DGD hates reading

My son who is at Uni has never enjoyed reading. He reads what he has to and not a thing more. Nothing we ever did turned him on to it. It hasn't held him back.

We are having problems with DGS, 8, and writing, he reads fine, prefers English but the school is happy with that as long as he can read in French too which he can.
He just refuses to write, other than his name, he is not Dyslexic, he has been tested twice, once at school and once privately.
He loves Maths and is advanced for his age, same with Science.
We try to encourage him to write down all his Science stuff as he does his experiments, but after a couple of minutes he gives up.
He will be repeating his Primary two from September if he does not start writing properly.
Start school later here.

I work with someone who has never read a book in her life but she's perfectly competent in the job which requires lots of reading and writing. My DH who is very clever never reads books. It just doesn't appeal to some people. Hard for those of us who love reading to comprehend I know.

I was once in a supermarket where they also sold books. In the checkout queue next to mine I saw a little boy of about 7 show a book to his mother and ask if he could have it. I remember to this day her response "Why do you want a book? You've already got one at home." Needless to say he did not get it.

I taught my son to read before he started school but he showed no interest until Harry Potter. After that he devoured books. She just needs to find stories that she is interested in. Does she like animals, unicorns, nature, planets?

I agree that children have different interests and I'm sure DGD enjoys other things that are not all shared by all the family. I learnt to read with Janet and John books at school, even at 5 years old I thought they were so boring. We didn't buy new books at home, didn't have the money, and the library wasn't near. Thank goodness for a kind aunt who brought comics! Later on I read DM's books, not classics, which were probably not new when she was a child and they weren't interesting either. So I got to secondary school before I realised some books were riveting and yet I was still an avid reader. DGC, aged 5, can't bear to sit still with a book so I read aloud 'to myself' and I know it's all going in from the comments! I don't think that one will be much of a reader either, definitely more of a doer!

Buy her comics! Easy to read and mostly funny and it might gain her interest to read more widely. Maybe try listening to her read comics to make sure no underlying problems?

In another life I worked in the children's section of a book shop. A customer wanted a book for her niece.
'What type of books does she like?' I asked.
'She doesn't like reading but I want her to have a book.'
'Does she have any hobbies or interests?'
'She likes horses.'
'What about a book about horses?'

Could you say that sometimes it's nice to sit quietly by oneself and get involved in a good story or learn about a subject? I suspect though that some people just don't like reading and trying to force them only puts them off.

I've always loved books. We didn't have many as a child as they were luxuries we couldn't afford. I would devour the Odham's Children's Illustrated Encyclopaedia which had wonderful pictures of dinosaurs, the inner workings of the human ear, simple maps of the world, etc. It fascinated me.

When I was twelve there was a comic strip version of Jane Eyre in one of my comics. I found it interesting and asked mum if it was a proper book. Of course it was so I joined the local library. I had to pay sixpence to join (later refunded) and got the unabridged version which was a bit heavy going but I loved it. I've always liked a good book I can get my teeth into, as it were.

Annaram1 I had a similar experience. A child was asking for a book and her mother just wasn't having it. What do you want that for? Clearly a non-reading parent.

My husband had a family that didn't read. Then one day he was ill in bed and he got hold of a couple of books a friend had bought in and discovered the joys of reading.

His family just didn't have any books in the house

Something I find baffling

I have no pictures in my head when I read. Books have to grab at my 'thinking' brain to keep me involved. I love dystopian tales, and mysteries, and sci-fi and the occasional bit of chick lit. I am an avid reader though, live to read, read to live. English Lit at school was torture for me, Thomas Hardy and Dickens, all those flowery phrases to skip through.
When your GD finds her genre she'll be off. X

I would ask school (whenever that will be!) to double-check for dyslexia in case the poor child is having problems not of her own making.

If the answer is that she does not have dyslexia but just hates reading, visit your local library and enlist the help of a knowledgeable librarian who will be able to choose books targeted at your granddaughter.

Books aimed at your granddaughter's age group that perhaps target some of her interests, be it riding, ballet or sport etc., may be what she needs to hook her into reading more.

I wouldn't push her reading at the moment until you can check the above. Hope it all goes well!

Is she dyslexic? Sounds like my DD, now 30 - didn’t read, got assessed at my insistence and subsequently diagnosed. Had the right help at school (and home). Her book world opened with Harry Potter when they came out

I would be tempted to think that there is an underlying issue if she finds reading so tiring and uncomfortable as it sounds. If she could get some assessment or help before she gets to GCSE stage it may be of enormous benefit. School is not going to get any easier as she gets older.

I agree with the people who are wondering if she has dyslexia. When you say she can read perfectly well, are you talking about 'sounding out' words? A 10 year old shouldn't be doing this very often. Alternatively, as she seems to be very visual, could she have learned to 'read' by memorising whole words which means she gets stuck when she meets an unfamiliar word?

A bright 10 year old can use all sorts of strategies to cover up a reading problem including saying it's too tiring or boring. Having said all that, some children just prefer non-fiction and don't see the point of stories.

Schools can only screen for dyslexia to get an idea of whether or not a child is dyslexic, but it takes 3 hours to do a full diagnostic assessment to find out for sure. This is normally done privately by Specialist Assessors with an Assessment Practising Certificate - you don't need to see an Educational Psychologist. Hopefully dyslexia isn't the problem, but there's a lot that can be done to help the child if it is.

In the meantime, as other people have said, go for books, comics etc with lots of pictures and speech bubbles or audio books (even better if she can follow a text with one) if she will try fiction but don't pressurise her.

1. Don't make an issue of it
2. Read TO her.
3.Take her to a book shop to browse
4. Make sure she sees her parents enjoying reading.
5. Be patient. As long as she is reading what is needed to keep up at school then stop worrying.

I was the same my Dad got me into reading so much so that when I was 12 or 13 I had read all the early James Bond books and Alistair Maclean books He used send me to the Library to pick him books

One of the cleverest kids I know hates reading.

And thats fine we dont all have to like the same things.

She can read. She reads as a means to an end to complete school work (top sets across the board) but never ever does it for fun.

She is however gifted at music, LOVES to play music for hours and hours fantastic at sport and loves art

So what if she doesnt LIKE reading?

As other posters said. Eliminiate the possibility of not being able to read, but after that dont try to shove a square peg into a round hole

Het down time is her down time. I would hate to be forced to play music in my down time, its fine to find your own likes and dislikes

1. Don't make an issue of it
2. Read TO her.
3.Take her to a book shop to browse

That IS making an issue of it. Its sending a message that yoi dont like her as she is

Much better to take an interest in HER interests. Some movies are very clever, insightful, artistic, lyrical, thought provoking etc.. loving movies isnt a waste of time

AND a key life skill is knowing what helps you unwind. It doesnt matter what it is, its valuable if it relaxes you. Dont tell her, even inadvertently, that her relaxing is worthless

I totally disagree notanan2. My whole point was that you SHOULDN'T make an issue of it. Sorry if I explained that incredibly badly!

Do your GD's parents read? When I was a teacher parents would often say that they couldn't get their children to read . I would say " does your child ever see you read?". More often than not , the answer would be a definite "no". If you GD can see that her parents enjoyed reading it may help.

I totally disagree notanan2. My whole point was that you SHOULDN'T make an issue of it. Sorry if I explained that incredibly badly!

Making her time with her nannie about trying to make her like things she doesnt like by reading to her, going to book shops IS making an issue of it even if you think doing it that way is subtle as a brick

It's akin to gifting a tom boy a frilly dress.

Have fun with her and engage in HER interests to show she is good enough for you as she is.

Reading g is linked with higher levels of literacy and good mental health so I do think it’s important to encourage it. My son loves me reading to him although he’d rather cut his own arm off than pick up a book, so one of the things we’ve rediscovered is a love of snuggling up together while I read him one of the comic book stories he loves. I’ve just ordered him a BMX magazine - he’s obsessed with BMX bikes at the moment - and I’ll read that to him too. It’s not an either/or - it’s about acknowledging that reading is important for a number of reasons and encouraging it as covertly as is possible so that it’s not seen as reading=boring as such.

It’s like saying healthy eating or exercise isn’t my child’s thing, therefore I won’t encourage them to do it. The way to encourage it is to make it fun and manageable for them in a way that suits them. Five minutes a day of skimming through a comic on a topic they enjoy still counts as reading.

Reading g is linked with higher levels of literacy and good mental health

But so is listening to / playing music. And exercise, and conversation. Lots of things.

reading isnt the only way to flex the brain and broaden the mind

At 10 she will (usually) spend hours a day reading and writing. Its not as if she's not reading because she is, 5 days a week! (usually).

If she doesnt want to read as well during her relaxing time thats okay.

Book worms arent always great all rounders either. They might not like sport or they be shy at conversation.

celebrate her strengths and let her be

Five minutes a day of skimming through a comic on a topic they enjoy still counts as reading.

10yr olds to FAR more than 5 mins of reading as a basic requirement. More like 5 hours at school. (or whatever is being set for them during home school) Why cant that count as her reading for the day?

My son has an ASD, he will not read novels but will read factual books, however he will listen to an audio book. When he tries to read novels he says they sound 'flat' but he loves the drama of an audio book. Perhaps that might be the key to loving books.