“Should I force my child to read and write over the Summer?”
“Will they slip behind during the holidays if they don’t do any reading and writing?”
“I don’t want arguments over reading and writing at home after such a difficult year.”
Any of this feel a familiar?
Tips to keep your child reading and writing at home this Summer is all about these kinds of issue. Here are 5 broad ideas for you to use in your family environment.
Motivation tips to keep your child reading and writing
Ideally we don’t force children to read and write. Firstly, it is difficult! Secondly, it often backfires and they rebel. Thirdly, we don’t want reading and writing to feel like a punishment or chore at home.
Generally, we read and write either for pleasure or for a purpose. So if possible, encourage your children to do the same. If they can find something that they enjoy reading, great! Don’t worry too much about what it is in the holidays. Similarly, if they want to write a silly letter to a friend, or design a comic, fantastic. Equally, curiosity and discovery often lead to reading without them even noticing. This may be online, out and about, a magazine or a non-fiction book. For more details on motivation, take a look at my blog post specifically on motivation.
“Do it together” tips to keep your child reading and writing
If we wanted our child to start jogging when they weren’t terribly keen, we wouldn’t just keep telling them to do it whilst sitting on our phone doing something else. We would probably encourage them to go to a club, run with a friend or actually get out and go jogging with them. It is the same with reading and writing. If you can persuade them to do it with someone else, they are much more likely to enjoy it and to get up and do it.
If you (or someone you know) can create the time to read and write with the child, it can be very powerful. It shows that you value the activity, but also that you are willing to give up your time to do it with them. You can read your own book, in parallel, side by side. Or you can write letters next to each other. Another form of writing jointly is for the child to dictate to you what they want to write, for example in a diary, scrapbook or letter. You may feel that you are doing the work, but they are coming up with the idea, structure of sentences and choice of language. In fact, doing it this way, they can focus on the content and language rather than the act of writing. Plus, you can add and suggest things yourself, without it seeming as critical. You can quite literally design and create the writing together, even if you are holding the pen.
Inspire – tips to keep your child reading and writing
We are often led to action by being inspired by those around us who we admire and see. So if you can let your child see their role models reading and writing – perhaps an older family friend or cousin, peers from school, an online idol – then this can be very inspiring. Even engaging them in an online reading club or peer group can be inspiring if you feel there is no-one physically around who is suitable (eg try Toppsta). However, don’t forget that you as a parent are still a role model too! A household where reading and writing at home is ‘normal’, is likely to be a more natural place for a child to pick up a book or a pen.
Remember that you can inspire reading and writing without expecting your children to copy you exactly. As the children get older, they will want to assert their own independence and control over what they do. So they may not want to read in the way that you do, nor read at the time that you read, nor the books which you feel are best. However, allowing them their independence of choice and style when it comes to reading and writing at home is important. Home is not school. You want them to work out what they enjoy and to experiment with reading and writing in a way which is personal to them.
Read and write for the benefit of others
If they don’t want to read and write for their own sake, consider asking them to do it for others. This, of course, is reading and writing for a purpose. However, it may appeal to some children. What do I mean? Can they read aloud to a younger child? Jot down a packing list for you? Write to an elderly relative or lonely neighbour? Compose an article for a local newsletter?
Remove the alternatives!
Reading and writing often feels like harder work or ‘slower’ than many other activities on offer to children. Let’s face it, the digital world is all about enticing with colour, speed and sound and is a fast paced medium. It takes a little slowing down and patience sometimes to adapt to reading and writing.
You may find that it is easier for a child to pick up a book or pen in an environment where there are less choices or distractions. For example, if you are waiting for something (dentist, train station, cafe, sibling), and the only option is a book, then they may read it rather than gaze into the middle distance. However, if the option is a phone, tablet, football or book, then the book may have a harder time competing. By-the-way, none of the above are ‘bad’, but in the context of encouraging reading and writing, removing distractions sometimes can be helpful.
In order for this to work, you are likely to need to agree some non-digital times or spaces given portable devices are…portable. For example, no digital devices out and about in public spaces/sports grounds/cafes, except for an emergency, would open up opportunities for reading whilst waiting around out and about. No digital devices upstairs, or no screen time upstairs, might open up opportunities more easily before bed. None of these are easy options, nor is there a right or wrong, but considering creating space for books to compete in is an interesting exercise! You may be interested in the Calm Parenting podcast including the motivating kids episode for further inspiration!
And finally…
Supporting reading and writing at home can be interpreted very broadly. If you are looking for inspiration outside reading a novel (or writing one), then you may also wish to see the page on Summer ideas.