Parenting

Does anyone have a 5 year old who has no interest in reading?

I am so sad that DD just doesn't want to read. She has no interest at all. We read to her every day. She will make up lots of stories, but just doesn't want to read. 

She writes all her letters and her names. I got her sight cards and the beginner readers and she refuses them.

Will it click? I guess I don't understand this because I love to read and always have. I don't want to worry myself, but I know kindy is coming up. 

Audrey Elizabeth 11-11-06 image

Re: Does anyone have a 5 year old who has no interest in reading?

  • Yes. She loves it when we read to her. We read probably 4-5 books a day (sometimes more, sometimes less) but she is always wanting more books. She loves to go to the library and the book store. She will make up her own stories and tell them, but she seems to get frustrated really easily or just say "I don't know" if I ask her to point out certain words. I really don't want to push it, so I guess we'll just continue to read to her as much as we can and I'm hoping at some point she'll start asking questions or be more responsive when I try to point out words. She does recognize names (hers, DD#2's, friends names at preschool, etc.) and a few other words but just doesn't have an interest in knowing or reading words in the books we read.
    Mom to DD#1 December '06, DD#2 Feb '09 and DS March '12
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  • My BFF's MIL has been teaching Kindergarten for like 18 years all full-day, she says the #1 thing she wants kids to work on is making up stories, especially looking at pages and making up stories.  She did not even recommend working with actual reading with DS.  So I think you are right on track even if this place makes you feel behind.

    My DS can read but sometimes he has no interest.  He just moved to Step 1 books and sounded more interested today than before but he would rather me read to him.

    Jen - Mom to two December 12 babies Nathaniel 12/12/06 and Addison 12/12/08
  • Yes, DS was like that.  We did everything right, I started reading to him when I was pregnant, for crying out loud.  It doesn't matter.  He had no interest in learning to read at 5.  It didn't click until he was in 1st grade. 

    Now in 4th grade, he's at a higher reading level than average but still isn't interested. DH and I always have a book to read, we go to the library every week but he's just not into books.  Hopefully, he'll pick it up when he's older.  DH didn't become a reader until an adult.

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  • Yes, my DD has no interest whatsoever. She looks at books all day long, I read to her extensively, and she loves the illustrations, but she does not want to try to read herself. She is making progress with Bob books, but is reluctant to do so most of the time. She still wants me to read them to her. 

    My DD will start kindy next fall also so I'm a bit nervous about it, but I figure that eventually when she's in class with kids who are interested in reading and has a teacher to encourage it, she will be more willing. They really don't "read" themselves in her preK class so there's no peer pressure to do it right now.

  • L still doesn't like to read.  He does it because he has to, not because he wants to.  We try to make it fun, but if he's not in the mood, he will not enjoy it.  
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  • DS was like that last year too.  He's a bit of a perfectionist too, so he didn't like trying to read and getting things wrong. 

    Reading to them is still very important, so don't discount that.  Is she in KG yet?  If not, I wouldn't worry about it.  In KG, they will expose her to all of the things she needs to become a beginning reader.  Right now, I would concentrate on emergent reader type materials, talk about how words are formed, start building words, sounding out beginning/middle/end of words, etc. 

    DS1 age 7, DD age 5 and DS2 born 4/3/12
  • She just turned five in November right?  I would not sweat it yet.  Some kids don't have an interest in it until they are 6 or 7.  I have taught k,grade1 or grade 2 for years- some kids just need a little longer to get motivated.  often when they see all the others around them reading it sparks an interest.  My DS had zero interest until he was 6, now he reads everything and is the second highest reader in his class. Just keep reading to her and keep it fun.  Let her make up stories, talk about what you read to develop comprehension.
    Rebecca- mom to 3 kids: DS born 2005, DD born 2007 and DS born 2010.
  • I wouldn't worry -- I've heard this is a very normal stage for pre-readers. DS did it. He absolutely refused to read anything to us. I didn't push it because he still loved to have us read to him. Then he just started reading to us one day and now he loves it. I think some kids like to practice in their heads before they do it out loud, if that makes sense.

    I really wouldn't worry -- she's doens't even start kindy for 6-7 months. That's really not "coming up."

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  • Like everyone said, don't worry about it.  Personally, I hated flash cards with a passion - hated them when I was little, hated them when I studied for tests, hated them.  It's not worth pushing.  When she decides to do it, she'll do it.  When DD#2 was little, she learned all her letters well after DD#1.  I was always pushing her because I knew she could do it, but she wasn't ready and just refused.  Finally I gave up.  A few months later, she decided she wanted to learn them and learned them all in less than three days.  When your DD is ready to start reading, she'll let you know.

    The first book DD#1 learned to "read" (she was half-memorizing/half-using the words for clues) was What Is a Princess because she loved Disney princesses.  Do you have any early readers about things your DD loves?  DD#2 has started showing an interest.  My mom got her a bunch of those one word per page or maybe two - like there's a birthday one call "The Party".  One page is "the cake".  Another is "the plates". Very simple and straight forward but great for building confidence.  

    FWIW - I don't think many of the kids in DD's Kindy knew how to read much other than their names and maybe a few other words when they started.  She has plenty of time and is doing great!!  Making up a story to go with the pictures is huge and shows a great comprehension more than just being able to read a word and have no clue what it means.  Give her time. 

  • DS has a December b-day, so he was 5 3/4 when he started K.  He had very little interest in reading on his own before he started K, but he learned really quickly once he was in school.  I learned to read when I was 3, so I was worried about him, but he's doing really well in school.
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