I tried all summer holiday to get my Primary Six son to read, but he was not interested. I gave him gentle encouragement and, when this didn't work, I tried to insist that he read for 30 minutes a day. He simply refused. How can I get him to read willingly?
Teacher Julie McGuire replies:
It is possible that your son may relate reading only to school work and prefer to 'switch off' in the school holidays. Helping him to grasp the concept of reading for pleasure is the key to him picking up a book, or other reading material, of his own accord and in order to do that he needs to find things that he enjoys reading.
You have not mentioned whether your son is an able reader. Children who struggle with this basic skill tend to be more reluctant to read for pleasure as they find it hard work. The Catch-22 here is they are the very pupils who need to read more to develop their skills.
Boys in general tend to read less than girls and may need that extra spark of inspiration and more encouragement. They often relate well to humour - you could offer to subscribe to a comic of your son's choice. Adventure or action books can also be popular.
There are some excellent authors who write appealing novels for boys. Good examples are Michael Morpurgo, Morris Gleitzman and Paul Jennings. An alternative to novels is picture books specifically written for older children. These have high-level, shorter texts that are ideal for unenthusiastic readers as they are less onerous.
However, boys sometimes enjoy non-fiction texts more than fiction. Your son's school library should have factual books about a wide array of subjects that are written at the right level and preferably attractively illustrated.
