Does Your Child Avoid Books Like its the Plague? by Nicola of Punflay

Do you love to read but find that your child couldn’t care less about books? There was a time when my son couldn’t get excited about anything in printed form. The best advice that I received during that time was, “Keep at it, don’t give up”, and I stuck to this and I am still reaping its benefits. Besides being persistent in your efforts, there are a few points that could work for your child.

Pushing too hard?
First of, calibrate your expectations. Are you pushing too hard and find that your child is resisting? It could well be a “phase” that he/she is going through where your child wants to assert her/his independence. Evaluate your approach and be a bit flexible. Give it a rest and try later. I recall the time when all that I did was to read, attend story times and read some more to my very active 4-year old. Looking back, I think he was more interested in exploring what happened to a sock when it got flushed down the toilet!

Variety: Spice it up
When it came to eating, I exposed my kids to a variety of foods, tastes, and cuisines. In that same vein, when it was time for reading, I ensured that they got to explore all types and genres of books. We read fiction, non-fiction, poetry, audio books, sound books, folktales, multi-cultural tales, and everything in between. I hoped that something would click and that he would eventually find one book that would propel him into reading. It didn’t happen overnight but I could see the change slowly.

Explore, explore, explore
Some kids absolutely can’t stand the thought of eating a plate of mushy spinach. Offer them a bowl of crisp green spinach instead, and they just might be more open to at least tasting it! Similarly, try a book in a different media if available. For kids who prefer to be read to, audio books are great. In this context, I am reminded of a write-up about PJ Haarsma in the New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/06/books/06games.html?_r=3&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin), author of the popular sci-fi novels for tweens. Apparently Haarsma conceptualized a video game to go hand in hand with the book as he developed his story.
This is proof that authors and publishers are paying attention to new trends in reading and will try anything creative to get kids excited about books.

Love sports? Try those books
My son’s friend was a die-hard hockey fan when he was in the 4^th grade. He would read anything that had the words puck, hockey, and ice. His mom capitalized on his passion and exposed him to many books that had sports as the central theme. I think it worked pretty well. If not anything, he became a strong reader.

Many of these tips have worked at some point with my kids. Be persistent and remember that your child’s reading habits will evolve over time. Just keep at it and suddenly you may see your little one hooked to a book.

Have you tried anything fantastic or even downright crazy to get your child excited about reading? Share them with us.