Can an 8 year old read "too much"?

[Robinrs]

I tried to read the dictionary too, but everytime I got to the end, I fell asleep...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 

[JR6ooo4]

reading ruins your eyes. almost everyone who likes to read wears glasses.

Mikeeee

 

[Papa Deuce]

I have always been an avid reader - having learned how to read long before I went to school.. But I always engaged in other activities as well - which is a key factor in whether or not one is reading "too much"..

It sounds like your DD is very well rounded and I wouldn't worry about it in the least.. There is so much knowledge that can be obtained from reading - not to mention you can be an "'arm chair traveler"; briefly live in a far off fantasy world; stumble upon a subject that you become so interested in you decide to take it up as a hobby or a career; and on and on..

I wouldn't be worried in the least.. Be happy!!

Oh, I am 99% THRILLED. I can't believe the vocabulary on this child of mine... but my worry is that it seems like she wants to read more, and do less of the other things that currently keep her "well rounded", as time goes on.

BTW, she wants to read Twilight... but I have no idea if that is appropriate for an 8 year old. Any thoughts on that?

 

[FireDancer]

reading ruins your eyes. almost everyone who likes to read wears glasses.

Yep. And if you keep doing it you'll go blind.

Oh wait, that was something else.

Nevermind.

 

[Judy from Boise]

another who was exactly like your DD, I still ready voraciously. Do you want suggestions for some good series she might enjoy ?

 

[Sparx]

Oh, I am 99% THRILLED. I can't believe the vocabulary on this child of mine... but my worry is that it seems like she wants to read more, and do less of the other things that currently keep her "well rounded", as time goes on.

BTW, she wants to read Twilight... but I have no idea if that is appropriate for an 8 year old. Any thoughts on that?

twilight is very very very light reading. they're written in a rather immature fashion with a small vocabulary and relatively simple plot line. the first few wouldn't be an issue, but the fourth, breaking dawn, has a lot of sex in it, but again, thats 4 big books, so it might take her awhile to get through them.

 

[Papa Deuce]

another who was exactly like your DD, I still ready voraciously. Do you want suggestions for some good series she might enjoy ?

That would be GREAT!

 

[Rora]

BTW, she wants to read Twilight... but I have no idea if that is appropriate for an 8 year old. Any thoughts on that?

I'm sure she could read Twilight just fine but it gets pretty raunchy.. I'd say to save that for middle school.

 

[mtomlin66]

twilight is very very very light reading. they're written in a rather immature fashion with a small vocabulary and relatively simple plot line. the first few wouldn't be an issue, but the fourth, breaking dawn, has a lot of sex in it, but again, thats 4 big books, so it might take her awhile to get through them.

IMHO, Twilight is not it for an 8 year old. I wouldn't call it light reading for such a young child. It was written to appeal more to middle school / junior high kids. Although there isn't any sex in it, the topic may be a bit mature for your child. I guess it will really depend on what you deem is appropriate reading material and are comfortable exposing her to right now.

BTW my 12 year old DD is a voracious reader also and has been since she first started reading. In third grade her teacher decided that she was having significant social issues and was using books as a way to distance herself from others. All of this came about because she often took books outside with her to read during recess.

If the teacher would have talked to her, my daughter would have explained that she was in the process of reading all of the Magic Treehouse series and would often be in the middle of a book when independent reading time ended and she wanted to find out what was going to happen next. Interestingly enough, no one else has ever viewed this as a concern.

In my experience, by 5th and 6th grade most teachers are trying to actively encourage kids to read more often!

 

[shortbun]

As long as other activities are being enjoyed, reading is good for the soul and the brain. Encourage her to stretch. Reading IS relaxation btw so don't think she's stressing out-she's not. I used to keep a flashlight in my bed so I could read after my mom told me to stop. I don't think you need to censor her reading much either. My son's friend read all the Stephanie Plum books by Janet Evanovich the summer he was 11 because the other books he'd read were boring him. I was shocked but he seems to have survived it. lol!

 

[alexandria674]

Yep. And if you keep doing it you'll go blind.

Oh wait, that was something else.

Nevermind.

 

[cybrkitn]

My one daughter is a voracious reader at 8 years old. Beside reading what she needs to for school, I would estimate that she reads an additional 600 - 1000 pages of books a week. Mostly this is Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew type stuff, but she also reads Narnia and a few other similar style books.

She does do things away from reading... she takes tennis lessons and has play dates... She also goes to the playground to play with kids... I take her swimming at the Y once or twice a week.

My only concern, really, is that as she gets older she reads even more every week it seems. BTW, it is not uncommon for her to head to her bedroom at 7PM and read until 9:30.... her bedtime.

Think that is too much reading for an 8 year old?

WOW! I wish I could get DS7 to read that much! He had no interest in 1st grade and it was like pulling teeth to get him to read. Now that he is in 2nd grade and he can put his AR books on the log sheet, he's reading (he's up to a 2.5 on the AR level). However, he's still new to chapter books and hasn't read a full book yet on his level (with more than 4 chapters).

 

[DreaminDisney]

Personally I don't think a chid can read too much. I know a lot of parents who want their kids to read more. My kids love to read too. I've always encouraged them to read and now I'm happy they like it so much.

 

[Papa Deuce]

WOW! I wish I could get DS7 to read that much! He had no interest in 1st grade and it was like pulling teeth to get him to read. Now that he is in 2nd grade and he can put his AR books on the log sheet, he's reading (he's up to a 2.5 on the AR level). However, he's still new to chapter books and hasn't read a full book yet on his level (with more than 4 chapters).

It is funny how it all started. I bought each of my kids a Nancy Drew book.. Neither one will read it, they say, because they hated the recent movie. Anyway, I told my one daughter that the Hardy Boys are just like Nancy Drew books, but with boys. She seemed a little bit reluctant to try a Hardy Boys book... so I did what any good dad does --- I bribed her!! I offered her $5 if she could read a whole Hardy Boys book in 1 week.

Two days later she came to me and said she was done reading it ( 178 pages )... I was in shock. She asked me to buy her more HB books.... Heck yeah! Except instead, what I did was take her to the public library and let her get her own library card. She was BEAMING when I gave that to her! Now she gets all her HB books from the public library, as her school doesn't have any.

Since school started this is my guess as to what she has read:

10 Hardy Boys Books.. all about 175 pages each

300 pages of "chapter books" for her "Books Are Awesome" school program.

A book about a dog that served in Viet Nam... 300+ pages

2 Narnia books

2 Artemis Fowl Books

and 3 of the 5 books in this series:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Prydain

I "think" it was the library card that did it... She was so proud to get one!

 

[NMAmy]

Let her read! DD is a reader, I'm a reader, and luckily, my mom is a reader, too. When I was a kid, I loved summertime because I could read all day long. We lived in a rural area and the only other kid around was my younger sister--and let's face it, we got along okay but that was way too much time with just the two of us. Mom would make me sit outside to read so I'd get some fresh air.

It sounds like you're doing a great job encouraging her by getting her a library card. Enjoy the fact that she's not watching too much tv or playing too many video games.

 

[MsLeFever]

I was just like this -

Suggestions

NOT the Twilight books - in my not so humble opinion - they are garbage - too sexy for 8, terrible female role models and poorly written besides.

Little House on the Prairie books!

The Happy Hollisters (family that solves mysteries)

Series of Unfortunate Events

She might be ready for the first couple of Harry Potters!

The Boxcar children (a classic)

Wizard of Oz (there are probably 20 other Oz books)

I wish my kids loved to read like I do!

 

[cybrkitn]

She seemed a little bit reluctant to try a Hardy Boys book... so I did what any good dad does --- I bribed her!! I offered her $5 if she could read a whole Hardy Boys book in 1 week.

Two days later she came to me and said she was done reading it ( 178 pages )... I was in shock. She asked me to buy her more HB books.... Heck yeah! Except instead, what I did was take her to the public library and let her get her own library card. She was BEAMING when I gave that to her! Now she gets all her HB books from the public library, as her school doesn't have any. !

I took the same route with DS7 yesterday when he came home from school. He ice cream, so I told him that if he can finish reading his AR book by today (it's 11 chapters in large print), then I will treat him to ice cream. His answer came back in a question, "Can I still get ice cream if I don't finish the book?" Um, no. I told him he now has a goal to reach in order to get that ice cream.

He read just about all of chapter 1 and wasn't able to pick it up later due to Cub Scouts. The school gives him about 2 days to finish reading chapter books due to their length. So I'll have to see if he is going to take me up on my bride after he gets home from school today.

Since school started this is my guess as to what she has read:

10 Hardy Boys Books.. all about 175 pages each

300 pages of "chapter books" for her "Books Are Awesome" school program.

A book about a dog that served in Viet Nam... 300+ pages

2 Narnia books

2 Artemis Fowl Books

and 3 of the 5 books in this series:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Prydain

I "think" it was the library card that did it... She was so proud to get one!

Wow! That's a lot of books. Good for her!

DH and I recently found out that DS7's reading level may be at a 2.5, but his comprehension is more at a 2.0 (based on his AR tests). The school will be working with him 3 days a week to get him up to par. We have noticed that when he is retelling a story, it's out of sequence.

 

[AlleyKat]

If we ALL read more think of how much more intelligent we would all be! We would have so much information stored in our brains and perhaps we would not ask dumb questions, or made poor choices.....etc!

Touche'!!!!!!


PD, this may cause problems later in that you'll need to find time to attend functions that honor the brilliance of children, such as your daughter.

The only thing you should worry about is how much money the cost of tuition will be when said daughter receives her exception letters from Ivy Leaque colleges!


I've honestly never known anyone worried about possible "harm" being brought on by too much reading(until now)!

How wonderful this country would be if all children became infected by a dreaded reading "epidemic"!!!

 

[Buckalew11]

Oh, I am 99% THRILLED. I can't believe the vocabulary on this child of mine... but my worry is that it seems like she wants to read more, and do less of the other things that currently keep her "well rounded", as time goes on.

BTW, she wants to read Twilight... but I have no idea if that is appropriate for an 8 year old. Any thoughts on that?

Just say "no" to Twilight. Inappropriate for an 8 yo. Could she read it? Sure. But there is a difference between an 8yo reading it and a 13yo reading it. Like a PP said, it is poorly written and just not the role model to set before your DD. I rarely ever censored what DD reads, but at the young age of 8, I think you need to do it a bit.
The books suggested are great ones. At 8 DD also loved the animal adventure ones. there are a zillion of those out there! lol

Yep. And if you keep doing it you'll go blind.

Oh wait, that was something else.

Nevermind.

You are cracking me up today!

 

[Buckalew11]

Touche'!!!!!!


PD, this may cause problems later in that you'll need to find time to attend functions that honor the brilliance of children, such as your daughter.

The only thing you should worry about is how much money the cost of tuition will be when said daughter receives her exception letters from Ivy Leaque colleges!


I've honestly never known anyone worried about possible "harm" being brought on by too much reading(until now)!

How wonderful this country would be if all children became infected by a dreaded reading "epidemic"!!!

I've had people ask me (why me? I don't know, lol) this same question before. I think, because it is so unusual these days for a kid to absolutely love reading so much, a parent may feel the need to ask.

My oldest sister loved to read and was much like the OP's daughter but probably worse. I remember her getting in trouble for it a lot. Only a few times did I actually get onto DD for reading at inappropriate times. Sometimes I wanted to say something but I didn't because I knew it was good for her and didn't wasnt to discourage her. There were times when taking away books would have really been a punishment that made her "wake up" but I never had the heart to take away books. I have known many a parent who did though.