11 yr. old DD dislikes reading

[MickeyMouth]

books that is. She used to love to read when she was younger. Now, getting her to read a book is next to impossible. She will read one or two pages and say that the book is boring. We have tried all different types of books fiction, non-fiction, books below her reading level etc. I also noticed that she is starting to get reading comprehension questions wrong on her tests because she is rushing through the reading selection. I don't want to force her to read or yell at her, because I want her to enjoy reading. Any suggestions?

 

[Beth76]

Sorry, some people just don't like to read. I don't. In school I would only read books that were assigned. And I rarely read textbooks. Even now, the only time I'll read a book (light reading mind you) is when I'm going on vacation. Both of my parents and my sister are all big readers too.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I would work on trying to get fun books on things that really interest her - what are her hobbies? Does she like animals? If so, the James Herriot books are really great, maybe start with Favorite Dog Stories. My son is younger, but we've had good luck with this strategy with him - sports, animals and fishing books.

 

[SnowWhite33]

I have an 11 yo son and have dealt with this for this entire school year. I have to sit and read with him or he just doesn't read. We have purchased some books on cd (Harry Potter) and he reads along with the narrator. This may be considered cheating, but it gets him to at least look at the book. We get him books that interest him (dragons, wizards,and even game guides), so maybe if she likes Lizzie Mcguire for example you could get those for her. We have also equated book time with video/tv time. If he reads 20 minutes (on his own) he gets 20 minutes game or tv time. It's so hard to enforce and honestly some people, not just kids, hate to read. I was always ok, but my brother couldn't get through a book at all. He's turned out relatively normal without being a bookworm.

Reading is so fundamental and I understand this, -I'm prepared to get flamed for this- but I feel like there is a lot of pressure on the kids in this area.
In my ds's school they have an Accelerated Reading program, where they read and take a test to get points. The points increase as the the kids get older. IMO, for a kid who hates to read, it really pressures them to the point of breakdown. Initially they introduced this program to encourage reading and on a volunteer basis. This year if he didn't get all of his points by a certain time he would have been forced to miss recess. It also creates a competitive atmoshphere amongst the students. The point requirement in his grade is 60 points, there are kids in his class with over 200, while some of them won't reach their goal at all, making it appear as if they have "failed". I soooo disagree with this. My ds took his final test yesterday over a Harry Potter book that has taken us 3 months to get through, in addition to the books he has had to read at school. He ended up with 77 points, over his goal, but he did get it at the last minute and has felt the pressure this entire school year.

Good luck, hang in there.

 

[FigmentKid]

delete

 

[minkydog]

I have an 11 yo son and have dealt with this for this entire school year. I have to sit and read with him or he just doesn't read. We have purchased some books on cd (Harry Potter) and he reads along with the narrator. This may be considered cheating, but it gets him to at least look at the book. We get him books that interest him (dragons, wizards,and even game guides), so maybe if she likes Lizzie Mcguire for example you could get those for her. We have also equated book time with video/tv time. If he reads 20 minutes (on his own) he gets 20 minutes game or tv time. It's so hard to enforce and honestly some people, not just kids, hate to read. I was always ok, but my brother couldn't get through a book at all. He's turned out relatively normal without being a bookworm.

Reading is so fundamental and I understand this, -I'm prepared to get flamed for this- but I feel like there is a lot of pressure on the kids in this area.
In my ds's school they have an Accelerated Reading program, where they read and take a test to get points. The points increase as the the kids get older. IMO, for a kid who hates to read, it really pressures them to the point of breakdown. Initially they introduced this program to encourage reading and on a volunteer basis. This year if he didn't get all of his points by a certain time he would have been forced to miss recess. It also creates a competitive atmoshphere amongst the students. The point requirement in his grade is 60 points, there are kids in his class with over 200, while some of them won't reach their goal at all, making it appear as if they have "failed". I soooo disagree with this. My ds took his final test yesterday over a Harry Potter book that has taken us 3 months to get through, in addition to the books he has had to read at school. He ended up with 77 points, over his goal, but he did get it at the last minute and has felt the pressure this entire school year.

Good luck, hang in there.

No flames from me. I totally agree. The thing I hated in college lit was being forced to read something and analyze it--how about reading for the enjoyment of it?

My DD13 doesn't care at all about those stupid points. She likes to read what she likes. Currently it's "The Lion,the witch, and the Wardrobe". But last month it was the "Traveling Pants." She doesn't do well on tests, so she doesn't take them adn therefore missews out on the prizes. I'm fine with it.

Does your DD ilke magazines? there are several good mags for girls, like American Girl, which I highly recommend. DD loves to read anything about makeup and fashion, too. She has read & re-read "The Care & Keeping of Me."

 

[golfgal]

My oldest didn't like to read until last year. His Language Arts teacher somehow got him to read. I have no idea what she did but he reads a lot now. He read 12 books in Feb/March for a reading contest at school.

One thing to make sure is that her eyes work properly. Does she need glasses? Remember, some kids need glasses to read but nothing else. Do her eye muscles work together so the words aren't blurry or moving on the page? I would get her eyes checked by an OPHTOMOLOGIST, the MD eye dr, not an optometrist. Make sure you mention that she seems to be having difficulty reading.

Also, have you had her read out loud to you recently? Is she possibly not reading well for some reason. At 11 she should be able to read out loud in what sounds like a conversation, not the and..Jimmy...went...to... the....store monotone type reading. If she can't do that, she may have some reading issues. Check with her teacher to see if she has noticed anything with her as well.

 

[Southern4sure]

books that is. She used to love to read when she was younger. Now, getting her to read a book is next to impossible. She will read one or two pages and say that the book is boring. We have tried all different types of books fiction, non-fiction, books below her reading level etc. I also noticed that she is starting to get reading comprehension questions wrong on her tests because she is rushing through the reading selection. I don't want to force her to read or yell at her, because I want her to enjoy reading. Any suggestions?

Have you tried the Captain Underpants books? These are hilarious.

 

[PlutoPony]

Have an 11 yo DS who is only now beginning to like to read books... He's read the sports section of the Post and SI for Kids since he was maybe 7 but hasn't been a fan of books. Seems like the length of books turned him off, he really just wanted to read for the requisite half hour and be done with it, not have to pick up where he left off the day before - so we found short things and books he could read pieces of like the Kids Almanac, magazines, etc. Finally this year the "Series of Unfortunate Events" piqued his interest and he's on the 5th book now - yeah! I should add that he reads several years above grade level so this wasn't giving him a problem in school, but it did bother us as well as his teachers. The wonderful reading teacher at our school told me not to worry about it, as some kids frankly decide they LIKE reading at a much later time than others - and of course some not at all which was my big concern.
I am also not a fan of Accelerated Reader and I think that was one of our problems. It was hard for DS to equate "reading for pleasure" with reading to retain the level of detail you're tested on in the AR tests. It's a great program for some kids, it really didn't help encourage my son to read for the enjoyment of it....
Hang in there!

 

[padams]

I have a friend who had a book club for her DS last summer to get him to read. She invited 5 of his best buddies (including my DS) over for an afternoon and told them to they had to bring their favorite book (could be anything even a comic book). She had each kid give a preview (which lasted she said anywhere from 10 to 30 seconds) of the book he brought. Then she had the kids trade books. This took 5 minutes. She then let the boys hang out at her house for the next couple of hours doing whatever they wanted (playing video games, shooting baskets, eating snacks, etc.). She told her son that if he read his "new" book, his friends could all come over again and they would repeat the book club "party" (except that they had to tell about the "new" book they read, and if anyone showed up wthout reading it, he didn't get to come back to "book club"). A couple of the other boys dropped out after a single book but the others, including her DS, did it for the summer. Her DS is totally wrapped up in sports and would never want to attend a "book club" but since his buddies got to come over, he did just fine with it.

Also, when I was your DD's age, I loved Teen and Seventeen magazines. I don't know if they are still around. You might object to some of the content (boyfriend issues, makeup tips, etc.) but I bet she'd be interested.

 

[Crankyshank]

You said she used to like to read but doesn't anymore. How long ago did she stop enjoying it? It sounds like there might be something more to this than just not liking to read- have you had her eyes checked recently?

I agree that some kids just don't like to read - neither my brother nor my sister read at all. The fact that she used to like it but now doesn't make me wonder if there's other factors going on.

 

[CEDmom]

My mom is a reading specialist. She always advises parents of reluctant readers to find anything the child likes whether it's comic books, teen magazines, newspapers etc. It doesn't matter much the content (as long as it's age appropriate). It's all about mastering the skill of reading comprehension.

 

[Hannathy]

Does she she you and your DH reading? IMO it is very important for kids to see the parents reading a lot. Will she read on the computer? There are lots of sites like American girl with stories and stuff and as my Reading Professor used to say "reading is reading even if it is the back of cereal boxes"

There are a lot of series of books out there and usually when you hit on one they like they want them all. What does she like? My DD at that age loved the Dear America series they are great and written in a Diary form so she could read as little or as much as she wanted. Harry Potter. Series of Unfortunate Events,Dear America, Babysitters Club, Goosebumps,Little house(easier but interesting) I could go on the list is endless and so are the stacks in my DD's room. How about the classics, Little Women,Tom Sawyer, Gone With the Wind. If she hates reading she will have a harder time in school as she gets older, many teachers require reading books for other subjects often like in Social studies. My DD (8th gr.) is on her 3rd required book since the beginning of April along with the text and assignments in those subjects.
I would just have lots of variety around and also let her see me reading and enjoying it as much as possible. My DD 7 didn't like reading as well as his sister but then I realized he didn't like the kiddie books and once he got some of the DK Star Wars books and Eyewitness WWII books his reading interest and skills jumped tremendously 6 reading levels in 3 mos.
Good Luck summer is coming and I wish I could go back to the days of laying in the yard reading for hours!

 

[Imzadi]

One thing to make sure is that her eyes work properly. Does she need glasses? Remember, some kids need glasses to read but nothing else. Do her eye muscles work together so the words aren't blurry or moving on the page? I would get her eyes checked by an OPHTOMOLOGIST, the MD eye dr, not an optometrist. Make sure you mention that she seems to be having difficulty reading.

I agree with this. She may actually have another underlying problem which is making reading difficult.

Also, instead of getting books below her reading level, try books that will challenge her. The books may actually be too easy & boring for her like she said, so she breezes through stuff too quickly & makes mistakes.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I would sit with her and have her read aloud just to see if she is having problems or is just not enjoying reading.
If she is not enjoying reading that is something that cannot be "fixed".
If she is having difficulties then you can work on her skills and perhaps she can regain enjoying books.
There are so many for her age group.

 

[Olaf]

We have the exact opposite problem. DS reads all the time, at the table, in the bathroom, in bed with a flashlight, in the car (gets sick), etc. His teacher has told him no more reading in class. He has a tendency to rush through his work, so that he can pick up his book again.

Have you tried comic books & magazines? What are her interests? DS buys video game magazines and reads them cover to cover, over and over. Do you read to her? Even though my 5th grader reads at a post-high school level, I still read to him. He's read the Harry Potter series over ten times, but he loves it when I read them to him.

There are some good books out there on getting your child to be a reader. I'd check with your school librarian for some recommendations.

 

[Buckalew11]

Well, I come to this from a different perspective.

I was a good reader. I could read anything. I think you should check her reading a loud skills but I doubt that is her problem unless she needs glasses like someone else mentioned.

At age 39, I had a teacher/friend/client who was really troubled by my not liking to read.
It really didn't bother me--I just thought I was a "non-reader". But I didn;t sorta *want* to read because people who like to read seem to enjoy it so much. I felt like I was missing out!

Anyway, this friend diagnosed me with a problem referred to as "Visualization and Verbalization". I could READ anything I wanted to but I had very poor reading comprehension. I always scored lowest on those yearly tests on comprehension but no one caught on that there was a problem. A problem that made me dislike reading and therefore, I just never picked books up and read.

I urge you to do your child a BIG favor and look into this. If she just "didn't like reading"
it might be different but you say she has trouble with comprehension. That is the big red flag for me in your post.

School will only get harder and harder for her and she will not enjoy learning because of it. If you read and read and read and then have know idea what you just read, it is very frustrating.

I think the problem is easily solved most of the time. I had a teacher tell me last year that this (V&V) is the most common undiagnosed reading problem. Makes sense because these kids CAN read.

Here is a link to where my friend (who tutors) was trained for helping people with this problem: http://www.lblp.com/programs/conceptimagery.shtml

 

[Buckalew11]

I have to add. I just reread that page and it brings me to tears. That was me--every bit of it. School would have been so different for me if we'd have known earlier. I was a good student, 11th in a big school, but learning wasn't fun & every chapter read was sooo much work.

And this may not be her problem at all. But if it is, or is someone's child's problem, I hope it helps!!

 

[MickeyMouth]

Thanks for all of the replys. She wears glasses and has her eyes checked yearly. I really think the problem is with the comprehension. She started reading at a very early age, but I always felt that she was just reading the words and not really comprehending it. She does read Nickelodeon magazine. I think I will try reading a book with her and then discussing what we read together. I want to make it interesting for her and not something she is going to dislike.

 

[Puffy2]

There is a book series (only 4) called Spy X - the first one is THE CODE.

Try getting that and read it with her. It is a "thrilling" mystery series (worlds better than Box Car Children, which my "non reader" found boring). THe Spy X books hooked my non-reader;now they read Harry Potter and Chronicals of Naria. Good luck.