What do I do with my 'I hate reading' son??
Posted: Wed May 04, 2011 8:10 pm
DS is in Y4 and is academically fine; a secure L4 in maths and reading, but a 3a/4c in writing. I know these scores are fine for his age, but it is my view (and that of lots of other people!) that his writing will only improve if he starts to love reading. He doesn't *love* reading, but has just told me he hates it. He says he can read and he does at school, but he doesn't want to at home as he has other things to do (like watching tv...).
Half of me would just let him be and hope he learns to love it later on, but we live 2 minutes away from an excellent grammar school and both he and I would like him to go there. I think he is capable; we have been working through Bond/IPS (quite willingly) at a relaxed rate this year and I'm confident in his VR/Maths, but the English papers in Essex are scarily hard and I think if we don't keep on with the reading, he'll struggle with the vocabulary.
I don't really understand why he hates it; I, like lots of other children, would try to read under the duvet with a torch after I'd been told to stop and still read expansively now. DH is also a keen reader, so he's had good role models (even his youngers sisters both love books!). What can I say to his response that he 'can read, but hates it'? We've always said that they go to bed at x time, but can read/write or draw in their rooms until it's time to go to sleep, but he's increasingly objecting to that. I've tried audio books, comics, graphic novels, taken him regularly to the library (he sits and colours!!), funny books, joke books, information books, newspapers -what else can I try? We play scrabble and talk about the meaning of words a lot, but I am struggling with what to do next. Do we just say that reading is important and you need to do it (and enjoy it!) full stop or will that put him off for life? I have a couple of good friends who never read books ever and don't understand my problem, but I think it's more than just trying to enforce my 'hobby' on him. DH is all for getting cross and starting to take things away from him (DS/Ipod etc) to try to improve his attitude, but I don't particularly want it to come to that. He's a good boy, but just doesn't see the benefit of spending his time doing something he doesn't enjoy! He'll read to me and I read to him, but it's getting him to read alone that's the problem.
Does anyone see my point or am I really being unreasonable to a nine year old boy? Has anyone faced similar battles!?
Half of me would just let him be and hope he learns to love it later on, but we live 2 minutes away from an excellent grammar school and both he and I would like him to go there. I think he is capable; we have been working through Bond/IPS (quite willingly) at a relaxed rate this year and I'm confident in his VR/Maths, but the English papers in Essex are scarily hard and I think if we don't keep on with the reading, he'll struggle with the vocabulary.
I don't really understand why he hates it; I, like lots of other children, would try to read under the duvet with a torch after I'd been told to stop and still read expansively now. DH is also a keen reader, so he's had good role models (even his youngers sisters both love books!). What can I say to his response that he 'can read, but hates it'? We've always said that they go to bed at x time, but can read/write or draw in their rooms until it's time to go to sleep, but he's increasingly objecting to that. I've tried audio books, comics, graphic novels, taken him regularly to the library (he sits and colours!!), funny books, joke books, information books, newspapers -what else can I try? We play scrabble and talk about the meaning of words a lot, but I am struggling with what to do next. Do we just say that reading is important and you need to do it (and enjoy it!) full stop or will that put him off for life? I have a couple of good friends who never read books ever and don't understand my problem, but I think it's more than just trying to enforce my 'hobby' on him. DH is all for getting cross and starting to take things away from him (DS/Ipod etc) to try to improve his attitude, but I don't particularly want it to come to that. He's a good boy, but just doesn't see the benefit of spending his time doing something he doesn't enjoy! He'll read to me and I read to him, but it's getting him to read alone that's the problem.
Does anyone see my point or am I really being unreasonable to a nine year old boy? Has anyone faced similar battles!?