child’s reading level, but avoid influencing resistant readers toward specific books.
Lie #2 Some Kids “Just Don’t Like Reading.”
I know adults who will claim “I just don’t like reading.” But, there is always more to it.
Some children struggle with reading, and the effort outweighs the reward significantly.
Resolving these issues and putting your child in touch with support services can make all the difference here. Reading aloud with your child makes their foundation for reading more and more secure.
This one is tough. I know the last thing you want is yet another person telling you to limit your child’s screen time.
We both know that your dear child is very fond of their screen time and desperate to defend it. Helping your child to reduce their time in front of a screen is difficult and draining. Anyone who’s tried it can confirm that the child will exhibit actual withdrawal symptoms and behave irrationally.
But, once you come out on the other side, the payoff is so worth it. I promise! You’ll see your child increase their patience, attention span, and you guessed it, take a newfound interest in reading to ease their new “boredom”.
And, some children think they don’t like reading, because none of the selections they’ve been offered interest them. Refer back to lie #1 for this, and remember that forced reading is always inferior to free reading!
Lie #3 There’s Not Enough Time for Reading
As a mom to six kids under 10, I know how busy life can get. We all want to give our children the best opportunities for enrichment, and scheduling, coordinating, and transporting kiddos to all of those extra-curriculars is dizzying.
Between school, enrichment activities, dinner and bedtime, there isn’t much time left for reading.
Unless you MAKE time.
Sports, music lessons, art programs, church youth groups, and any other worthy extra curricular you can name can be a very valuable experience for your child. But, nothing trumps your child becoming a reader. My advice: keep a moderate amount of enrichment activities in your schedule, and leave more time for free reading and free play.
My oldest four do karate in a dojo walking distance from our home, and we leave it at that. When we jumped from four kids to six, there just wasn’t room for more in our schedule. That may change as our children grow older, but it works for us now and leaves ample time for play and free reading.
If you make time for reading a priority, you’ll have the time. I promise.
Reading is one of life’s true joys, and one that constantly enriches us as we devote time and attention to it. Make nurturing your child’s love of reading a prominent goal by taking baby steps to resolving any of these lies you may have fallen prey to.