Boys Don't Hate to Read!
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Reading Stereotypes
Over the years I've had hundreds and hundreds of guys of all ages tell me that they don't like to read. Whenever I hear this, I say Hogwash! Guys often feel this way because they are often referring to a narrow, stereotypical definition of reading - usually fictional novels.
EVERYONE Likes To Read
When I suggest
that they widen their definition of reading to include comic books, magazines, websites, newspapers, nonfiction, etc., they often agree that they don't hate to read those types. For the stubborn ones, I ask them to tell me about their hobbies, favorite musicans, sports figure etc,.. Then I suggest, "What if I told you that I had a book right here all about your favorite topic? Would you still say that you hated to read it?"
What Can Adults Do? (quick answer = build their confidence)
Parents and teachers must teach boys that they are readers. Simply encouraging them to read whatever items are of interest to them will show your respect for their tastes and in turn, build their confidence and attitude. The more confiendant a by feels about himslef as a reader. the more likely he will look for opprotunities to read more and eventually branch out into other genres.
The Bottom Line
- Respect what they like to read
- Talk with them often about their reading prefernces
- Build their confidence as a reader
Your Thoughts and Comments?
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yes it is really important to build their confidence. If you will give them more encouragement of whatever reading material they wanted to read... the more they will read and widen their choices in time. But if we, adults would restrict them,and choose the selections of books to read, they will just read it for the sake of doing the responsibility and not enjoying every second of reading the articles. As a result, they can't even grasp what your chosen article/book is all about.
Thus, it is best to let them choose what they really want to read... you can suggest though, but never impose.
It is very important for boys to read what they like. If a boy is forced to read he will hate it. I think that reading comic books and magazines are good for them. Maybe it will spark their interest in other things. I know my nephew hates to read a lot of things. He prefers stuff that have to do with comic books. Give him a Wizard magazine or Wrestling Magazine and he is content.
Yes I agree about the thing..."Respect what they like to read..." Parents should know what their children like to read. If the child doesn't want the content of the book, even those with strong skills,would rather do anything than to read. Parents should connect reading with their's child's passion. A good option for young teenagers is to "choose their own adevnture" in reading. Picking something on topic he likes will be a great help. And as parents, you should respect it.
I totally agree that we must enhance their self-confidence in reading. we could do this by motivating them to read about stuff they're really interested in. a lot of my nephews love to read comic books. even my brothers went through that phase. we as parents oor guardians have a big responsibility to introduce our boys to reading as soon as possible. this could come in form of reading them bedtime stories. later on, they would be craving for more and before we know it, they've finished all the fairy tale and fastasy books in the shelves. this is how my brothers started out. reading is also a key to succeed academically. It is therefore not bad to sometimes spoil our kids with books they fancy because they get a lot of benefits from reading.
When I read this topic I thought that it is the kind of topics that say "What is the problem ? why Boys hate to read?" but eventually this topic give many solutions and target the problem. I agree with every word you write it MR Mike and as I told you in our chat, I think parents (and teachers also) have a big mission to motivate their sons to read; starting with teaching them how to love the book and how to choose the best one according to some hobbies and interests. See you next time and have a nice day. C.AYOUB
Building confidence..those are huge words. If a boy does not have confidence in something he is doing then he will not stay with it.
Letting them choose does not only hold their interest it also gives them a feeling of control in their lives. What may seem so little to us as adults can be a huge decision to a child. They feel in control and have some destiny over their world.
Thanks, Debby
I agree.... boy's doesn't hate to read. From my observation "boys" do choose what they want and not to read.........that simple!
Ask him to read something about his hobby and I am telling you this kid will read it from cover to cover without giving you a tantrum.
No one wants to read something that is not of his/her interest; even an adult will not do it except when it is an assignment and need to pass an examination.
"To each his own." We all have different tastes in what we eat, drink, watch and read. Vanessa_cruz was right in saying that they have the right to choose their own adventure in reading. Bring your kids when you go to a bookstore. Ask them what interests them. As a parent, don't impose books for them to read. Respect what they like and support them.
~~~a stone is not carved by force but by constant friction~~~
My husband's parents were told that he was a slow reader. As a young boy, he refused to read in class and would do anything to get out of reading at home or doing homework. As it turns out, it wasn't that he didn't like to read, it was that he didn't like to read the Ramona books that they were reading at school! Instead, his father bought him the Hobbit which he tore through quickly! Now, you can't get him to put his books down. He, like many other boys, were labeled as bad readers and became discouraged with reading because he was forced to read about something that did not interest him. Finding encouragement and topics of interest are essential factors in getting boys to read and love it!
Well said Charles - "As a parent, don't impose books for them to read. Respect what they like and support them." I think it is good advice for teachers and librarians as well.
Great insights, jwaage. It kills me to hear boys getting discouraged with reading. I'd be curious to hear more about your husband reading interests now as an adult. talk to him and see if you'd be interested in putting his thoughts and comments on our website.
Absolutely - building their confidence, allowing them to read what they have an interest in and not forcing them to read novels or other things as required reading all help. I was lucky in that both my boys love to read. My daughter on the other hand really doesn't like to read. She will read a few pages and put the book or whatever down and may never pick it up again. Doesn't matter what the material is (except I must say here that she really enjoyed my first book before it was in the published/illustrated stage and asked when the second one would be ready which is good), she just really does not like to read. She never liked being read to when she was little. She didn't like sitting in our laps and looking at books or anything like that. So I figure when she gets older, she'll wish she had found something she enjoyed to read because there will be so many voids to fill and reading is an excellent way to do that.
Who knows? Maybe one day she will shock me and just start reading and never stop - lol but then again, she is now 16 years old and the chance of that happening seems to be slim.
Good posting - E :)
Parents and teachers must teach boys that they are readers....
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The more likely he will look for opprotunities to read more and eventually branch out into other genres.
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"Respect what they like to read." - This struck home. My kids prefer comic books over novels. But that doesn't mean that novel readers are better than comic readers. I think reading in general or their preference for reading materials would improve as they mature. Just need to introduce books that pique their interest.