Inside: Tired of the whining when you ask your child to read? Use these easy tips to help your child enjoy reading with little to no effort.
โI hate reading! Why do I have to do it?โ my daughter said in a whiny voice. This was the usual response when Iโd ask her to go and read something. Chances are good if youโre reading this, youโve heard those whiny words too. Maybe even had some tears shed as well. One thingโs for sure, when a child hates to read, itโs frustrating as a parent trying to figure out how to get them to enjoy reading.
Two of my three children really werenโt natural book lovers. It took creative thinking and careful observation to figure out how to get them to come around.
Iโm not going to tell you they are bookworms now, but they definitely read more than they used to and my youngest doesnโt bristle when I suggest reading a book.
My oldest is now an adult and voluntarily buys books to read. Thatโs a huge accomplishment if you could have seen him when he was younger.
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Below is a picture of my crazy family. I’m a homeschool mom of 16 years. Before that, I was a school teacher for nine years. I have a bachelor’s degree in elementary education (K-8) and a master’s degree in special education (K-12). Iโve taught in both the regular and special education classroom settings. So Iโve got a few tricks up my sleeve.
Reading Statistics
So why do we even care if our kids like to read? I mean whatโs the big deal? Many adults seem to get by just fine, donโt they? Or do they?
Letโs take a look at some of the statistics reported about children who donโt read or arenโt read to.
On a weekly basis, 23% of parents report never reading to their children, and 26% of parents report only reading once or twice.
Let’s look at how many words your child is introduced to when he reads or is read to.
A typical board board book contains an average of 140 words and a typical picture book has around 228 words!
The image above shows that a child who comes from a literacy rich environment will start Kindergarten having heard 1.4 million words! Thatโs amazing!
You can see that reading to our kids has a huge impact . But what about when they read by themselves?
Take a guess at what you think the correct answer is to the question below to see how effective reading to our kids is.
The answer is D! Can you believe it?? That’s a lot of words!
So reading does make a difference! The trick is getting them to do it.
There are ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ to help your children enjoy reading. Yes, you read that right!
And I’m going to share my reading tips with you. So read on!
๐ง๐๐ฃ #๐ญ–๐จ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ๐!
Interactive books are probably my favorite types of books!
Children who don’t enjoy reading need to have something that draws them in.
They need to be ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ผ๐น๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐, whether it be touch, sound, or movement.
When you can find books that do that, they’ll be ๐ต๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฑ!
๐๐ก๐ง๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ง๐๐ฉ๐ ๐๐ข๐ข๐๐ฆ:
๐ญ. ๐๐ป๐๐ผ๐น๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐น๐ฑ- They involve active learning vs. passive learning and are hands-on in some way.
๐ฎ. ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐บ๐๐น๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐- Information is presented through several modalities: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic.
๐ฏ. ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ- When a child has an experience with a books, it makes it memorable and more interesting.
๐ฐ. ๐๐บ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ต๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป- Making a connection between the reader and written word will improve their understanding of the story.
Books that have surprises and raised elements are exciting and hold a child’s attention.
Lift the flap books are great for younger children. It gets them physically involved and also teaches object permanence!
Books like this Academy series are fantastic! They have the children doing activities, building models, playing games, using stickers, and so much more!
Here’s a video I made for a reading event that demonstrates ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ๐ that children love.
๐ง๐๐ฃ #๐ฎ– ๐ ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ง๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น
Just handing your child a book isn’t going to make him or her love reading.
But if you can create an atmosphere around reading time that’s enjoyable, they’re more likely to want to do it.
Here are a few ideas for making your reading time special:
๏ปฟ๐ญ. ๐๐ต๐ผ๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐ด๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ:
Many kids want to have some ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐น๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ with their parents. Snuggling up with a good book is a great way to do that, especially first thing in the morning when they want your attention.
Bedtime is also great. Children are willing to do anything to stay up later because they like to ๐ฆ๐ง๐๐๐! Why not capitalize on that and let them stay up a little longer if they read a book in bed.
๐ฎ. ๐ ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ- Sitting on a chair at the kitchen table to read wonโt be very enticing to your child. In fact itโs going to do the opposite because it feels like school (especially if youโre a homeschooler) and stir up all the reasons he hates reading to begin with. Youโre shooting yourself in the foot!
Instead, try sitting or laying on a couch, bed, or comfy floor cushions. I know this makes it difficult for you not to fall asleep if youโre reading aloud (been there, done that) but to your child itโs inviting and special. A fun idea is to hang a chair or pod from the ceiling in your childโs room for when heโs reading alone.
๐ฏ. ๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฝ ๐ถ๐ ๐พ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐- Limit distractions when your child is reading, especially if he or she is an auditory learner. Turning off the television and electronics can help your child focus and better understand what heโs reading.
๐ฐ. ๐ ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐ณ๐๐ป- Reading in a monotone voice isnโt enjoyable for anyone. If youโre doing a read aloud, use expression, act out parts, and be silly! For independent or together reading time, sit in a teepee or small tent.
๐ฑ. ๐จ๐๐ฒ ๐ด๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ ๐น๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด- Make sure the lighting isnโt too bright or too dim. Using special lighting like string lights is fun, just make sure it’s bright enough for your child to see the words without straining.
Also using a clip-on light that attaches to the book can be fun for your child to read alone in bed at night.
๐ฒ. ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐๐ธ๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐- Keep a variety of books available at all times to expose your children to different types. This keeps it exciting but also allows you to discover the types of books they are drawn to.
๐ณ. ๐๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐- If your child falls in love with a book, be ready to read it over and over again! This is a good sign. Go with it!
For very young children repetition helps them to memorize the book and they’ll pretend to read it on their own. This pretend reading is actually an important step in the reading process.
๐ง๐๐ฃ #๐ฏ– ๐ง๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐ง๐๐ฟ๐ป๐ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด- Use Dual Readers
This is a simple trick but has such a ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐!
Does reading a whole book overwhelm your child? I know it did mine!
By taking turns reading, it ๐น๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐น๐ผ๐ฎ๐ฑ and makes the book more approachable. This is a fantastic trick for kids who are already reading well but don’t really enjoy it.
You can alternate pages or paragraphs. Some may even need to go sentence by sentence. And that’s okay!
๐๐๐ฎ๐น ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ are great for your younger, beginning readers because there’s a page with text for the parent and another page with easier text for the child.
Give it a try and see if it makes a difference. Before you know it, your child will gain confidence and start reading more on his or her own and rely less on you.
๐ง๐๐ฃ #๐ฐ– ๐จ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ๐ ๐ฎ๐ Your Childโs Reading ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น
Did you know there are ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐น๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ of reading? It’s ๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ธ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ between each.
Depending on the difficulty of a book, children (or anyone for that matter) can move back and forth between these levels and it can affect how much they enjoy reading.
๐ง๐๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐๐ฆ
๐ญ. ๐๐ฟ๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น
Difficult for the child to read. Decoding words, vocabulary and concepts are too difficult for him or her. Reading at this level will frustrate the child and squash any interest in reading.
๐ฎ. ๐๐ป๐๐๐ฟ๐๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น
Challenging but manageable. The child needs the support of the parent. This is the level where new concepts and words are introduced and it’s best used when the child is being taught.
๐ฏ. ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น
Relatively easy, enjoyable. The child can read the book on his/her own comfortably and easily understands what is read. It’s not stressful.
I canโt stress enough the importance ofย picking books that are appropriate for your childโs reading level! He will enjoy reading so much more when he isnโt trying to decode every other word. Take the time to discover your childโs independent reading level.
๐ง๐๐ฃ #๐ฑ– ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ๐ for Kids
I know this one seems obvious, but not all books are created equal.
Some are:
- Boring
- Inappropriate
- Unappealing
In order for your child to even want to look at a book, it has to ๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ ๐ต๐ถ๐บ ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ถ๐ป.
Great books meet the following criteria:
colorful
engaging
interesting storyline
fun characters
great illustrations
high quality
๐ง๐๐ฃ #6— They Enjoy Reading If It Interests Them
๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐น๐ฑren’๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐! This is key to finding books they will enjoy!
Do they like sports, gymnastics, science, ballet, dinosaurs, cars, horses, coding, history, etc.
TIP 1: Find out what makes your children tick and then scatter some books on those topics on a table (๐๐ถ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐บ ๐๐ผ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐บ) and see if they don’t pick them up on their own!
TIP 2: Pay attention to the ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ๐ your children enjoy.
Do they prefer:
- Chapter books
- Graphic novels
- Fiction
- Nonfiction
- Hardback
- Paperback
- Audiobooks
- Digital books
My oldest daughter prefers a hardback book to a paperback. She likes the feel of it and it keeps it from getting bent (a pet peeve of hers).
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐’๐ ๐ฎ ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ๐?
Where can you find good books your kids will love?
Usborne Books and More is a great resource! Families have been using them for over 30 years and I have personally been using them for the last 16 years while homeschooling.
Peter Usborne developed a new generation of books that prove that it is possible to create books that ๐ฐ๐ผntend with the overwhelming media that children are so attracted to today.
From engaging activity books, to exciting fiction series, to internet-linked history and science encyclopedias, ๐จ๐๐ฏ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ.
For more than 25 years, Kane Miller has published award-winning children’s books from around the world. They bring to life fantastic ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐น๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ and for the younger readers wonderful ๐บ๐๐น๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐๐น๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฐ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐.
All of these are stories that will bring a tear to your eyes as they make you think, smile, laugh, or cry.
The combination of Usborne and Kane Miller books allows Usborne Books & More to offer you one of the most original and creative book lines in the U.S.
I’ve put together a ๐น๐ถ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ๐ from Usborne Books and More that meet the criteria for the tips I’ve listed in this article. Check it out and see what books your child would like.
You can also check out what other books they have from their full site.
If you’d like some ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ๐, message me and tell me about your readers. List their ages and interests and I will prepare a customized wish list JUST FOR YOU! This may give you some ideas of books that they will LOVE!
Join My VIP Group
If you’ve enjoyed learning these tips to help your child enjoy reading, Iโd love to invite you to join my VIP reading group called The Book Patch. I offer FUN book ideas, giveaways, sales and more on award winning books for ages 0-18! Whether we’re reading to our kids or they’re reading on their own, it’s important to have a wide array of good quality books to choose from. Hope to see you in there!
