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Mandatory reading time at home?

Motokid

Motokid

New Member
Has anybody instituted a mandatory reading period in his or her house? A time where no matter what might be on TV, or what might need to be done around the house, everybody drops what they are doing and sits down to read in peace and quiet? I’m thinking like once a week for about an hour to start. My thought process tells me this might help get my youngest a little more tuned into reading. If everybody is doing it she will too. No distractions of mom vacuuming or doing laundry, or sister on the computer or phone. I think part of my youngest’s reading problems (general lack of interest) are that there is always some other activity going on in the house that snatches her attention.

Does anybody have any experience with how this might work? Yes I’m forcing a reading time, but if everybody is doing it, with no other distractions is that such a bad thing? One hour a week? Any reading material that is not required for school?

Not that I view a lack of interest in reading as a huge problem in a 9 year old, but man would I love to see her picking up a book just for the fun of it and not so much because some school work requires it.

I think at first I'd have to force it, but in time I believe this would turn into a voluntary activity.

Your thoughts please.
 
i like the idea, but i'm married to my books, so that doesn't count!! you could ask your family what they think about it! i think that would help and when say like the idea then you're not the bad guy who forced it, then you're the good guy who had the great idea!! just a thought!! :D
 
You know, on the surface this sounds like the dumbest question that might ever have been posted here. But the reality is trying to get 4 members of a family to agree on something a little out of the ordinary is a tough thing to do.
 
i know!! i could never get my family to do that!! my mum would be in the garden, my dad at work and who the hell knows where my sister might be, so i spend my reading time mostly at the lake or the beach!!
i know it's bad to say that, but just buy them!! give them whatever, friday night a pizza night, or half an hour more time to spend with there friends...
 
i think it is a good idea but you might spend more time enforcing it than you would reading, initially. a family meeting would be a good idea so that everyone could give input as to when this would happen, what they could read etc.
i really like that idea. kind of like s.s.r at home.
 
Uhm... forced reading periods? I don't respond well to situations when I'm forced to so something, but then that's just me.

"What? An hour of family gardening?"
"It'll make you grow and build character."
"I'd have thought it makes plants grow."
"Okay, it's now 2 hours of quality gardening."
"I don't think I like vegetables very much now."

ds
 
Nah, don't like it - you can't force a kid to like reading. She either does, or does not.

You can set an example, by reading yourself, and talking enthousiastically about favourite books, but forcing them to read? She'll end up disliking it.

Cheers
 
Let me start by saying my intention is not to place my child into rigid, hardbacked chair and threaten her with a “read or else” kind of mentality. I’m picturing a simple setting with no outside influences that could provide distractions. No TV, no video games, no computers, no radio, no chores…

If the oldest daughter, the wife, and myself are all reading, and she has a pile of books and magazines to choose from I believe she’ll get involved. Her lack of interest in reading may very well be that there are too many distractions, and not enough quiet time. Maybe one of us starts her off in a book by reading it to her. By giving her choices of many different things to read, and no other distractions, is that really a means of pushing her farther away from reading?

Isn’t every non-reader just one good book away from reading more? Maybe if I can slow down the pace of life in my house to a crawl I could help spark that interest? Monkey see monkey do????? Maybe?

Don’t think so much about my forcing her to read, but about forcing all the other outside influences to not read, to disappear for an hour. Does that make sense? Isn’t reading to some extent a discipline that has to be learned? Could I foster that discipline by making my house turn into a library for just one hour a week?

Meditate, be bored, or maybe see what “that” book is all about?
 
"What's so bad about 'other influences'?"

Nothing when in moderation...everything when in excess.
 
Rather than have mandatory reading time (which in my house would have deteriorated into "Shut up, I'm trying to read" and giggling), I think kids respond really well to spending time alone with one of their parents, being read to and reading to them. Why not set aside 30 minutes before bed to read to your daughter. Read to her for 4 or 5 days and then ask her to "take over for a bit" because your old eyes are tired. And she can read to you for 5 minutes, and you praise her for that. My husband did this with my son for years, when he was very small. It was good in many ways.

Also, I find it very effective to take a kid to a bookstore or magazine store and let them pick out whatever they want, even if it's Donald Duck comics. Having your own choices is important. Same with picking a reading book. Try to pick something that will appeal to her, like Ramona the Pest or Harriet the Spy or Philip Pullman or Encyclopedia Brown or Winnie the Pooh. Don't know how old she is.

The mandatory reading hour sounds too much like a Puritan or Victorian family's idea of self-improvement. Chances are she'll sit there looking at the words, waiting for it to end.
 
but but....

My kids take karate. They've been at it over a year now. I've seen so many other kids come and go. They start, then quit.

When the kids who are now black belts, or close to it are asked why they've stuck with it when so many others quit, they reply "Well, I tried to quit a few times, but my parents wouldn't let me." Then when you ask them if they are glad their parents hadn't let them quit every single one of them says yes.

Same thing works for playing a musical instrument. Sometimes a little parental persuasion can really forge a lasting love for something.

By the way novella, we did read to her a lot as a smaller child. Kinda goes back to my thread I started about the importance of reading picture books to children.
 
Motokid said:
When the kids who are now black belts, or close to it are asked why they've stuck with it when so many others quit, they reply "Well, I tried to quit a few times, but my parents wouldn't let me." Then when you ask them if they are glad their parents hadn't let them quit every single one of them says yes.
Click to expand...

I agree completely. That sounds like me not so long ago. Sometimes it's important for parents to force their kids to try something they don't want to.
 
I think the word "force" has the wrong ring to it. I prefer gentle persuasion.

I'm not going to severly punish anybody for not reading. I'm just trying to create an atmosphere where reading will be preferable over just breathing and blinking.....

Thanks Dele.
 
I think making regular reading time mandatory might just put your child off reading, by making it seem a chore or something that has to be done. Even the most avid reader (like me!) has times when they are just not in the mood for reading. In theory, it sounds like a good idea, but as I say, it could have the opposite effect to the desired one. Maybe you could try it on a trial basis? If you did, I wouldn't have a set time every day, I would make sure everyone else in the family was reading too (like you said) and I would let the child choose what they wanted to read. By all means you could recommend books you enjoyed, but forcing your choice of reading material onto them would be very bad.

Alternatively, you could have a short time just before bed-time, or even once they're in bed, as reading time. It would be nice and quiet and help them wind down before going to sleep (unless the book is too exciting, of course!)
 
i guess the idea of a just a quiet hour in the house, with no distractions is appealing, regardless of the activity:reading, board game, craft. maybe if it was left open but with the parents reading as an example, or reading to the kids . some of the other suggestions ie: letting the kids pick their own books at library or bookstore , are good, as they would be more likely to choose to read during that quiet time, if they had something new.
 
I'll let you know how it works out as I'm trying it this weekend.

Yes, the idea is the absolute barest minimum of distractions. Everyone with numerous books and magazines to choose from, and roughly one hour of time to see what happens.

I know at least 3 of us will be reading. I don't care if the youngest decides to write a story either. I'm just looking for an atmosphere that's conducive to some kind of thought process or creative process. Anything but another hour spent staring at a rectangular screen.

There will be no beatings, or yelling for not participating, but there may be a reward for taking part in the activity. :)
 
And why not do the same for, say, listening to music, watching tv, using the computer? Why single out reading?

Cheers
 
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