Should You Force Your Child to Read Over the Summer?
I have two sons, a 7-year-old who is now a voracious reader (but wasn't always - I'll get to that) and a 6-year-old who still doesn't want any part of it. As for the younger one I tell myself it's OK. He's just not there yet. He still needs to be wooed.
I was not always this Zen about reading, believe me. I'm a writer, and about the time my oldest was pawing his way through Pat the Bunny with disinterest, I was working on a historical novel. It was difficult for me to keep my hands off my son as far as reading was concerned. Writing was a big deal for me, so reading had to be a big deal for my child. I pushed and I pushed. But he pursed his lips every time I asked him to read. He was digging in. He'd rather build a bookmark with his Legos - which he would then either crush with a fist or turn into a pretend rifle - than ever use it to mark a page in a book.