There’s nothing more frustrating than trying to get your child to read a book that they just don’t want to read. This can be especially challenging when it is a school book that they must read, regardless of if they want to or not. I have been blessed with one child who can’t read enough, but I also have one who doesn’t want to read much at all.
My desire is for all of my children to have a passion for reading and learning new things through literature. However, I know each of my children are different and they will not all be motivated by the same things. I have had to be creative and think of how to make reading fun for my hesitant reader. I want to share some ideas that I have come up with in our homeschool journey to help our family.
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Use Reward/Incentive Charts
My son loves being rewarded and praised for work done well. Giving him an incentive for reading spikes his interest. The reward doesn’t have to be something big or expensive. For example, we don’t buy candy on a normal basis around our house, so having a piece of candy as a reward is worth a tremendous amount to him. I have found some fun incentive/reward charts on Amazon that he can use to keep track.
This is a reading log book that includes a section for goal setting, reward charts, space to draw pictures and write a summary of what your child is reading. This option is more interactive and utilizes multiple learning techniques.
If you are looking for a simple printout you can print at home, I have created one that can be found in my free resource library. It is a wonderful resource to keep track of what books your child is reading and how many they have completed. It also allows them to set goals and establish a reward they can work toward.
2. Let Your Child Be The Teacher
If your child is having a hard time staying motivated to read AND comprehend what they are reading, allow them to be the teacher and read to you. After reading the required reading aloud, instruct them to come up with questions to ask you about what was just read. (to see if you were listening, wink-wink) If your child has to create questions to ask you, it requires them to pay attention to what they are reading, therefore reinforcing what they’ve read.
3. Have Your Child Illustrate What They Read
Maybe your child is really good at art and would rather draw or color, than read a book. You can use their strengths to motivate them to read. Take a blank book and ask them to illustrate the book they are reading. Encourage them to read a few pages or a chapter, then illustrate what they read. This will hopefully motivate them as well as help them remember what they’ve read. Here are some blank books from Amazon.
4. Give Your Child The Title: Official-Book-Reader-of-the-Day
Giving my children a special title or job for the day boosts their desire for a lot of things. This can also work with motivating them to read. Tell the hesitant child they are the official-book-reader-of-the-day and ask them to help you read whatever book you are reading that day as a family. We read a lot of books together as a family in our home, so for one of my children to be able to be the official reader that reads our book(s) aloud to everyone, is guaranteed to be a big hit!
5. Take Away a Privilege or Item
Here’s the honest truth, positive reinforcement does not always work everyday in our house. Because some days are just harder than others we have to present consequences, if attitudes do not change or if our children are not willing to comply with a reward system. This is not my preferred route, but I also know that books have to be read.
This can look very different depending on the child. My encouragement is to find something that matters to them or is important to them, use this as a motivation to get their reading done. If it’s 30 minutes off their video games, or no video games for the whole day, or some privilege they deem valuable, whatever it is, make sure it is stated clearly and hold to it! Don’t tell them the consequences without holding to it, because they will not believe you next time.
I would, in these situations, remind them that they can go a different route with a reward system if they make the choice to comply. Help them see their options between the reward systems and the consequence system, allowing them to make their own choice.
These are not a fix-all for each and every situation, but only a few ideas if you are a parent who struggles with a hesitant reader. I hope this brings encouragement to you and your child.
Please let me know how you help encourage your children to read! Leave a comment, I would love the ideas.
