How to encourage your child to read more challenging books without putting them off

My nine-year-old daughter likes reading, but rereads the same books over and over again, a Hong Kong parent writes. Most of the books she chooses are below her reading level so I’m worried her comprehension and vocabulary will never improve. I don’t want to push her too hard and put her off reading, but how can I encourage her to read new and more challenging books?

Every parent wants their child to be a good reader, not only for the skills it develops, but for the pleasure it can bring to their children, both now and in the future. A huge positive at the moment is that your daughter actually likes reading.

However, your frustration that she is not challenging herself, and therefore not reaching her full potential, is totally understandable. This could be to do with lack of maturity and confidence, or she may not be mentally ready to push herself just yet.

It is common for children of your daughter’s age to reread books. I remember reading my favourite books over and over again at primary school. It was comforting and relaxing as well as allowing me to escape into an imaginary world of fiction without struggling to work out new vocabulary and complex plots. After all, reading more difficult material takes concentration and hard work.

One option you may wish to consider is listening to audiobooks. They are a great way of sharing stories together as a family and give opportunities to enjoy higher-level texts in a different way. Your daughter may find she is inspired to read the printed word afterwards.

Another approach is reading aloud to your daughter. Although this is often associated with very young children, it was not so long ago that reading aloud for pleasure was more commonplace. I was still reading to my daughter when she was 10 – this allowed her to be exposed to stimulating and challenging books that she may have considered too hard to read by herself.