Tips for Reluctant Readers

There can be so many reasons why a child doesn’t want to read but in many situations there are things that you can do to help.

1. Discuss reading with your child - be open and encouraging and try to find out how you can help. A conversation is a great place to start.
2. Reading aloud together – simple repetition and doing this together can help; practice is important in all areas of life and reading isn’t any different
3. Don’t be frightened to start at the beginning – doing nursery rhymes together is valuable, sounding our words and letters as well can also help
4. Help your child to find books that they want to read and don’t be frightened by comics either. For some children and young people, graphic novels and comics have played a really important role in helping to build reading skills
5. Connect reading with things that your child likes – if your child has interests and hobbies then try to connect these with reading. Find stories about sports people or teams, get your child to read recipes or to read the directions to games - these are all good examples of encouraging your child to read
6. Be positive – encourage and praise can be so helpful
7. Be a reading role model – actions often mean more than words in the eyes of a child; be the example and start to read.