It’s happened again. You just looked up and it’s somehow already 6:30 in the evening and you don’t even have dinner started. How exactly are you going to get dinner done, kids bathed, homework finished, and bedtime done? And don’t even get me started on the dishes…
You know reading matters. You know all the benefits and how important it is for almost every aspect of their lives. But sometimes? The idea of adding one more thing to your already out-of-control evening routine is enough to make you want to pull your hair out.
Don’t stress, mama. Helping your kids fall in love with reading doesn’t have to add another thirty minutes on to the night. This librarian mom hybrid is gonna help you make it easy!
First, Figure Out What “My Kid Won’t Read” Actually Means’
Before we fall too far into this rabbit hole, let’s make sure we’re all on the same page (pun intended!). We’re here to address:
“My kid doesn’t like reading.”
Yep, we’re here for that today. We’ll discuss motivation and interest here.
“My kid will only read certain things.”
Hard truth, mama? This one is not a problem AT ALL. Go ahead and toss your preconceived ideas of what they “should” be reading out the window.
“My kid used to love reading and suddenly stopped.”
This is absolutely worth looking at what might have changed. Stuff like this doesn’t just happen for no reason.
“My kid reads below grade level and avoids books.”
Some of what we discuss here will certainly help with that, but maybe move down to the next paragraph too.
We’re here today to discuss ways of helping your kiddos build positive reading habits and find books they actually enjoy. If your child is consistently struggling to decode words, read accurately, or understand text, please talk with their teacher or a reading specialist before assuming the problem comes from a lack of motivation.
1. Let Your Kid Choose What to Read
Hear me when I say – I understand how hard it is to loosen the reins on these babies. I do. But if we don’t let them choose their own books now, they’re not going to voluntarily pick them up later. You can guide without controlling. If there are books you hardcore do not want your little to be exposed to, don’t bring them into your house. Easy. Have a stack of mama-approved books in a wide range of genres and let your babies graze on them as they feel like.
I hear – constantly – from parents, and even still from some teachers – that “graphic novels are not real books.” Forget that. Graphic novels are 100% real books and if your child is obsessed with them, ENCOURAGE THAT and thank your lucky stars. They operate the same way picture books do for literacy skill building just at a more advanced level. They are just as valuable and standard novels for building reading stamina and – in some cases – even more so (’cause all these kids are different!).
You know what else totally counts as reading? Cookbooks, joke books, sports magazines, video-game cheat codes books, the book that drones on and on about cheetahs, and – yes – even that book they reading 20 times yesterday.
So yeah, let those babies read whatever makes them happy and sparks joy. Because, especially at this stage of the game, we’re more focused on building that foundational love of reading before we bother with anything else.
2. Let Their Interests Do the Recruiting
Here’s one of those time-saving cheats (that isn’t really a cheat – we’re just working smarter rather than harder). If your child is already completely obsessed with something – baseball, sharks, princesses, gaming, horses, magic, whatever – lean in to that! Find all the books about their current hyper-fixation you can get your hands on.
This is one of my favorite librarian tricks for finding books for anyone, not just kids – “What is your favorite movie/video game/television show right now?” You already know what they’re passionate about; the work has been done for you. You’re just playing a match game now!
3. Stop Worrying So Much About Whether a Book Is “Good Enough”
It is, move on.
But in all seriousness, mama, it is. It (and you) are already enough. The back of the cereal box is enough. The graphic novel series that they’ve brought home a different installment of every day after school is enough. The magazine article about their newest celebrity crush? Yep, that one’s good enough too.
Variety is the spice of life. And it really does wonderful things for literacy skill building too! If they’re reading, they’re getting in reps. And reps are going to strengthen those skills way quicker than forcing them through a literary masterpiece ever will.
4. Make Reading Easier to Start
Life hack time! We’re going to set up the house so it’s easier for your kids to just say “yes!” to books. You ready for this?
Put them everywhere.
I mean it, absolutely everywhere. We have baskets in the bathroom, bedrooms, living room, dining room, and office. Decorate with books. Throw some pretty ones on a living room shelf. Get out some of those cookbooks from your wedding registry and display them in the kitchen. Put them in the cool little pouches on the seat in front of them in your car.
Make it easy – painfully easy – to say yes. Remove the extra steps that make their little brains resist in the first place. Books are already there, no work involved. Half the time, mama? You won’t even have to say anything.
5. Try Ten Minutes Instead of “You Need to Read”
Remember those reps we talked about earlier? This is another spin-off of that. We need to build stamina and that doesn’t come by running a marathon in your first week. We’ve got to ease these darling little attention-lacking brains into longer reading sessions. So start small. Try just 10 minutes.
Let your child pick something to read. Set a timer for 10 minutes. Now read. You read to them, they read to you, they read independently, you both read silently in the same shared space – it doesn’t matter. Just read.
When the timer goes off, they’re done. That’s it. And if they want to keep going? Whoop and holler where they can’t hear you and let them.
Ten minutes is not a magic number. This is your beginning rep just like preparing for that marathon. If those ten minutes are too intense, try five. That stamina will build. And five minutes every day beats ten minutes twice and never again EVERY TIME.
6. Keep Reading Aloud – Even After Your Child Can Read
You heard me. Keep reading to your babies, even when no one else considers them babies.
I read to my middle school students when they came to the library and they loved it. We read at home as a family even though my oldest reads independently on a daily basis. And here’s one of the things people often don’t realize. That time you spend as a family unit reading? The one that creates all those amazing little family-bonding fuzzy feelings? Those fuzzy feelings are now sitting beside reading in your child’s developing brain. And that just made reading a whole lot more appealing.
So read a chapter a night as a family. Throw that audiobook in the car on a trip. Just enjoy reading together.
7. Yes, Audiobooks Count
Speaking of that book we just tossed in the car, yep, audiobooks count too. And they 1000% save the day when this mama is too tired/sick/over it all to read aloud herself.
Listen while waiting in line somewhere. Let them listen while also doing another activity like drawing or coloring. Listen while you take care of your home together. Listen while they drift off to sleep at night. Audiobooks aren’t a replacement for reading independently; they’re another way of experiencing stories, language, and ideas.
Make it easy. If you have a paid subscription like audible, fabulous, but that’s not required. Check with your local library – many have CDs available and (my personal favorite) free-to-you apps like hoopla and Libby for downloading remotely. And don’t get me started on the wonderful worlds of Toniebox and Yoto. Those devices are worth their weight in gold as far as I’m concerned. They’ve saved me from “Mom, read this book to me” more times than I can count.
8. Don’t Turn Every Book Into a Pop Quiz
Just don’t. Not every book needs to have the author’s purpose and theme identified. You know what else helps build recall and works all those comprehension skills?
“Did you like it?”
“What do you think is going to happen next?”
It doesn’t have to be hard and you don’t need a degree in education. Are those discussions about conflict great tools? Absolutely! But not every book needs a report after you’re done.
9. Let the Library Do Some of the Work for You
That’s it, that’s the whole thing. You’re done.
I am so for real right now. Walk in the library, ask one of those goofy people behind the desk to help your child find something they like, and go get a book for yourself. You deserve it, mama.
The librarian has this. You don’t need to hover. (Believe me, I know this is hard!) Sometimes kiddos are more inclined to open up about their likes and dislikes if they don’t feel like a parent is silently judging them (or not-so-silently). Step back and give yourself and your kiddo a break.
This absolutely goes beyond just finding books they like. Libraries offer programming that naturally incentivizes reading. Summer Reading programs are incredible. Did you know some have apps now? It’s like an online game and leaderboard that they can join and log their reading on. Reading can be gamified!
10. Build the Bare-Minimum Reading Routine
Pick ONE. Not two. Not three, four, or all. Just one.
The Exhausted Mom’s Reading Routine
Option A: 10 Minutes
Read together for 10 minutes tonight.
Option B: While you make dinner
Your kids can read in the kitchen while you cook for that awesome body-doubling or you can listen to an audiobook together.
Option C: Car Ride
Audiobooks work beautifully here too! Especially on those longer trips… And don’t forget, your child can always read to you while you drive. I cannot even tell you how many insanely random facts my son has shared with me about pythons.
Option D: Bedtime
Read those babies to sleep. And here’s one of my favorite two-birds-with-one-stone moments that does a lot to save time and alleviate some of my mom guilt: read with the kids in the space immediately before bed. You get the reading in AND you’ve spaced out screentime from bedtime by at least a tiny buffer. You’re welcome.
Option E: Absolute Chaos
And here is where I tell you that five minutes is okay. And you know what else is okay? Skipping it. You know what we’re not going to do, mama? We’re not going to “make up for it later.” We’re going to remember that YOU deserve grace. We’re going to remember that life can be overwhelming sometimes. And we’re going to remember that you being on this page already proves you are doing an amazing job and your babies are going to be just fine.
The endgame is not to create and stick to a perfect routine. Success looks like working reading into your normal, everyday life.
What If My Child Still Hates Reading?
Then you try something new. A different format, a different topic. Experiment with different reading levels and vocabulary. Let other people read to them. Let them stop reading a book halfway through if they don’t like it or just aren’t feeling it right now. Take them to the library.
And when those don’t work? Try something else.
Don’t forget; if you think the issue might have more to do with decoding, fluency, or some other similar frustration, talk to a teacher or literacy specialist. Everything is figureoutable.
You Don’t Have to Raise a Reader Perfectly
Your child does not need you to become a reading teacher. They do not require a Pinterest-perfect reading nook built into a corner of the house or an hour-a-night of dedicated reading instruction. They just need you. A mama who cares enough to stop scrolling and read an entire article about how to help her kids become lovers of books. A mama who offers the books and the opportunities to read. A mama who models reading. A mama who loves them so much it spills out of her even when she’s reading a book about a mouse and cookie.
You’ve got this, mama.
Want a little more help?
I made a free guide for exactly this stage of motherhood:
The Exhausted Mom’s Guide to Raising a Reader
It’s full of simple, realistic ways to build reading into family life – even when you’re already running on fumes.