12 Tips to Get Him Reading Then Keep Him Reading
"He's 5 and he isn't reading yet... " a father worries.
Strong reading and writing skills are essential to your child's academic success. These also are key indicators for life-long economic success. It's a fairly recent phenomenon that we're worrying about whether our 5 year-olds are reading. Richard Whitmire in Why Boys Fail reports that "boys are falling behind in school. In one Chicago school, girls outpaced the boys by 55 points on the 2007 state reading tests." He continues, "The world has become more verbal, and boys haven't. Boys lack the literacy skills to compete in the Information Age."
Some boys and girls are reading voraciously by kindergarten. There are many more who won't read until much, much later. Most of these children will be boys where no amount of worrying or hand-wringing will speed the process.
Boys and girls approach reading differently.
Girls can sit quietly and read for long periods. Many boys don't see the point in sitting still and reading quietly. They view reading as a "female pursuit" as it is typically mom and female teachers that have read with him from an early age.
Whether he is reading - or isn't reading yet - how do you get him interested and keep him there?
The answer is to tap into his passions. Use the following tips to guide you.
12 Tips to Get Him Reading Then Keep Him Reading
It is imperative that you show him and continue to tell him all the ways that he already is a reader. And be patient. He will get there.
"The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read." - Mark Twain
Strong reading and writing skills are essential to your child's academic success. These also are key indicators for life-long economic success. It's a fairly recent phenomenon that we're worrying about whether our 5 year-olds are reading. Richard Whitmire in Why Boys Fail reports that "boys are falling behind in school. In one Chicago school, girls outpaced the boys by 55 points on the 2007 state reading tests." He continues, "The world has become more verbal, and boys haven't. Boys lack the literacy skills to compete in the Information Age."
Some boys and girls are reading voraciously by kindergarten. There are many more who won't read until much, much later. Most of these children will be boys where no amount of worrying or hand-wringing will speed the process.
Boys and girls approach reading differently.
Girls can sit quietly and read for long periods. Many boys don't see the point in sitting still and reading quietly. They view reading as a "female pursuit" as it is typically mom and female teachers that have read with him from an early age.
Whether he is reading - or isn't reading yet - how do you get him interested and keep him there?
The answer is to tap into his passions. Use the following tips to guide you.
12 Tips to Get Him Reading Then Keep Him Reading
- Provide boy-friendly reading materials. Give him magazines, graphic novels, instruction manuals, diagrams, maps, catalogs, non-fiction, the sports pages, and joke books. Boys read in smaller bites.
- Make it accessible. Put reading materials in his path. He won't be able to resist picking up a magazine or graphic novel when he's in the bathroom. Turn off the car's DVD player and supply plenty of reading materials including maps and Mad Libs.
- Include food! Boys will do pretty much anything for food. Read menus and order pizza. Read recipes and bake a cake.
- Order it. His brain is designed to catalog information like baseball cards and dinosaur facts. He can design his own cards based on his interests. You can help him make connections between facts while adding sensory detail and higher order thinking, such as "What would happen if a dinosaur came to our town today?"
- Show him men who read. Boys often see women and girls reading and think it isn't for them. Ask the men in his life to share what they read and why they read. Check out GuysRead.com, their goal is to help boys become "self-motivated, life-long readers." Consider hiring a high school boy to hang out and read with your son.
- He loves gross and humor - and even better when combined! What boy (or man) can resist a fart joke? Be okay with Captain Underpants and others that follow the same formula.
- Turn off the media. Reading comes before screen time, always. Resist Kindles and iPads and encourage hands-on reading materials. Set a timer if you have to. You'll know you've succeeded in capturing his reading interest when he doesn't hear it ring.
- Be active and social. Encourage him to act out stories with his friends with simple props. Visit JumpIntoABook.com for some great interactive ideas. Facilitate conversations about books with other boys and men.
- Read aloud. Silent reading is often used as a management tool in schools. Read to him then have him read the same material back to you. Talk about what he sees in his "mind's eye" when you read to him. Being able to visualize is key to reading and spelling success.
- Draw it. Have big paper and markers available with a dedicated space to use them. Draw with him, even as he gets older. Story-boarding before writing helps him express ideas that can be used as a springboard for adding sensory and emotional details, with your help.
- Location. Make it unexpected - go outside, build a fort, have a book festival day that includes pajamas and lots of snacks. Go to a bookstore and hang out in the magazine section.
- Let him move. Playing with blocks, drawing, or even just lying on the floor will help him listen better. Have him help to create a comfortable reading area - include beanbag chairs, pillows, and lots of floor space.
It is imperative that you show him and continue to tell him all the ways that he already is a reader. And be patient. He will get there.
"The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read." - Mark Twain
Janet Allison is on a mission to help parents and teachers
understand how boys learn, communicate, and socialize differently. She
is the founder of Boys Alive!, a Family Coach, an educator, and author
of Boys Alive! Bring Out Their Best. Her self-paced online study guide,
Understanding Your Son 101, provides practical, actionable strategies
that can be implemented immediately. Find out more about Janet at http://www.BoysAlive.com.
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thank you