In the past we have focused our Reading with Kids discussions primarily on how to read with young children. I have shared experiences with my own younger children and emphasized the importance of reading for at least 10 minutes each day. Today I want to remind you that the importance of reading does not end when our children reach adolescence. Hopefully we have started at an early age as it will make our children willingly continue to read throughout their lifetimes. But if you dropped the ball on this when your kids were younger for whatever reason, please don’t beat yourself up! All is not lost. If your children are now tweens or teens, it is not too late!
Our children continue to reap the benefits of reading as they consistently read throughout their lives. If you have read my bio or some of my other articles, you know that my five children are currently between the ages of 9-2. So today as I share some insights for reading with teens and tweens, I want to be up front with you and tell you that I have not yet parented my own children through these challenging years. I am not for a moment discounting the fact that they are challenging. I have, however, taught hundreds of 8th graders ELA (particularly Reading) prior to becoming a mother. So, much of what I share here comes from that experience combined with research from experts far more qualified than myself. Let’s look at a few questions I’ve heard about teens and reading:
But He Has to Read on Social Media and His Video Games Include Occasional Pages of Text–Don’t Those Count?
I know you are trying to pick your battles with your adorable teenager, but this sort “reading” is not winning for anybody. Yes, your son is engaged in reading, but not deeply involved. The athletic equivalent would be “in the zone.” If your child is “in the zone,” while reading, he is so immersed in what he’s reading that he forgets the time and place. This is what we want. This “in the zone” reading is what really counts as “reading.”
The Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) published a study in 2002 called Reading for Change. They found that, “Reading skills are more important than ever for economic and social interaction in the modern world” (you can read the entire article here). The OECD studied 15-year-olds in 32 different countries. The study found that the higher the reading engagement, the higher students’ scores . The inverse was true as well: the lower the engagement, the lower the scores. The best readers read from the most diverse texts and read longest from deeper material (i.e. books).
Books require and then nurture longer attention spans. I don’t know about you, but I think equipping our teenagers with longer attention spans would be doing them a huge service. In this world of instant gratification, attention spans are waning. The important thing is to focus on providing actual reading material to your child often. Encouraging daily reading would be the ideal. Jim Trelease summarized the OECD research in his book by saying, “The greater the variety of print in the home, the higher the student score (and vice versa). A larger number of books also led to higher scores and to more reading diversity and greater interest.”
But We Can’t Afford to Send Our Daughter to a Nicer School. Isn’t School the Only Way to Get Her a Better Education?
Research does support the idea that lower-income families tend to have children with lower test scores. BUT, when those children from lower-income families were engaged–and motivated–readers, they scored higher than students from the highest income levels who were poorly engaged and very close to the most engaged middle-income students.
So before you go out and get yourself a second (or third) job, consider investing in more books (or time at your local library) instead. Reading engagement is capable of closing those socio-economic gaps, empowering children to overcome the status quo. Reading opens doors to opportunities children may never have any other way.
Jim Trelease shares a story from the New York Times entitled The Man with Two Brains from October 9, 1989. The story goes that Dr. Max Cowan, a world-renowned neurobiologist, was invited to speak with some congressional aides about the structure of the brain. He supposed that most of them had never seen an actual brain and since this was before the time of household computers, smartphones, and tablets, he decided to bring a postmortem specimen. He wrapped it in plastic and headed off to Capitol Hill. I’m sure you can imagine the reaction he got when the security guard opened his briefcase. Dr. Cowan patiently explained that the object in question was just a brain. The guards asked, “What are you going to do with it?”
Dr. Cowan responded brilliantly. He said, “It’s like this. My colleagues here come from sophisticated places like Boston and New York. I come from the Midwest. . . . I feel I need all the help I can get, so I always carry a spare.” Think about it: when your child holds in her possession a book, she is no longer limited to just her experiences. Trelease says, “Every time you read, you’re tapping into the author’s experiences, and tomorrow it’s a different author, a different brain. It’s the reader’s advantage.” What an incredible advantage!
My Child is 13. Would He Even Let Me Read a Book To Him Now?
Maybe. I know that often we assume that our little teenagers are so full of angst and we don’t even risk the rejection that very well may come if we try. But if you haven’t tried, you’ll never know. What I can tell you is that I read aloud to every one of my 8th grade classes and while I did occasionally have to remind a few students to sit still and listen at first, they quickly adapted to sitting and listening to a story very well and I would say at least 85% even enjoyed the stories we read.
Much of what we do with our kids requires a bit of salesmanship on our part. It’s all in how you “sell” it. If you are forcing your child to sit down as you subject them to long periods of monotonous reading, you will probably get a LOT of resistance. If you don’t, either you have won the child lottery or your child sleeps with his eyes open like a shark. Explain that you care about your child and that you want him to be the best that he can be and you are hoping for an opportunity to spend a little more time together (even if it’s just 10 minutes and you may want to consider including some sort of snack) and maybe you will have a sold customer. If your child is willing to sit down and let you read him a story, make it good!
Whether your child agrees to let you read to him or not, please provide some time for him to read a book on his own as well. We strategically place books all over our home and sometimes in cup holders in our cars. Reading for pleasure is such a fantastic way to stimulate brain activity in teens and tweens. We don’t want to rob them of that stimulation! Jim Trelease says, “The easiest self-improvement is through reading.”
What Books Do You Recommend to Keep Tweens & Teens Engaged?
Before I share some fantastic titles, I want to point out that our children do not necessarily ALWAYS need to read classical literature or the most challenging books to reap the rewards of reading. I know that simplistic “series books” will not expose your child to the highest forms of prose or deep characterizations. But those same books can help a reluctant reader become an enthusiastic reader. That is what makes those “series books” inherently valuable. If your 13-year-old is not reading at the level of her peers, do not be afraid to start her on a series that is more comfortable for her to read.
The following list (in no particular order) includes books I recommend all the time to parents of children ages 9-14. Those with a * beside them would be more appropriate for children ages 14-18 because of their slightly more mature content.
{I am sure I have left something off and I will try to go back and update as I remember more titles. In the meantime, my friend Abbie is a middle school librarian and her blog is a FANTASTIC resource if you are looking for honest book reviews on new and/or popular titles for tweens and teens. If you pay her a visit, tell her I say hi! She is one amazing lady.}
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
A Series of Unfortunate Events
I hope this helps bring the joy of reading to your tweens and teens. I would love to see in the comments what you would add to my list.
If you have tweens and teens, what books are they enjoying right now?
{Full disclosure because we’re friends: the links to books on this page are Amazon affiliate links. This does not change the price for you, but if you do happen to purchase one or more of the books I shared above, thank you! I will receive a small percentage of that sale.}
Although I do not have a teenage, I do love a good book and my reading selections have varied over the years but I think letting a teenage explore a library is a great way to engage them in picking something they want to read. I think the schools try by giving “library time” in middle school which kind of gets lost in high school so maybe once a month trip to the library as a family or one on one with a teenage would foster the desire to pick new reads and explore new topics through books. I still love walking a library and picking up books I’ve never heard about and reading a little of it. It may just be a new fun find.
Yes! I still love just looking through the shelves and finding books at the library! Thanks for this reminder, Hilary! You are an awesome mom.
I love this blog! I loved reading the comments about how important it is to read to your children. I read to my kids every night before bed. They love it and I love it. It’s so important to me and I can’t stress enough to parents how important this is for their children.
Thanks, Melissa! I’m so glad you stopped by. Thank you for sharing the importance of reading. I totally agree–reading is SO crucial, especially for kids! Way to go, mom! Keep being awesome!