How to get your child to read for pleasure
World Book Day, is Thursday, March 7th, but the day is about more than dressing up and free book tokens. The mission of this awareness day is to promote reading for pleasure, which has been at its lowest ebb for twenty years. Here's how to encourage your child to read more.
Benefits of reading for pleasure
Reading for pleasure is the single most significant indicator of a child's future success - more than their family circumstances, educational background or income.
Reading engages the brain, stimulating cognitive functions and enhancing mental agility. It has been linked to a lower risk of cognitive decline as individuals age. Reading also exposes readers to new ideas, perspectives, and information, making it a powerful tool for learning and expanding knowledge across various subjects.
Regular readers often have a richer vocabulary as they have broader exposure to diverse words and sentence structures in books. This, in turn, can positively impact writing skills. It introduces readers to various writing styles and helps them develop a more sophisticated and effective writing voice.
Other benefits to reading for pleasure include text comprehension and grammar, positive reading attitudes, pleasure in reading in later life, and increased general knowledge (Clark and Rumbold, 2006).
Despite this, reading for pleasure is at its lowest level for nearly 20 years, with results from the National Literacy Trust Annual Literacy Survey showing fewer than 3 in 10 (28%) children and young people aged 9 to 18 say that they read daily.
Why it's so hard for kids to read for pleasure
Smartphones, gaming, and video content have raised the standards for what is considered appealing content. Video games and apps often demand rapid decision-making, quick reflexes, and intense concentration. Switching from this highly engaging and interactive activity to a slower, more contemplative task, such as reading, is challenging.
Moreover, devices and video games often provide immediate rewards and feedback, contributing to a preference for instant gratification. On the other hand, reading requires persistence, making it less appealing to children who aren't used to reading for pleasure.
What's more, to read, we need to be able to weave together word recognition and comprehension and keep the characters or plot development in our working memory. It's a complex process and requires patience and the ability to delay gratification.
The positives of reading, however, are immense; it hones and strengthens several different cognitive muscles and boosts emotional intelligence.
Research also suggests that reading literary fiction is an effective way to enhance the brain's ability to keep an open mind while processing information, a necessary skill for effective decision-making.
Be a reading role model
Let your child see you reading regularly. Whether it's newspapers, magazines, novels, or e-books, modelling reading behaviour reinforces the idea that reading is a valuable and enjoyable part of daily life.
With older children, share your thoughts and reactions to what you're reading. Discuss interesting facts, characters, and plot developments. This will model active reading and encourage your child to think critically about what they read.
Read with your child
No matter how old, it pays to read together. Not only will listening to them read and having them listen to you help them with comprehension skills, but it will also help stimulate a child's imagination and critical thinking abilities. It encourages them to ask questions, make predictions, and draw conclusions, fostering cognitive development and problem-solving skills and helping with future essay-writing skills.
Explore different genres
Introduce your child to a diverse range of reading materials, including fiction, non-fiction, comics, and magazines. This broadens their reading experience and allows them to explore different genres and topics.
Relate genres to the different films and video games they like. This way, you connect books to their existing interests, making exploring new genres more appealing.
Support your child's desire to explore different genres, topics, and formats. Allow them to choose books based on their interests, even if they change frequently.
Support reading choices
Support your child's reading choices, even if you perceive what they read as "not good enough". This is crucial for fostering a positive attitude toward reading. What might seem less educational or valuable to you could be enjoyable and engaging for your child. Try to recognize that reading preferences are subjective, and everyone has different tastes.
Finally, engage your child in conversation about their chosen book. Ask open-ended questions about what they like, what interests them, and what they find exciting in the story. Doing this helps you understand their perspective and shows you value their thoughts.
Meet teens where they are
It can be more challenging to get teens to read. #BookTok on TikTok can be a surprising ally in this area. Here, enthusiastic teens share reading recommendations, becoming an anchor in the publishing industry and a dominant driver of fiction sales.
BookTok not only makes reading accessible and engaging for teens, but the platform's algorithm tailors content to users' interests, making it easy for teens to discover books that resonate with them.