Helping Your Child to Read Edinburgh

By  Nicola Morgan Award-winning children’s author and founder of The Child Literacy Centre Supernanny Expert 13/05/2008

There may be all sorts of reasons why your child is not a reader and all sorts of ways you might help to transform a reluctant reader into a bookworm. But not all children enjoy books, and those who don’t can often be a cause for anxiety – as, after all, the enjoyment of reading makes learning easier. So, if your child really does not like reading, try to work out why.

Why doesn't my child like reading?

Take a moment to think about what's stopping your child enjoying a good b

• Your child is actually afraid of reading because he or she thinks it’s difficult. 

• Your child has not yet found the right book(s).

• You don’t like reading. It’s not a crime, so don’t feel guilty. But children take cues from the adults around them. Have you unconsciously given the message that reading is difficult or boring? Does your child see you enjoying reading?

• Perhaps he or she simply doesn’t like ‘made-up stories’? Some people, often boys and men, don’t ‘get’ fiction because it doesn’t feel real. But non fiction could really inspire your child.

• Your child may have a reading problem in which case be very sympathetic because no one enjoys doing something difficult and frustrating.

Some solutions:

Remember: reading should be for pleasure. Books are like strawberries – we eat them because they’re delicious, forgetting that they are also good for us; not like steamed spinach, which we eat only because it’s good for us. Let children read the books they enjoy, not the ones you think will improve them.

• 
  Help your child associate reading with feeling good. For example, being cosy with a caring adult who has taken time to read together is a great way to grow a love of books. If reading is always associated with discomfort, failure and stress, it will always be disliked. 
• Think about topics your child might enjoy. Just as valuable as storybooks are non-fiction books about favourite sports or hobbies, or about fascinating or disgusting subjects, and books with intricate diagrams or pop-ups. Magazines provide reading practice, too, and can lead on to books.
• Explore the library - it's a non-threatening environment for her to explore books she might be interested in.
• Create an environment where reading is valued, fun and a top choice rather than a last resort to satisfy a teacher. Read in the garden, in bed, on holiday, on trains. Turn the TV off during the day and well before bedtime and REFUSE to have a TV in your child’s bedroom. Make space and time for deeper pleasure.
• Help him make his own book with simple text and illustrations (comic format works well) and have him read it out to you or to his siblings.

Audiobooks

Stories were originally told aloud, not written, and hearing a story is as valuable as reading it. If introduced to stories through audiobooks, children are likely to grow to love them and then want t...