Help! My Child Hates Reading!
Many children have difficulty sitting down to read. This can be due to a variety of factors. Here we get into a few of the most common reasons and how to help.
Whether a child is 4 or 14, many families have difficulty getting their child to read. Some kids dread reading their assigned school book; others can’t seem to sit still during shared storybook activities; still others avoid reading at nearly every opportunity, save perhaps, dialogues in MineCraft or Fortnite. Parents know the importance of reading, and they often ask me how they can get their child to read more at home.
We’re going to go over personal interests, routines, language skills, and decoding skills, to find out what might be going on with your child and how to best support them. Here’s my inside scoop.
When you’re looking for books for your child, is your child present? Whether you go to the library, your local bookstore, or an e-reader platform, your child should take an active role in picking out books. This may seem like an obvious one, but it can be easy to forget. I like to ask kids about their interests, including what they like to learn about, so we can pick out some fiction and nonfiction books. If your child loves soccer, perhaps The Crossover, by Kwame Alexander would be up their alley. Or maybe Breakaway: Beyond the Goal, by Alex Morgan is more their style. Research tells us that interest is correlated with attention and recall when reading.
As you’re exploring your child’s interests, you should also consider venturing into new types of literature. Poetry, graphic novels, or essays might hit the right note. When we think about children’s literature, too often we stop at the fictional story and occasional biography. A different genre might also be intriguing to your child.
Your child may also be resistant to picking up a book if they have to stop their favorite activity to read. From your child’s perspective, reading might seem like a bore if they have to stop playing basketball, drawing, or gaming. I recommend creating a daily routine that works for everyone. Reading before bed can be a great way to slow down the day, or maybe setting up a time period on the weekends for the whole family to read. Showing kids how you enjoy reading can be a great model. Take some time to think about what would work best for your child and your family.
So, now you have a great, interesting book to read and you’ve set up a routine that works for the family. But your child still is resisting reading! Two common reasons this can occur are difficulty understanding the language in the story and decoding the words. Let’s talk about language first.
Your child might have difficulty understanding the text for two general reasons. First, the language used in the book is too advanced for your child to understand. That might include the vocabulary and sentence structure or even themes in the book. These books are great to read as a family. You can slow the book down, answer questions that come up, and even model your own thinking as you read. Rather than peppering a child with questions while reading, I like to model my thinking and try to engage the child or adolescent in conversation. I might say something like, “Oh, this reminds me of when Atticus…” or “I wonder if the mouse will trick the snake, just like he tricked the other animals!”
Children with language disorders might have more difficulty understanding texts than their peers. If you suspect your child has a language disorder or are concerned about your child’s language skills, seek out a local speech-language pathologist to learn more and to receive services individualized to your child. If your child has a language disorder, they would benefit from skilled therapeutic services to improve their reading comprehension skills. At home, you can do many of the same things that you would do with a child with typical language skills. Emerging research demonstrates that interactive book reading may be an effective tool to improve word learning for children with DLD.
I also recommend working with your child on vocabulary in literature. (But throw out the flashcards; kids usually find them boring, so let’s use more meaningful ways to teach vocabulary!) Scan through the book before reading it with your child, and pick out a few words that are important to the story and challenging, but useful across contexts, such as “emerging” or “illuminate.” Then talk to your child about what the words mean and give examples. You might even ask questions like, “would something be emerging if it hid in a cave?” This is just one example of teaching vocabulary. As previously mentioned, your speech-language pathologist will be able to provide individualized strategies for your child.
Now, let’s consider decoding. Decoding is a term that means reading the letters on a page to “decode” a word. For effective reading, a child must successfully comprehend language, which we already discussed, and decode the words. If your child is having trouble reading, it’s no surprise that reading would be a less than desirable activity for them! Children may have trouble reading for a variety of reasons. Sometimes the type of instruction a child receives is not the best for them. Reading difficulties are also genetic. If someone in your family struggled with a reading disorder, including dyslexia, your child might as well.
If you are worried that your child is having difficulty reading compared to their peers, there are many resources to check out. As this blog grows, we will add more information. In the meantime, check out places like understood.org or dyslexiaida.org/dyslexia-at-a-glance. You can also request an evaluation through your child’s local public school or a speech-language pathologist near you.
Let us know your favorite ways to engage kids in reading in the comments section below!
References
Baldwin, R. S., Peleg-Bruckner, Z., & McClintock, A. H. (1985). Effects of topic interest and prior knowledge on reading comprehension. Reading research quarterly, 497-504.
Beck, Isabel L. McKeown, M., & Kucan, L. (2002). Choosing Words to Teach. In Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction (15-30). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Disorders of Reading and Writing. (n.d.). Retrieved January 10, 2021, from https://www.asha.org/practice-portal/clinical-topics/written-language-disorders/disorders-of-reading-and-writing.
Morin, A. (2020, October 22). Classroom Accommodations for Dyslexia. Retrieved January 09, 2021, from https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/partnering-with-childs-school/instructional-strategies/at-a-glance-classroom-accommodations-for-dyslexia
Team, T. (2020, October 22). Understanding Your Child's Trouble With Reading. Retrieved January 09, 2021, from https://www.understood.org/en/learning-thinking-differences/child-learning-disabilities/reading-issues/understanding-your-childs-trouble-with-reading
Storkel, H. L., Komesidou, R., Pezold, M. J., Pitt, A. R., Fleming, K. K., & Romine, R. S. (2019). The impact of dose and dose frequency on word learning by kindergarten children with developmental language disorder during interactive book reading. Language, speech, and hearing services in schools, 50(4), 518-539.
Unsworth, N., & McMillan, B. D. (2013). Mind wandering and reading comprehension: Examining the roles of working memory capacity, interest, motivation, and topic experience. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 39(3), 832.