I love reading, I always have. I was the kid you’d find reading with a flashlight long after tuck in and as an adult, if I can find a day to while away plowing through a good book, I’m there! As a parent, when my oldest started to follow in my footsteps, my heart soared. It’s been a completely different road for my youngest, who’s seven going on eight, and just started 2nd grade. While he can read well, he’s struggled to find that sweet spot where he wants to read versus feeling it’s a chore. He’s finally rounded a corner and here’s what worked for us. 

Let Them Read What They Want

In the early years, the rule was to read for 15, then 20, then 30 minutes a night. It was clear that the books sent home with school weren’t super engaging, so I encouraged him to find things or books he wanted to read. He read anything from Highlights, toy catalogs, picture books from his room and even Minecraft instruction books! Eventually this moved into graphic novels and finally onto early chapter books.

Share the Love of Reading

One of my son’s issues with reading was that it was a chore, a homework assignment. He felt that if he could read, wasn’t that enough? His dad and I would share what we read every day—news articles, recipes, travel books, books for pleasure, Facebook! We’d talk about how books could take you to new places—both real and imagined. We’d take him to bookstores, libraries, school book fairs and let him choose books. He’d watch his teen brother repeatedly read the Harry Potter series. We continued to read nightly to him. And we made him read—every weekday—even during the summer. As we worked with him, his confidence grew. The irony is that he didn’t see it!

Find Their Passion

Despite all the books on the bookshelf and watching the rest of the family reading, it was a challenge to find the book or series that really made his heart and mind sing. I reached out to his teachers and asked for their recommendations and based on that, we finally bumped into a couple series that did the trick. 

While he initially gravitated toward the Bad Guys series, I don’t love graphic novels for emerging readers—too many made up words and it’s hard to follow on the page what to read next. I also questioned the subject matter. I will make a shout out to Narwhal and Jelly, though. Super fun, but again, lots of made up words. My oldest liked Nate the Great, Calvin & Hobbes and Diary of a Wimpy Kid, but none of those fit my youngest very well. 

In the end, the Eerie Elementary and Dragon Masters series are what lit a fire for him. While he hasn’t finished the Eerie series, he’s still madly reading the Dragon Masters books and already plotting his next series, including tackling Harry Potter! 

His dad and I are thrilled he’s finally starting to see the joy that reading brings. Now that’s he’s truly back in class, he’s talking with his friends about what he’s reading and what they’re reading. What could be better?

This informative post was written by my amazing sister-in-law. She is fully committed to her family, running half and full marathons, her work as a project manager, and introducing others to Beautycounter products. She inspires me on the daily! She is gifted at finding deals on books, and as you can tell, keeps on looking until she discovers the ones her boys respond to best. Thank you so much for sharing your journey and helpful conclusions, Holly!

tawnyember