Resistant reader?

What do you do if you are concerned about your child's reading habit (or lack thereof)? It seems everyone else's kid has loved reading since before kindergarten!

If your child isn't interested in books, here are some thoughts about literacy.

1. Reading isn't a particularly natural ability. It is a complex set of motor, linguistic and intellectual skills that develop over time on a schedule very unique to each individual. Many of the micro-skills upon which reading ability is built get easier as children develop and mature. In other words, pushing a child who isn't ready to read won't speed up a natural growth process, but it could bring unnecessary stress to the experience of reading.

2. Adult opinions about how children engage with books can easily come across as criticism. Children who are allowed to explore books on their own terms will benefit from their own curiosity. For example, telling a child they are reading a book that is too easy or too difficult for them can quickly turn a child off of reading. Kids who re-read "easy" books benefit from repetitive practice and success. Let them read what they like.

3. Remember that any reading counts as reading. For example, reading comics, maps and charts, collector cards, cereal boxes, and video game dialogue are all perfectly valid reading experiences, even if it doesn't come from a book. Audio books, storytelling, or being read to aloud are also valuable ways kids can build many literacy skills (such as exposure to vocabulary, language structure and theme comprehension).

4. Of course it is possible that your child has a specific need in regard to learning to read. For example, vision impairment or dyslexia aren't rare and professional guidance is recommended. A pair of glasses or dyslexia-specific strategies can be a game changer for a child's reading journey. For further information about dyslexia, see https://dyslexiaida.org/

"No thank you." Notebook available for purchase.

• Page weight: 2.62 oz/yd² (89 g/m²)

• Metal wire-o binding

• 140 dotted pages

• US fulfilled notebooks measure 5.5″ × 8.5″ (13 × 21 cm)

• EU fulfilled notebooks measure 5.7″ × 8.5″ (14.5 × 21 cm)

• Blank product sourced from the US and Sweden