My daughter refuses to read. She's 8 going into 3rd grade. Ideas?

Answer 1

I assume that there is no medical reason you aware of why she does not read?
word blindness,dyslexia, deafness ,impaired eyesight.
If she is a healthy child the you have to ask your self why she wont read, is she a lazy person, is there home encouragement , do you read? are there any other children in the home, doe's she feel inferior to others has she a low self esteem,.many children are late starters with speaking ,reading, writing. starting late may not mean she is unintelligent ,the opposite can be true.
can she draw, lots of children communicate in lots of different ways, autistic children sometimes have difficulty in assimilating the written word into thought patterns, im not saying that your child is autistic, but she may be on the spectrum of autism.

my advice would be to seek out her teachers, find out about what they are asking her to do in class work, seek out guidence from a suitably qualified remedial specialist, within the school/ education system. a large input comes from the parents teachers cannot do it all, you know your child better than anyone, with help from the teachers you should be able to structure her work at home study sessions into a guided framework around her weak areas .
a simple exersise in reading would be when you go the shop /supermarket write a list ,give the list to the child to read,reward for correct readings,pocket money /sweets /gifts can be distributed with notes giving clues to the whereabouts,dont make them hard to read, use simple structured sentences gradually build the clues up to longer passages. praise dont scold,when you see a frustrated child, rectify by explanation. good luck regards LF

Answer 2

What kind of books are you trying to get her to read? Take her to the book store or a local library and let her choose books from a section that is on her grade level...this will make reading fun...and she will be able to read books about topics that really interest her....

Also, you might want to make a time each night where the family reads together, she might want to fit in and read to feel more grown up if everyone reading as well...

You could also create a reward program...for example if she reads 10 books and can tell you what they are about, then you will take her out to a movie...

I would discuss with her why she doesn't like reading--honestly, I'm a teacher--and most kids do not like to read, but maybe she is having hard time Reading and doesn't want people to know or to judge her. You may want to talk with her teacher and see if the problem exists at school as well...

Answer 3

She refuses to read, Are you saying she refuses to read to you or she refuses to learn to read at school? If so how in the world is she going into the third grade?

I think I would see about getting a private tutor or at least working with her one-on-one. Also. go to the school and see if there is a special program they can put her in. She is already behind if she doesn't catch up she could be illiterate all of her life.

Answer 4

Beat her.....lol kidding.

Sometimes they refuse to read because of a disability like Dyslexia. They don't know they have it because that's just how they see things. Or maybe she's just not interested in the material. My six year old loved reading at first, but she gets frusterated. (has dyslexia) My 10 year old would rather think about boys, so that might be something that's going on.

Answer 5

My own way around a similar problem consisted in turning it into play, by getting my first boy hooked on comic strips. He went literally devouring both image and text so that when he got to be 10 the transition to reading fun filled narratives --basically thrillers and sci-fi novels-- came naturally to him. Again, if the daughter's environment is one in which reading is a daily "natural" practice my feeling is that that original precious individual would end up doing just like mum & dad-- reading. Best of luck!

Answer 6

I grew up in a family of avid readers, and I was the only one who didn't read for fun. I always preferred Legos and drawing. I could read just fine. I got good grades and read when I had to for school, but rarely enjoyed it. If you are trying to get your daughter to "read for fun" and she doesn't want to, then she just doesn't want to. There's nothing wrong with that.

The problem would be if she doesn't read because she has a very difficult time doing it. If she just lacks basic reading skills, then I would just get her some tutoring to get her up to speed. Go for a phonics-based approach, and whatever you do don't be too quick to label her as learning disabled.

Answer 7

She should be tested to see if there are any issues that are causing her to not read. Chidlren refuse to do something simply because they are incapable of doing it. She needs to learn to read or she is going to really have issues in school--that go way beyond reading. 3rd grade curriculum is demanding and requires independent reading skills. Is she receiving any extra help at school?

I would demand that your child be tested to see if there are any problems--write a formal letter to the principal. They have to take your request seriously.

Good luck!!

Answer 8

The other answers offer some good clues as to why she's not reading. Rebellion (aka stubborness) can be for many reasons.

My kid brother wouldn't read in his childhood, no matter what coaxing method was used, then in his teens he picked up a book and now he's a big time reader.

Sometimes it is just letting the child unfold at their own pace.

Answer 9

my brother is sorta like that. he doesnt like to read. that makes him write a bit poorly. he is in 4th grade. my parents read a bit with him and ask him to write a summary. but if your daughter refuses to read, give her a fun book. Did she try these books?:
Junie B. Jones (it's a series)
Magic Treehouse Series (my brother liked these)
My favorite authors are:
Judy Blume
Sharon Creech
Caroline B. Cooney
Mary Pope Osborne
Lisi Harisson

Maybe you could take her to a book store. She is bound to find a book she finds fun or interesting.

I hope these work. Good Luck!

Answer 10

Apart from medical reasons it may be just that she does not like it. My oldest son detests reading. It is not interesting to him and he has difficulty comprehending so that makes it even less fun.
One thing that I have done to encourage him is by getting magazines that interest him. He loves sports and so we get sports illustrated for kids. He actually does read the articles. I am happy that he is reading and he is enjoying it rather than fighting over it.
He also likes to read about movies that are coming out and so I get Disney Adventures magazines. The topics interest him.
My mom sends him articles from the newspaper that are about topics that he likes and he always read his mail too.