How to Help a Reluctant Reader Fall in Love With Books
Some kids devour books. Others would rather do almost anything else. If your child is a reluctant reader, you are not alone, and it does not mean they will never love books. Often they just have not found the right way in yet. Here are five ideas that help, and the last one surprises parents most.
1. Let them choose what they read
Comics, graphic novels, joke books, and books about video games all count as reading. When kids pick the book, reading feels like their idea instead of a chore. Save the book you wish they would read for a read aloud night.
2. Keep reading aloud together
Reading aloud does not have to stop once a child can read on their own. Listening to a story they could not read alone yet keeps the fun in books and builds the vocabulary they will need later. Try taking turns tonight: you read a page, they read a page.
3. Keep it short and easy to start
Ten cozy minutes at bedtime beats a long session that ends in tears. Keep books in the car, by the couch, and next to the bed, so a book is always closer than a screen.
4. Follow their interests
A child who loves dinosaurs, gymnastics, or soccer will read a book about dinosaurs, gymnastics, or soccer. Ask a librarian for books that match what your child already cares about.
5. Make them the author
Kids who make their own book often become their own biggest readers. A story they dreamed up, with their name on the cover, is a book they want to read again and again, and show off to everyone who visits.
Real books, written by real kids.
KidLore started this way at home. When our founder's kids saw their own stories become real printed books, they reread them over and over and asked for them at bedtime.
Try it for free
Our free story starters and storyboard planner help your young author plan a story with a beginning, a middle, and an end.
When they are ready, we can turn their story into an illustrated picture book, or publish the book they drew themselves, exactly as they made it.
Have a kid who likes numbers more than words? Try our fun math word problems for kids, little stories with a math puzzle inside.
Every kid has a story worth publishing. Sometimes that story is what turns a reluctant reader into a kid who reads.