If you’re into it, read into it! Everyone knows that reading expands worlds, sharpens minds, and fuels creativity. But fewer of us are making time for it. It’s time for the nation to ‘Go All In.’
Tip 1. Building a love of reading:
Help your teenager’s reading grow with them. Reading often takes a dip in the teenage years as school pressure, screens and social lives grow. But, at the same time, their interests grow stronger than ever.
Make reading feel like something they choose, not something they’re told to do.
Reconnect reading to hobbies and interests. For many young people, as reading becomes linked to exam and school pressures, they can begin to be turned off reading. Refocusing reading as an enjoyable experience, linked to hobbies or interests, will help to counter this. Find out what your child is currently excited about and see if they might like to read something about that – for example, a “how to” manual or magazine for a current hobby.
It is easier to encourage reading on something that already interests them and they are familiar with. Don’t try to force young people to read – that’s a sure way to associate reading with pressure. If your child has a favourite film, computer game or television show, look for books based on those. Using books based on existing interests can really help young people identify what they might like to read and gain confidence in selecting books for themselves. Direct them, but ultimately, let them choose what they would like to read themselves.
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