Why does she hate to read? I don't get it......

[Disney1fan2002]

My DD8 does not struggle to read, she has great reading comprehension, she just does not want to read.

I used to love reading when I was her age. I couldn't wait to disappear into a story.

I have mandatory 30 minute reading time each night. She will go to her room, and when I go and check on her, she is asleep. I know she purposely falls asleep, to get out of reading.

Well, at least I know she is well rested.

ETA: I should mention she is not a TV zombie and rarely plays video games. She would rather do crafts all day or play with her dolls.

 

[magicmato]

I would see if she is bored in school. I know that when I was in 2nd grade, I refused to read. Just flat out refused. They had a conference with the teacher, principal and my mom and I and they were trying to convince me to read and I told them flat out no.

They said: Well, if you do not read, you will not get to go to the library and pick out books.

I said: Why would I want to pick out books when I do not want to read?

My mom was mortified. Yet when I got into I think it was 5th grade, I began to read and was reading on a very high level. I knew how to do it, I was just very bored with what they wanted me to read and I just refused.

I would ask her if that is the problem.

 

[pumba]

one of the nuns that was teaching at the school my children attended .....MANY MANY years ago said that she did not care what they read as long as they were reading......even superman comics....so every week we would go to the bookstore and buy comic books....and he would read them......and reread them .....we then bought the hard cover superman story and he read that.....this was when he was in the 2nd grade.......

 

[RadioNate]

some people just don't like too. I don't. I can think of a zillion things I'd rather do. I have no problem reading, it isn't a struggle...I just don't really enjoy it. Sure I've read books I liked but I don't LOVE them or get that 'caught up' feeling. Maybe I don't have a good imagination but books never 'came to life' for me the way people who love reading talk about what books ment to them.

Now movies...TV? Music...totally different. Maybe books aren't her thing. Why isn't that an option?

 

[Disney1fan2002]

Why isn't that an option?

I just think where she is so young, it is strange for her to have such an aversion to reading, when there is no real struggle. She is in 3rd grade, and I shiver at the thought of her 1st book report.

I don't care if she never picks up a book to read after grade 12, but it would make my life a lot easier if she would just read in her school years.

 

[Wish I lived in Fl]

Try different subjects, authors, reading levels. Ask a librarian for reccommendations.

Maybe she has a hobby that she would be interested in reading about. My younger brother was a reluctant reader. He loved fishing. So my Mom got him a subscription to "Field & Stream".

 

[poohandwendy]

I agree with RadioNate. Some people just do not like to read. I think some people naturally like to read because it is a medium of entertainment that they enjoy and some people like more auditory and visual entertainment.

It also could be that she isn't reading material that interests her. And/or it could be that she is struggling with the reading level and frustrated. Or bored by the level because it isn't challenging her. Hard to say.

I wouldn't stop trying to peak her interest in reading at this young age, but I would try to find material that she really is interested in. Try something totally different maybe?

Maybe even something that is in a different form, rather than books...magazines, ect...

 

[princesspumpkin]

A teacher friend of mine said to get books that are about what interests them. DD-10 didn't enjoy reading. She would only read when she was told to. I just bought her one of the Chicken Soup series books - and now, she can't stop reading it (go figure ) She even reads it on the school bus. I think that she is fascinated with the fact that kids wrote the stories (it's the Chicken Soup for the Preteen Soul book). She now wants me to buy her the Chicken Soup for the Pet Lovers Soul book. She takes the book everywhere. I never thought that she would ever read for enjoyment. Little did I know that she just needed something to read that SHE actually liked.

 

[RitaZ.]

I know she purposely falls asleep, to get out of reading.

I don't know about that, reading does put me to sleep especially when I'm tired. Just today, I was studying for a mid-term and I fell asleep while I was reading.

I think some people are readers and others are not. You can force kids to read, but I doubt that will lead to a love of reading.

 

[Beth76]

Why does everyone have to like to read? I don't read for fun--I never have. Heck, when I was in school, I read the bare minimum to get by. And my parents and my sister are all avid readers. I just didn't get the reading gene. Besides, how many people do you know who sit around doing math problems for fun?

 

[golfgal]

Actually, you as a child were more out of the norm then she is. A lot of kids her age don't like to read for a hobby. Personally I would drop the mandatory reading because then it becomes a chore for her instead of pleasure. Sneak reading in other ways like have he read recipes to you as you cook, read the comics in the newspaper, etc. They also get a lot of reading in during school.

My oldest hated reading. He read the Harry Potter books between 1st and 7th grade and that was it. We didn't force the issue, he would read his Nintendo Power magazine and that was fine. We were really surprised when we had him tested in 6th grade that he had a reading level of a senior in high school because he NEVER read books. In 7th grade he found some books he loved and is now an avid reader. He read 12 books last February for a contest at school.

As a child and even into high school I HATED to read, now, I read all the time. The more you push her now, the more she will fight you. Just drop it for now and see what happens.

 

[kathyk2]

I wonder if reading seems like a chore to your daughter? By making it mandatory you've taken all the fun out of it in her mind. Reading should be something she wants to do not something she has to do.

 

[poohandwendy]

Personally I would drop the mandatory reading because then it becomes a chore for her instead of pleasure.

I agree with this. You cannot force the love of any interest, least of all reading. You can encourage it. But making it mandatory if she really dislikes it could end up making her less likely to take the opportunity to find real enjoyment in it later.

 

[MoniqueU]

My daughter is in 4th grade and has been the number one reader in her class since the end of K. For a few years she would be the best reader but still did not ENJOY reading. She would read non fiction and that was about it. She never wanted to read superfudge or Beverly Cleary. In fact she reads odd things. This year there is some reading competion going on betweeen her and another child for the most points reading, and they have to take a test on the books they have read. Her last two books she got were Gone with the Wind and War and Peace. She is slowly trudging through the gazillion pages. For us my daughter just needed to find what SHE thought was interesting, not what the teacher thought, or her parents or the books in her classroom. They just weren't for her.

YOur daughter will find herway or maybe she just will never enjoy reading the way some bookworms are. I know that would be a dissapointment but it might just be that way. Even if you excell at something you may not always enjoy it.

 

[palmtreegirl]

My DD hates to read too. But she loves Junie B Jones and comic book style books so she just reads those.

I was the same way when I was a kid but now as an adult I love it. Best advice I can think of is to not pressure her to love it, because the more you push the more resistant she may become. That's how I was.

 

[Mumbling Jumba]

My DD at the age of 10 would not read unless you beat her with a stick. So we stopped demanding and instead took her with us to book sales and said "Hey grab anything you want." She gradually went from picture books to somewhat heavy reading that I assumed was almost never opened.

Sometimes you don't see what is going on under your nose bacause two years later we are watching the movie "Arthur", when all at once she feels the need to explain the Roman origins of the King Arthur myth. It seems she had read a book on this at school and then decided to look it up on the web in the school library to learn more.

So much for not reading. I have since learned that she is devouring 1 to 2 books a month. I should mention that DD does not live with me, she lives with my ex.

 

[Dragonlord11_7]

My DD8 does not struggle to read, she has great reading comprehension, she just does not want to read.

I used to love reading when I was her age. I couldn't wait to disappear into a story.

I have mandatory 30 minute reading time each night. She will go to her room, and when I go and check on her, she is asleep. I know she purposely falls asleep, to get out of reading.
Well, at least I know she is well rested.

ETA: I should mention she is not a TV zombie and rarely plays video games. She would rather do crafts all day or play with her dolls.

When I was little, I never had mandatory reading stuff until I was in the 3rd grade. I ABSOLUTELY HATED IT. I hated bringing books in I could finish well before the 30 minute time limit. As a 3rg grader, I easily read a book a 6th grader couldn't comprehend. Heck, I read 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea when I was in 4th grade and completely understood it. And like others have said, maybe she just gets tired from reading.

Try challenging her, or maybe try a different approach to getting her to read. A game of matching her dolls/grouping them according to words printed on a card? I hated reading when I was little, but I LOVED the Pokemon games and I learned to read incredibly well for a 5 year old by themself. There might be a different answer to motivating her to read.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

My DD8 does not struggle to read, she has great reading comprehension, she just does not want to read.

I used to love reading when I was her age. I couldn't wait to disappear into a story.

I have mandatory 30 minute reading time each night. She will go to her room, and when I go and check on her, she is asleep. I know she purposely falls asleep, to get out of reading.

Well, at least I know she is well rested.

ETA: I should mention she is not a TV zombie and rarely plays video games. She would rather do crafts all day or play with her dolls.

I have always hated mandatory reading. Voluntary reading was tough unless I was extremely into a topic. The extent of my enjoyment nowadays is Nancy Drew--I can read it quickly.

In hindsight--my problem was that I Had to read things more slowly if I was going to comprehend it. I had no speed reading skills and probably read slower than the average student. It had nothing to do with my abilities to read. I have no LD's and when interested in a topic I would read just fine. On standardized tests--I did fine on reading comprehension but struggled if a particular section was on a topic I knew nothing about and was bored with (i.e. one time it was about an archaeological dig or something and I just had a hard time with it).

I was very smart--but reading as a result was not a pasttime for me. I still made A's and B's though.

Not everyone likes reading and as long as she tests fine--it isn't the end of the world. I would stay on top of reading assignments though and make sure she time manages properly to get those completed. I procrastinated an awful lot for mandatory readings. Textbook chapter assignments were just as difficult and I sucked at pop quizzes. I never several exposures before specifics sink in and pop quizzes test you the next day or so as a sign you have read. I always hated those things.

 

[Cool-Beans]

Maybe she's just not a reader. Lots of people aren't. And maybe she's taking a dislike to it because you're forcing her to do it.

Maybe you could read to her before she sleeps. So many people stop reading to their kids when the kids are able to read. But you can read her books that she might not be able to get through on her own. A Wrinkle in Time is a fun one to read out loud. Just a suggestion.

 

[Lanshark]

I teach reading to children who struggle with reading. Most of the students I teach are dyslexics. A child may read well and still not like to read. Find high interest books or magazines.