How to motivate kids to read books
Children often need a spark beyond standard school material, such as mobile content or newspapers, to build a reading habit. However, parents worry about choosing the right approach, like whether introducing movies first or exposing young minds to outside cultural sensibilities might cause confusion or overwhelm.
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- The most recent one is from October 2026.
- This comes up 15.6× more often in r/Parenting than across the site as a whole.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Reading books together daily from birthDid this help you?
- 2Getting a library card and visiting the library weeklyDid this help you?
- 3Limiting screen time and making books constantly accessibleDid this help you?
- 4Making reading a game or fun routineDid this help you?
- 5Showing movies after reading the book to dissect adaptations and changesDid this help you?
- 6Trying comics and graphic novelsDid this help you?
- 7Setting aside dedicated family reading times after dinnerDid this help you?
- 8Allowing kids to stay up past bedtime as long as they are readingDid this help you?
- 9Reading to children frequently when they were babies and toddlersDid this help you?
- 10Considering leaving reading strictly to school workDid this help you?
- 11Using public libraries and digital library apps like LibbyDid this help you?
- 12Subscribing to services like Amazon Kids for unlimited digital booksDid this help you?
- 13Transitioning children to illustrated novels, hybrid books, or graphic novel adaptationsDid this help you?
- 14Allowing kids to stay up late reading chapter books in bedDid this help you?
- 15Reading aloud while children climb or run aroundDid this help you?
- 16Focusing on reading during nap time and bedtime routines when children are drowsyDid this help you?
- 17Switching to simple board books, interactive lift-the-flap books, or touch-and-feel booksDid this help you?
- 18Narrating pictures in your own words instead of reading the story word-for-wordDid this help you?
- 19Encouraging students to check out other books and recommending specific ones of similar genresDid this help you?
- 20Throwing away destroyed books and letting students bring their own copies from homeDid this help you?
- 21Focusing on student behavior and treatment of property rather than book selectionDid this help you?
- 22Assigning short weekly reading times with summary writingDid this help you?
- 23Reading adult novels together in class and answering reading comprehension questionsDid this help you?
- 24Reading chapter books aloud to the childDid this help you?
- 25Offering transitional books with pictures and fewer wordsDid this help you?
- 26Allowing graphic novels, picture books, or alternative reading materialsDid this help you?
- 27Taking turns reading pages together before bedDid this help you?
- 28Using audiobooks or pairing listening with reading physical booksDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“My wife loves reading and wants our kids (elementary school age) to love it to. However she is kind of forcing it on them and I think that is making them hate it.”source ↗
“right now it is a fight ever time she wants them to read. She keeps trying to give them opportunities to read and they will pick another activity every time.”source ↗
“We have dedicated family reading times each day, usually after dinner (where everyone just reads)... the kids hate it.”source ↗
“I don't know what to do.”source ↗
“My 9 year old is also a reluctant reader and I’ve started reading chapter books aloud to her in addition to time she spends reading alone.”source ↗
“My very smart, sweet 8 year old just won't read chapter books. She'll read some graphic novels, but still likes reading picture books, which I'm fine with. But it'd be awesome if she could dip her toes into chapter books. She's bored and intimidated by them.”source ↗
“The problem is that she reads graphic novels in less than an hour, so I can't keep her endlessly supplied with them.”source ↗
“She hates novels, and now reading each night has become a fight because we don't currently have any new graphic novels.”source ↗
“She has an ereader that allows her to get books out from the library, but she has read most of the ones that are available.”source ↗
“My son is 13, and still isn't the biggest on chapter books, but he will devour every nuance of lore about his favorite games on Wiki articles”source ↗
“How do you motivate yout child to read books?”source ↗
“I am concerned that sensibilities from other cultures might confuse or overwhelm her.”source ↗
“So, how did u do it. Dis it start via school bokks, newspapers or mobile content?”source ↗
“My 8 year old is also refusing chapter books mostly. I've checked out a ton (like we probably have 30-40 various graphic novels hanging around in places where he likes to read) of graphic novels and he's devouring them.”source ↗
“I started getting my 8 year old to read chapter books by reading them together. We would do one chapter every night before bed. I started out reading one page and then he would read one until we finished the chapter.”source ↗
“Yet a large amount of the kids only ever want to read whatever the "flavor of the year" series is.”source ↗
“They would pull on the covers and the spines, resulting in ripped pages and spines falling off, so that the whole books would come apart and I would have to throw them away at a certain point.”source ↗
“They would refuse to read anything else and would just sit there pouting about how they didn't get those books during silent reading time”source ↗
“I showed the movie before studying the book. Is that a big no no ? I work with kids with minimal English”source ↗
“I have tried assigning reading homework to the 13-14 year olds. They pick a book, nothing too easy, and read for roughly 25 min per week for starters. Write a 3-10 line summary and hand in to me. Last year it went so-so. I might've been too ambitious and after a while less and less kids did the homework.”source ↗
“Whenever they pick their own books, they usually pick something wayyyy too easy. There's a lot of resistance towards reading and nearly half of the kids have some sort of cognitive variation.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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- 2Should I let my young kid read about 9/11?
- 2Non-religious parent whose kid wants to go to church
- 20Why won't my kids listen unless I yell?