How can I get my child to read?

How can I get my child to read?

The importance of reading for young people cannot be overstated. Study after study finds that children who read are happier in their lives and in themselves and that they go on to lead happier, more prosperous lives.

But reading rates are falling, with only about a third of British teenagers reading for pleasure more than once a week.

Even more importantly, in these times of economic inequality, where the pressure students feel to succeed, and incidence of mental illness amongst teenagers is higher than it has ever been,  literacy skills may well be a factor . A recent study found that  36% of teenagers with low literacy were found to exhibit depressive symptoms,  but this rate fell to only 20% amongst those with the highest levels of literacy.

Part of the reason for this may be the intensity with which readers engage with emotions and themes. The written / spoken word may be ideally suited to exploring relationships and abstract ideas.  One study found that reading Harry Potter has been shown to improve children's attitudes toward stigmatized groups such as immigrants, refugees, and members of the LGBT community.

And finally, there is some evidence that readers go on to earn more in later life.  16 year-olds who read books for pleasure were found to be more likely to secure managerial or professional jobs in later life.

But with reading rates amongst kids falling, what can you, as a parent, actually do?

1. Read yourself (get involved)

A recent report in Time magazine highlighted the number of teenagers who state that they never read has tripled in the last thirty years. Approximately one in four teenagers never read.

In England, 36% of adults don't read for pleasure, rising to 44% of young people (aged 16 to 24)
Let's be honest here,  kids don't necessarily want to be like their parents, but not reading with the hope of sparking a literary passion to spite you - well, it's a high risk strategy.

The Time magazine article reports that  parents were reading to children less. Childen aged 2 to 7 were read to for an average of 45 minutes per day in 1997, but by 2013, it was only 30 minutes a day on average.

It's no great leap of logic to suggest that parents who aren't reading might feed into kids not reading either.

So READ Goddamnit!

If you read yourself you can talk about the genre of books you like. You can make suggestions, but even better you can get them to suggest books to you!

2. Check out the Booktubers

Chances are that even if your kids don't read, they do watch Youtube, so why not use Youtube to get them reading?

#Booktube is global community of people making videos about books and reading, and it's surely no surprise that most #booktubers are young people. There are thousands to choose from but all of them are bright and breezy and far cooler and more  attractive than you or I and they understand what other young people are looking for.

Often the hardest thing about starting or restarting reading is the knowing where to start.
One of the issues with #booktube always used to be that it was pretty hard to find any boys who did it. Well that's improved a bit, but I'll admit it's still tough.

So here are a couple of guys to start you off:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCf8tq5GX-wZCrXYllLLBfFw
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO4gc7hDHadzfuu6_yXbB4g
Just go to Youtube and type 'booktube' and see what happens.

3. Read texts linked to your child's favourite films and franchises

According to AMC Theatres the highest grossing films of 2018 so far are:
1. Black Panther.
2. Avengers: Infinity War.
3. Incredibles 2.
4. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.
5. Deadpool 2.
6. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.
7. Solo: A Star Wars Story.
8. Ant-Man and the Wasp.

So Marvel superheroes, Star Wars, Jurrassic Park - the one thing that's certain is that big brands and shared universes coupled with big marketing budgets work, especially on kids.

The good news for readers is that mega-franchises like these  have accessible literary off-shoots. Comics and graphic novels of Star Wars and Marvel are readily and cheaply available, especially in ebook form. And there are novels too.

And why not see whether your kids' latest Netflix obsession is based upon a novel?

 Here are a few:

4. Encourage reading electronically

Okay, so this one might be a bit controversial. But some studies do show that electronic reading is becoming increasingly popular with young readers, and readers from minority groups. Now it's true that Young Adult books tend not to sell as well as paperbacks, but think about it. Is that because kids don't want to read that way, or is it because it reflects the values of people of our generation who are buying them the books?  Between 2010 and 2017 the number of 10 year-olds preferring paper books to e-books fell from 66% to 58%.

If you're not convinced, and you might not be, then I would urge you to think, how much of the time does your child have their phone with them? I'm betting it's somewhere near 90%, possibly  more. And how often do you see kids on their own looking at their phone? They do it all the time, so get books on that thing, and give the written word a fighting chance.

5. Listen to audiobooks

My final suggestion is audiobooks. With smartphones and wifi, audible, apple books, Amazon and Spotify, audiobooks have never been mor easy to access in almost any situation.  But audiobooks have a lot of advantages.

Firstly, audiobooks help to bridge the gap between TV and film and the written word. Studies into audiobooks in the classroom suggest that they postiviely affect kids attitudes to reading.

Not only that but they are great for kids who struggle with decoding the written word. They improve the understanding and performance of dyslexic students, and limited studies suggest that dyslexic students who listen to audiobooks do better academically.

Audiobooks help to build the vocabulary and understanding of language that today's students so desperately need.

And finally

An online poll of over four thousand people from a representative sample in the UK revealed that regular readers for pleasure reported fewer feelings of stress and depression than non-readers, and stronger feelings of relaxation from reading than from watching television or engaging with technology intensive activities.

And don't forget the mean stuff:
- Turn off the internet, or install access limiting apps on the phones or tablets they have access to.
- Take the TVs and games consoles out of bedrooms, or at least fit access management devices to them.

That's just common sense.

I  hope that the tips you find here help your kids to find the genuine happiness and lifelong prosperity that reading can provide.

Cheers.
Geoff Smith