Reading has so many benefits for children: It improves critical thinking skills, enhances vocabulary, strengthens memory, fosters a vivid imagination and can be a way to support family bonding.
But even if you make an effort to instill a love of reading in your kids, making it stick is another story. In 2024, only 34.6 percent of 8- to 18-year-olds surveyed by the National Literacy Trust said they enjoyed reading in their free time. And even if your little bookworm holds onto the habit during childhood, their enjoyment of reading tends to drop significantly once they become teenagers.
Fortunately, there are steps you can take to encourage your child to love books—or get them back on track if they’re a bit behind in meeting their reading benchmarks. Here are six strategies you can try to instill a love of reading.
1. Slowly Turn Hobbies Into Reading Opportunities
Some children get inspired by books to try new things; for reluctant readers, you might have to try the opposite. For example, if your child likes baseball, swimming or ballet, watch a game or attend a dance recital, then talk about the players or dancers. Read a review of the game or performance in an online newspaper. As your child gets curious and continues to nurture their interests, introduce books, magazine articles or graphic novels in their age range on topics about sports or the arts. It doesn’t have to be a traditional book format to count as reading!
2. Separate ‘School Reading’ from ‘Home Reading’
Kids who are struggling in school might make excuses when it’s time to read worksheets or required texts. These mandated reading assignments may lead to a reduced desire to read for fun at home.
Emphasize low-key, relaxing ways to read that aren’t tied to school or educational requirements. Whether it’s reading to them from a book you’re reading, sharing a passage from a magazine or newspaper or reading an age-appropriate book together, children are more likely to repeat activities that they lead and that bring them joy…and remain interested in them as they grow into teens.
3. Nurture Your Son’s Reading Achievements
If you have a daughter who reads and a son who hates to, you’re not alone. The gender gap in reading between boys and girls continues to exist, with studies showing that girls read more outside of school hours and on weekends and vacation time than boys. While not all boys dislike books, they’re more likely to identify as non-readers, and are less likely to consider it a mark of success.
To help change that, spend an equal amount of time doing reading-related activities with your boys, including taking them to libraries and buying them books. Choosing ones with positive male characters—and encouraging dad to set a positive example by reading to your son—will go a long way towards showing boys that reading is a worthwhile hobby.
4. Do Reading Games or TV Tie-Ins
Sometimes, the only way to make reading seem less like homework to your kids is to create a competition or game. Coming up with a themed scavenger hunt or escape room based on the books your kids are reading can help them feel more immersed in a story. During the summer months, offer prizes to whoever is able to read the most books in a period of time, or play bingo or card games with words on your next vacation.
For books that have been made into movies, read the book as a family and then see the film together. You can also watch trailers on YouTube with your child so they get excited about movies based on books…and hopefully look forward to reading after seeing them.
5. Be a Good Role Model by Reading at Home
Whether it’s books from a physical bookshelf, e-reader or audiobook library, maintaining your own book collection shows your kids that reading can and should be a priority, no matter how busy life gets. Subscribe to magazines in your name (and your child’s) to have something to look forward to reading each month. Read aloud together during a designated story time or encourage your kids to read with pets in a relaxing environment. You can also play audiobooks during chores or dinner prep time, a passive form of reading that requires attention skills.
6. Build Your Child’s Home Library
An important way to help kids learn to love reading is to build them their own home library where they can keep—and easily reach—their favorite books. Find ideas to build your home library.
Need book inspiration? Here are summer reading lists for each age group.
