How do Your Spark a Love for Reading in an 8yr Old?
My oldest son, Aidan, is 8 and in third grade. He's always been pretty advanced in his reading ability. He was reading books before kindergarten; at the very beginning of first grade he was reading at a third grade level. By the end of second grade he was at an advanced fourth grade level. It's just something that's always come naturally and easily to him.
But the problem is it's an absolute struggle to get him to read at all! He just doesn't want to do it. He'd much rather be playing board games, running around outside, playing video games, drawing, playing or watching sports----anything as long as it doesn't involve a book! To him, reading is boring. I could understand if it was a struggle for him, but it's not. We've tried I can't tell you how many different kinds of books, to try to find something that interests him. Just no luck at all.
I do try to have him and his brother each read about 15 minutes a night, but he sees this almost as a punishment. My husband and I give him the choice of reading with one of us or alone, whichever he prefers. They have accelerated reader at his school, where the kids can read books and take short comprehension tests to earn points and prizes. He does it, but very reluctantly. I've even offered to let him stay up past bedtime if he wants to read. Bedtime is 8:00 but he can go in his room and read for a while if he wants. No, he'd rather just go to bed. His younger brother, who is in first grade now, loves reading and is also doing very well. I thought that might be a bit of a push for Aidan, but it's not.
Any ideas on how to spark an interest in an 8-year-old? I know some of you have older kids, too. Have you gone through anything similar?
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Wow, here I am the former English teacher and I don't have much to add...Mikki had great advice.
The biggest thing is that you don't want to make it a battle. It's like getting into those battles over food with a toddler. You ultimately can't make his eyes go over that page, just as you can't force a child to open his mouth. The more you fight with him, the more he may fight back. I love your idea of allowing him to stay up later to read. Maybe he's saying no right now because he doesn't want to feel forced, but if you back off of the issue altogether and leave that offer on the table every night, he may come around. He's probably getting enough reading in his schoolwork right now, and there are other things you can do to expand his vocabulary such as playing games like Scattergories and Scrabble, there are tons of games out there that enhance vocabulary and of course I'm blanking on them when I need them...That way he'll be working on his vocabulary skills in a fun way and you won't have to worry about pushing the reading issue as much.
I was the one in our house that curled up with books for hours on end, whereas my brothers would rather be traipsing through the woods looking for turtles. My mom read aloud to us a lot and I think the idea of reading aloud to him (especially since he's advanced and doesn't need to work as hard on learning to read) might be a really good one too. One of my childhood favorites was C.S. Lewis's The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.
We used to make trips to the library in the summer, and one of my brothers got into a mystery series called Cam Cameron. My mom was thrilled that there was something he would read! Maybe it's just a matter of stumbling across the right book. Mikki's ideas of finding his interests and providing books that cater to those interests is a great idea.
Just keep exposing him to books the way you have been. Make them available, but try not to make it an issue. It sounds like you're doing a great job.
~Elsie
Hi Cheryl,
Out of all my children I have only two that truly enjoy reading. My 12 yr old loves it so much in fact that it is a common practice to ask her to close the book and join us for dinner, more than once. Her love for reading came naturally and she has read every book in our house, even the boring ones. She has gone as far as to read some books twice and always asks for new books to read. It is fascinating to watch her and since she was my second born I thought I had missed something with my older one and tried many tricks to foster an enthusiasm for reading with no success. She just doesn't enjoy it one bit. Like your son she is an advanced reader, her writing skills are excellent as well but I have noticed a difference in the two girls vocabulary, the younger one using a larger array of words.
As the next two came along I once again have a child that loves reading and a child that wants no part of it. My son is 10 and enjoys reading only sometimes. He, like your son would rather be out playing make believe and creating his own stories. His younger sister opens books and reads everything, no matter if she can pronounce the words she just loves to read a book. My older step-sons never touched a book without a fight. I came to realize that reading is not for everyone. Some kids just find it boring for whatever reasons each child may have.
As far as "sparking" an interest, just keep a large variety of books available to your son. Keep them on display where he can get them easily and don't push it. My son has a huge interest in wild life, bugs, rocks, and dinosaurs so I make it a point to have lots to read on that topic. I have magazines, a wildlife explorer subscription, books, bug identifiers and a complete set of the Children's Big Book of Knowledge (a very old encyclopedia for kids) When he wants they are available for him to read and when he doesn't I don't worry about it too much.
I mentioned earlier about the difference in vocabulary because without reading our children only develop as much vocabulary as they hear in day to day conversations and let's face it, it is drastically diminished over the years. My solution was to provide books rich with vocabulary that the kids are required to read. Our school curriculum (homeschool) requires a minimum of 2 hours reading for the older kids and 1 hour for the younger ones so I have an advantage for the most part. With my son, however he doesn't get very far in that time sometimes only reading 2 pages. I have found that instead of forcing the issue he enjoyed reading time much better if I would occasionally read the story aloud.
In fostering a love for reading it isn't always about making the kids read the books. Keep a variety of different types available for your son, offer to read the stories aloud and select books that are rich in vocabulary. Finally you can give him a break of having to read in his room alone and still grow his interest by incorporating a family bedtime story on occasion. A real hit in our house has been to select a longer book, like Alice in Wonderland and then read a chapter each night just before bed. I will read the story aloud and give all the appropriate emphasis (which makes my daughter laugh and my son smile and say, "Mom you read books really strange.") This is a real hit in our home and encourages a joy for stories and literature.
I hope this is helpful and happy reading!
Mikki Hogan Publisher of UniqueParenting.com