• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Capturing Wonderland
  • About
    • About Capturing Wonderland
    • Meet Julie
    • Our Wonderland
    • Disclosure & Privacy Policy
  • Homemaking
    • Handmade
    • Home Decor
    • Home Projects
    • Organize & Clean
    • Rehab & Reclaim
  • Home Grown
    • Home Education
    • In the Garden
    • Motherhood
  • Wonderland Library
    • Library Sign Up
    • Library Entrance
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • About Capturing Wonderland
  • Meet Julie
  • Handmade
  • Join the Community
  • Wonderland Library
  • Contact
  • Disclosure & Privacy Policy
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home » Home Grown » Home Education

    How to Motivate Your child to Read

    June 26, 2021 by Julie 19 Comments

    28 shares
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    Text: How to Motivate Your Kids To Read. Photo: A mother with her child in her lap reading a children's story book. Text: Your Guide to Getting Your Kids to Want to Read. www.CapturingWonderland.com

    Enjoy this post with the best tried and true tips and tricks to motivate your child to read from a Mom of 2 reluctant readers. In fact, I've been successfully using these tips to motivate my own children for several years. No more fighting. No more tears.

    Text: How to Motivate Your Kids To Read. Photo: A mother with her child in her lap reading a children's story book. Text: Your Guide to Getting Your Kids to Want to Read. www.CapturingWonderland.com

    I love books and even before I became a mother I knew I wanted my kids to love books. When I had my first son I made reading a priority and it became a part of our everyday routine. Each year we'd read hundreds of books through the library and eventually started growing our own home library (more on that later). Finally, my son was old enough to enter our library's summer reading contest.

    Books are so fun for me to read aloud and my enthusiasm leached into him. He would beg for stacks of books every night. Read to your kids. If it's important to you, it will be important to them because that quality time is what they crave naturally anyway. Make it a part of your life.

    But what's ironic is though I love books I wasn't a big reader before I had kids. So when my son grew up and didn't love reading either I kind of figured he took after me. But of course, it's more complicated than that as we discovered he has symptoms of ADHD and possibly dyslexia as well. It was a challenge, to say the least. I pushed and pushed, but then sort of gave up and just kept reading to him aloud.

    Enter the summer reading contest at our local library

    Every year our Summer Reading contest would pop up at our local library and I'd enroll him and encourage him every single day to read. We'd pick out books at the library every week and plow through them. It wasn't easy, but I wasn't going to give up.

    Even with his struggles every year without fail he won first place in the contest in his age group for books read and he reveled in the title and the prize. Still, getting him to read regularly was a struggle and a fight because it just wasn't enjoyable for him. I couldn't help but wonder how I could foster that enthusiasm in the summer to continue throughout the year? Here are a few things I've learned.

    A little girl sits on a couch cuddled up in a blanket with her kitty reading a book.
    My oldest daughter. She reads aloud to me every day.

    How do I motivate my child to read?

    There are a ton of ways to motivate your child to read and actually want to do it too. But it's probably best to tailor your approach to each individual child. Here are a few ways I have tried and succeeded to motivate my child to read in the summer and during the regular school year.

    Create an Incentive Program Specifically for Your Child.

    I chose to go with straight-up cash. I try to be minimalist in my approaches and don't want extra stuff floating around my house. Cash can be saved for larger purchases, be used on what they actually want, can go in a savings account, or put towards an experience like a trip to the movies. An added benefit to using cash is the money they earn can then become a learning experience on how to responsibly save and spend money as well as an understanding of how much things cost and how quickly cash can disappear.

    Have Your Child Be Apart of the Process.

    I printed out charts for each of my kids and they're responsible for checking off each book as it is finished. We also have a running list for the year of all the book titles, authors, and grade levels. They get to pick out the books, out of the books I've already preapproved. As they get older they will be required to write out all the information 100% themselves and keep track of it all. This gives them ownership.

    Reading is non-negotiable. Make the Goals attainable.

    Reading comes first in our house. If they want electronics or privileges I first ask "What have you read today?" It's a priority, it has to be, it can't be something that they think is optional. But I make the goals achievable. I want it to be a daily goal that isn't drudgery, just a part of the routine so as to form a good habit. So for my oldest who's 13 I require a time limit of 30 minutes, my 10-year-old reads a chapter a day, and my 6-year-old reads one story (his stories are short).

    Let them read below their grade level, if it's a good book.

    One of the things I am OK with is allowing them to read below their grade level, but not as a regular thing. I also make sure every book they're reading meets certain criteria. You can read more about that here at The Good and the Beautiful. (This is the curriculum we use and their Library is heavily leaned on throughout our school year).

    I chose to allow my oldest son to read well below his grade level for several reasons including the fact that it kept reading enjoyable for him. And that was my ultimate goal because if a child enjoys something then it becomes a lifetime thing.

    What do you do when your child hates reading?

    Find the Why

    In my experience with this, it is extremely helpful to discover the why. Why does your child hate reading? Is it boring? If that seems to be the case then you need to experiment with different types of books and genres. What is your child interested in? The first book I remember my son being excited to read was Charlie Brown's Snoopy and the Red Baron. Every time he showed an interest I went looking for book options to pull him in. Lastly, ensure there isn't something physically that's in the way like vision problems, dyslexia, dyspraxia, etc. If you've tried all these tips I mention and you're still struggling it may be time to consider having your child evaluated.

    Supplement with Audiobooks

    Maybe your child, like mine, struggles with reading and therefore it isn't enjoyable. I pushed Audiobooks hard to just get them to hear more books than I could read. Or take the pressure off of me to read literally every single book to them (we read a lot already in our homeschool day). So we started with books that were recommended in our curriculum, either required reading, or supplemental. My kids listen to literally hundreds of hours of books every month. If it does nothing else it has grown their vocabulary effortlessly.

    Create an Incentive

    Find a way to make it fun. Make it a challenge, give them a chance to get recognition, or the opportunity to earn money. We don't do allowances in our house, but I will happily pay my children to read books. But you know your child best and if you can't think of an incentive sit down with your child and ask them. Set a goal, give them a way to track their progress, and decide together on the prize they will get. Start small and build on it each month.

    FREE Vintage Nature Inspired Reading Charts

    I’ll send you 7 beautiful vintage illustrated reading charts that include: Sea Life, Caterpillars, Winged Creatures, Lizards, Frogs & Toads, Flowers, and Snails & Slugs.
    ​
    Get all 7 in a FREE PDF download + 7 Completion Certificates by subscribing below.

      We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at any time.
      Built with ConvertKit

      How can I promote reading in the summer?

      Create a hype. Make it special.

      I start early, like a month before summer starts for us (end of April). I remind them what's coming up and start getting them excited to participate. I've worked hard to make it a yearly tradition at this point. But you can definitely start now!

      1. Print off some reading charts to solidify the challenge.
      2. Sit down together and make a goal for how many books they'll read in the summer months.
      3. Take your kids to the library and pick out books together.
      4. Have a party to kick it off!

      I hope you learned a few things and got some great ideas on how to motivate your kids to read and feel inspired and equipped to start right now wherever you're at!

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Sincerely Julie Signature
      Text: How to Motivate Your Kids To Read. Photo: A mother with her child in her lap reading a children's story book. Text: Your Guide to Getting Your Kids to Want to Read. www.CapturingWonderland.com
      « How to Downsize When You're Overwhelmed
      The DIY Lifestyle of a Homeschool Mom of 5 »
      • Email
      • Facebook
      • Instagram
      • Pinterest
      • YouTube

      Reader Interactions

      Comments

      1. Abi

        June 29, 2021 at 5:55 pm

        I am totally pinning this for later! My son is only 2.5 but he is a keen 'reader' already. Hopefully he stays this way!

        Reply
        • Julie

          July 01, 2021 at 3:18 am

          That is so wonderful to hear! If you foster that love of reading no doubt he will remain a book devourer in time. <3

          Reply
      2. Stephanie

        July 01, 2021 at 7:49 pm

        Love this! My oldest has had a difficult time with reading so I will definitely be implementing some of these. I think having a reading chart and goal would help motivate her. I haven't tried that yet so thanks for recommending it.

        Reply
        • Julie

          July 02, 2021 at 9:41 pm

          You're very welcome. Trying new things to encourage them is planting that seed, I believe you'll see growth! Thank you so much for commenting.

          Reply
      3. Sarah

        July 02, 2021 at 2:44 am

        Such great ideas! Our toddlers love "reading" but are starting to get bored with our books. I need to add audio books into the mix. Great ideas.

        Reply
        • Julie

          July 02, 2021 at 9:43 pm

          Thank you so much for your comment! Yes, we started with a small number of books and we quickly decided to expand! Do you know if the "Imagination Library" services your area? If so, that was one way we started to grow our kids library for free! And there is so much excitement when little kids get their books in the mail.

          Reply
        • Julie

          July 02, 2021 at 9:43 pm

          You can find out here https://imaginationlibrary.com/ for more info on the program.

          Reply
      4. Michelle

        July 03, 2021 at 12:14 am

        So important in today’s age. What a great and helpful post!!

        Reply
        • Julie

          July 06, 2021 at 11:43 pm

          Thank you so much for your kind words. I absolutely agree!

          Reply
      5. Sierra

        July 05, 2021 at 4:30 pm

        Love these ideas! I think it was GK Chesterton that said his grandmother would pay him to read! LOL! I guess it worked!:)

        Reply
        • Julie

          July 06, 2021 at 11:43 pm

          We love his books! I tell you what, it does work! haha Thanks for your comment. 🙂

          Reply
      6. Kassy

        July 08, 2021 at 4:46 pm

        Beautiful! I have a struggling reader and I am grateful for these tips!

        Reply
        • Julie

          July 09, 2021 at 4:39 am

          Thank you so much, I hope they are helpful!

          Reply
      7. Lauren

        July 15, 2021 at 3:37 pm

        Fantastic ideas! Easy and practical - love it!

        Reply
        • Julie

          July 24, 2021 at 3:17 am

          Thank you so much!

          Julie

          Reply
      8. Suani

        July 15, 2021 at 4:21 pm

        Thank you, these are great ideas! We just discovered The Good and the Beautiful and I agree it’s a wonderful resource. What has worked for us is finding books that REALLY pull them into the stories, so they can’t wait to go back and read what happens next!

        Reply
        • Julie

          July 24, 2021 at 3:17 am

          Yes! I have found you can always tell a book that's "living" because it does just that, pulls you in! Thank you so much for your comment!

          Julie

          Reply
      9. Leslie

        July 16, 2021 at 3:19 am

        Great, advise. Our 4 yo loves when we read to her but rarely will pick up a book on her own. I usually bring it up (which acts as a reminder to her that she loves books). I let her "read" the pictures in the book.

        Reply
        • Julie

          July 24, 2021 at 3:16 am

          I love that age! I don't know that I've met a child at that age that doesn't love books or being read to, it's amazing. Thank you so much for your kind words!

          Julie

          Reply

      Leave a Reply Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Primary Sidebar

      Hi, I'm Julie! Mother to five beautiful kids, Homeschool Educator, Handicraft & DIY enthusiast, lover of Music & Poetry, Photographer, and aspiring Minimalist. Follow along for fun projects to help create a handmade home on a budget! Read more about me here→

      • Facebook Page
      • Instagram
      • Pinterest
      • YouTube
      • Mail

      Popular

      • How to DIY Dowel Curtain Rod Cheap
      • Make a DIY Shower Curtain from Thrifted Panels
      • 26 Farmhouse Bathroom Ideas on a Budget
      • Small Laundry Closet Refresh (Budget-Friendly)

      Looking for Something?

      Footer

      ↑ back to top

      About

      • Privacy Policy
      • Disclaimer

      Wonderland Community

      Sign up for all access to the Wonderland Subscriber's Library, Emails, & Updates.

      Contact

      • Contact

      As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

      Copyright © 2021 Capturing Wonderland

      28 shares
      • Facebook
      • Pinterest
      • Email