parenting

Needing Some Advice

This parenting thing is hard. Enjoyable but also hard. I really don’t want to screw up my kid. We do our best to approach every situation with love and understanding…but do we always handle it the right way? Is there really a right way? I know there isn’t just one RIGHT way for things but I’m having trouble figuring out the right way (for my family) to handle the current situation.

Reading.

My kids have to read every night for school. 15-20 minutes of reading. No big deal, right? Ha! It’s so dramatic in my house. I always thought I would have kids that LOVE to read. My husband and I would read them multiple books every night when they were little. It was our routine. Three books a night. They each picked one out. We LOVED books! What has happened!?

They’re lazy! That’s it. The fact that they don’t want to achieve just the bare standard is what is troubling me the most. Reading is the MOST important thing they are going to learn academically. Everything they learn in any subject is affected by their strength in reading. It affects, their spelling and writing…which snowballs into every other aspect of school.

Our arguments focus on:

  • Picking an age appropriate book. If you’re in 3rd grade, you need a 3rd grade level book, not a first grade book. If you’re in 2nd grade you can’t be asking to read Good Night Moon! Show some ambition!!
  • Time. “It takes too long!” It’s 15 minutes of your life kid.
  • They’re sitting with a book in front of them and pretending to read. I don’t have time to sit with each one individually in the evening and have them read to me.
  • When I do sit with them, it’s torture. They whine and ask for me to read every other page. They ask if they’re done yet. And the 1st grader fidgets the entire time. It’s maddening.

The problem:

I don’t want to stress them out and try to create over-achievers here, but I want achievers. Make the standard at least! I have no idea how to approach this. I’ve lectured on the importance of reading and excelling, but I’ve gotten no where. I’ve gotten books upon books that I know they will love. How do I make them love reading!? I’m baffled.

Any advice?

logan reading

9 thoughts on “Needing Some Advice

  1. Do they lIke graphic comics? There are a lot of chapter books that are set up like that and it’s not like conventional reading. My oldest has “issues” and she really likes books like that. There’s also magazines. I used to tell my students, “I don’t care what you read, even if it’s a cereal box, just make sure you read something. “

  2. Sheri, it’s such a boy issue!! My girls loved reading all the time from the age three through adulthood. My son would read when he was young but got lazy in middle school which drove me crazy not much better in high school either but In college he blew me away with his test scores and his GPA 4.0 He began reading again because in college you major in what you love and your goal in life. So hang in there and don’t stress yourself out they are boys and this is normal for most, they’ll do just fine later in life!!!

  3. Could you try a reward system? I know the reading is something they SHOULD be doing, but perhaps they could read out loud to you (so you know they’re actually doing it) while you’re doing your own thing (household chores, working out, cooking dinner etc.) and make a sticker chart for the month, they each get a star when it’s accomplished and at the end of the month if they have all their stars they can pick one toy out from the dollar store. Reward system has always seemed to work with Braxtyn, I swear I can get him to do anything with it! 🙂

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