Has anyone any good tips on how to get my 10 year old son to start reading for pleasure?

Question

Charles cannot see the point of reading unless he has to do it for schoolwork. He is missing out on a lot of pleasure by not reading.

Answer 1

You need to find something that is enjoyable to read, of course.

THE SECRET DIARY OF ADRIAN MOLE is good and can be consumed in bite sized chunks.

Querky things that are fun but also proper reading.
James Herbert's FLUKE is a good read for a child and it has the "cool" factor of being written by a horror writer even though it's the first person narration of a dog.

Another tack could be game-like books. The Fighting Fantasy series of game books are like novels but with multiple story lines which you have to play to read making the combination of reading and pleasure interreliant.

Answer 2

Lead by example and read around him and to him. My brother never read as a child and is now an avid reader like the rest of the family.

It might also be because he finds reading hard - or he's dyslexic that he avoids books and a word with an educational psychologist might be in order.

Finally remember comic books are reading too - I still read them now and I'm 32! - that might interest him more than books do.

Good luck, you're right he's missing out on a lot without reading - just don't force him.

Answer 3

Lots of good suggestions posted already. One idea: if there is a used book store near you, have a regular night out with a favorite meal then go browse that bookstore. Take your time sharing books that you enjoyed & would like to read again. Pick up a few & bring them home to read together. Maybe watch any corresponding movies later & see how the movie portrayed the book. If you share your enjoyment of books, especially before he turns into a teenager, these times together will be invaluable later--even if his reading habits don't change.

Answer 4

Do you read for pleasure?
Perhaps you could set aside time when the tv is turned off and everyone relaxes and reads a book, or a magazine. Maybe going to the library and letting him pick whatever he wants out whether you feel it is educational or not. Lead by example and hopefully he will find something that interests him enough to get into reading.

Answer 5

To the horror of every child psychologist, I agree that you can begin by paying him to read. My mother (an Elementary School principal by the way) offered this “reward” to may brother and me. We would go to a book store and choose a classic novel (usually in the summer they have paperbacks for a dollar or so). We would then read the book and write a book report on it (we mainly did this during school vacations). For every report, we were given money. It started out as $.50 in the third grade and increased in value (as did the thickness of the books) every year. My mother did not believe in allowances or paying children to do household chores, so the money came in handy.
Eventually, we began to choose a wide variety of books to read with no motivation other than pleasure. We even read encyclopedias and dictionaries (don’t laugh, I have a Doctorate now).

Answer 6

I struggled with this too. My son outright refused to read and I didn't want to turn it into a phobia with him.

I used to cook a lot with him, so that he would read the recipes. He also wrote the shopping list and came shopping with me.

Now he is 15 years old and does not read for fun, although his sister is an avid book worm. I am happy enough that he reads skater magazines and lots of stuff on line.

On the other hand I am a Y6 teacher! I have 10 year olds in my class that hate to read, (yes, they are boys).

I try to encourage them by reading to them in class, getting them into a story (i.e. by Michael Morpurgo). I offer incentives to those that have their parents sign their reading diaries that they have read that night at home.

I have found that boys are less likely to be interested in fiction. In general they much prefer factual texts. Although this is to their detriment, ( a real bookworm of a girl in my class has absorbed so much of different authors styles that she is head and shoulders above the rest of the class in her writing), at least they are reading.

I try to get the boys involved in fiction by drawing on what they see on tv. What would happen if Bart went to Hogwarts?

At least Charles is reading for schoolwork, there are many that won't even do that!

Answer 7

Does he know how to read? Poor readers don't like to read because they get little meaning from what they struggle through. Being entertained by movie actors and electronic games is difficult to compete with. It could be your child can not make the words he reads "come alive" in his mind.

I'd buy a lot of books, from easy to hard, and magazines and keep them on shelves in the house. LOTS of books. Comic books, compilations of cartoons, action books, war books, how things work. Try yard sales and second hand stores for cheap books. If you have lots of reading material (probably with pictures) on hand, that will help. Take him to the book store, and let him chose a few books. Or take him to the library, and revisit the library every few weeks.

I have encountered many children who tell me they own just a few books. A few books is nowhere near enough. An avid reader will go through books like crazy. But, a poor reader won't enjoy books very much, if the books don't have pictures to help them imagine things.

I have 2 kids, and both love to read. I have always had hundreds! of children's books in my house, and always buy more. Many I bought used, some new. And I always by both fiction and non-fiction. Usually, if I buy things new, they are non-fiction with lots of photographs. My son loves the non-fiction books. He studies the photographs, reads the captions, and sometimes, reads the text (he's 13).

I have encountered many people, children and adult, who prefer watching a movie on video (or dvd) to reading. If you limit your childs tv viewing (and electric gaming), and make him read for 30 minutes a day, that might help.

Good luck. I can't imagine life without books. I am an avid reader, and love going to the library and bookstores. My kids are in their teens, and love books too. Sometimes, I'll pick up a book with all sorts of pictures in it and sit down with my son, flipping through pages, oohing and ahhhhing and exclaiming over the images.

My son loves all things having to do with weapons, aircraft, space and sci fi, so books along those lines, with photos are great. Maybe try enjoying photo books with your son? The bargain books section of big bookstores have great picture books (thinking adult books, not childrens) on so many topics, some are bound to appeal to your 10 year old.

Answer 8

Oh my yes. I once helped a young boy in the same predicament. He said reading was boring because he didn't like the feeling that he could not decide the outcome of the books! I steered him toward the youth series "Make your own story" These wonderful books give the child a couple of pages to begin the story, then the child chooses which page to go to next to continue the story.So chapter one has 2-5 pages of the story, then it will say, "If...... go to page ...." and so on. These books are a blessing!

Answer 9

Could you buy some books on tape??? Listen to them in the car so he sees (hears) what he may be missing by having a good book?
Don't bang your head too hard up against that wall, though, dad.
My step daughter who is 20 yrs. old, says that she has read 2 books in her life that were not required for school. She has a great, high paying job, and lives on her own productively, etc, etc.
try to find some used book store/exchanges in your area, or if not, Barnes and Noble, or some other high end book store, and check out their selections.

Answer 10

THE REASON FOR THIS IS BECAUSE HE SEES READING AS A CHORE (SCHOOL WORK) SOMETHING HORRIBLE, THAT HE IS FORCED TO DO.

WHY NOT FIND OUT WHAT KIND OF TV SHOWS HE ENJOYS, AND WHICH CHARACTERS HE LIKES? SEE IF YOU CAN BUY BOOKS ABOUT THESE SHOWS OR CHARACTERS.

EVEN IF THE BOOK IS WHAT YOU CONSIDER RUBBISH - HE IS STILL READING SOMETHING. ALSO COMICS ARE GREAT, THEY WILL GET HIM INTERESTED IN THE THING HE IS READING.

GO WITH HIM TO A BOOKSTORE OR THE LIBRARY AND GET HIM INVOLVED - FIND OUT IF THEY HAVE BOOKS ABOUT THE THINGS HE LIKES. REWARD HIM WITH OUT LETTING HIM KNOW IT. IF IT IS A BOOK ABOUT SPIDER MAN BUY HIM A SPIDER MAN WEB GUN OR SOMETHING AND LET HIM ACT OUT SCENES FROM THE BOOK WITH YOU.

IF THE BOOK HAS BEEN MADE INTO A KIDS SHOW TELL HIM AND AK HIM QUESTIONS, LIKE WHICH AS BETTER, OR DID A SIMILAR THING HAPPEN ON TV THAT TOOK PLACE IN THE BOOK.

YOU SHOULD ALSO DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN SCHOOL READING AND READING FOR PLEASURE.

I.E DOCUMENTARY/LEARNING SHOWS
AND COW AND CHICKEN SAME THING WITH BOOKS HE NEEDS TO KNOW AND UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE AND DO NOT PRESSURE HIM, BUT DO ENCOURAGE.