How can I get my 8 year old boy interested in reading?

Question

How can I get my 8 year old boy interested in reading?

Answer 1

get him cool books

Answer 2

Get him a subscription to a magazine, Nickelodeon or National Geographic for Kids.  My kids have been getting them since they were 2 and 4.  They love them and can't wait for the next issue.

Answer 3

I used to sub at a school and a student in one of the classes didn't like to read much (4th grader) - the teacher got a tape copy of a few books and the paper copy as well - and had him ready while he listened - he got really into it

Answer 4

Go to Borders and tell him to pick out anything he wants (steer him into a series then when he's done with the books ask if he likes it and go back and buy some more or go to the library. But don't recommend books otherwise they wont obey.

Answer 5

wat r his interets den by books like dat...u can read interestin books 2 him or let him pick out books

Answer 6

read aloud ..use charactor voices ..make it funny make it entertaining

Answer 7

you can get him intrested in riading by readind to him when he goes to bed and when he wakes up and when you put him down for a nap if you give him naps but other wise just read to him

Answer 8

Try books that appeal to boys.  Try Captain Underpants.  Also Magic Treehouse.  My 10 year old son LOVED both types when he was 8.  They sell them everywhere.  I got awesome deals on both on eBay.

Answer 9

its difficult to get an 8 year old into reading, try captian underpant books and go from there.

Answer 10

get him hock on a good genera and go for it

Answer 11

Bribery!  He's getting older now and has a lot of other interests.  Let's face it, kids have a lot more activities that are instantly stimulating.  It's really hard for them to stay calm and experience the patient joy of reading.  So just make a trade.  So maybe likes video games or spending time on the computer.  Tell him I'll trade you " one hour of game time for one hour of reading".  Let him go pick the books that he'll be interested in.  Make if fun and keep it silly.  When he'd done reading see if you can discuss the story to see how his comprehension is.  At his age you could also have a talk with him about how this will help him in all his school subjects.

Answer 12

Try reading with him and getting interactive where diffrent charecters have diffrent voices and having hand and arm movements to make things seem more exciting get enthusiatic about it youself and see if he joins in, also let him pick the book or pick a book you think he'll enjoy such as if he likes football get a football book if he likes dog get a story about a dog

Answer 13

Turn off the one TV in your home. If he already has his own, it may be too late. Read yourself. Take him to the bookstore, have him spend time finding the best book he can and buy it for him.

Talk about it as he's reading it. Use it as a springboard to other books by the same author or about the same subject.

My mother encouraged me to collect all the James Bond books when I was about 13.

Answer 14

First, you need to figure out why he is not interested in reading.  Is he having difficulty learning to read?  Does he need vision correction?  Is he not a visual person?  Do you read?  Is there too much TV, video games, electronic gadgets competing with books?

Once you figure out why he isn't currently interested, you can take steps to remedy the situation.

Answer 15

A great part of it is trial and error.  Take a trip to the library and have him pick out a bunch of books.  Mysteries, non-fiction..etc.  He may find a type of book that he likes best and then you can go from there.  Try reading these books with him.  You read one page, he reads the next.  At the end of each chapter, try guessing what might happen next.  Another thing you can do is pick a book that was made into a movie.  Read the book together and when he finishes the book you can watch the movie together and compare the two.  More often than not, he will think the book was better.  My 9yr old daughter really got into the Spiderwick Chronicles.  My 7yr old won't put down Black Beauty.  It takes time and he has to be interested in the subject matter.

Answer 16

Get books full of stuff that 8 year old boys love, like burps, farts, and other bodily functions, like Captain Underpants books.  If there is a movie coming out that he really wants to see, tell him he has to read the book about it first.

That's all I can think of.  My 7 year old son loves to read.

Answer 17

Start by letting him pick out books that would interest him. If he is involved in sports, try to find sports books. Try to find funny books that would make him laugh. Also, read together and show alot of enthusiasm and excitement when reading so that he sees that reading is fun.

Answer 18

My brother was not interested in reading either so he started failing then my mom and I came up with ideas to get him reading. Well everyday it was his goal to read 2 books or more, and in one week he had to read 10 books or more to get a prize. So when he reached his goal he has choices or prizes to chose from like using the computer, getting a new toy, and other kiddy stuff. He's a few months away from, being eight ...so usually he reads little books not big chapters books the books aren't that little it's just about 28 pages and 5 sentences on each page. I hope this helps!

Answer 19

Do you read aloud to him? Pick something really exciting and read to a cliffhanger ... and then suddenly have to stop.  My kids have "sneaked" quite a few books that I was reading to them when I suddenly got "engaged" somewhere else.

As everyone else says, it's also about choosing what's right for your child.  My 7- and 9-year-olds love fantasy (Harry Potter, Droon, Prydain, the Hobbit) ... others will get hooked on mysteries (Cam Jansen, Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Boxcar Children....) ... or humor (if you can stomach it, Captain Underpants is really what drew my son into reading -- and now he's reading stuff I appreciate, too, so it was definitely worth it! On a harder level, try the wonderful Phantom Tollbooth) ... or comic books ... joke books ... or nonfiction (or the cross-over fiction/nonfiction of the magic school bus, which has both complex picture books and chapter books about science topics), or realistic fiction (try the Owen Foote books or Horrible Harry books or Henry books by Beverly Cleary, all depending on your son's reading level).

The worst books for inspiring a love of reading are the really easy ones, because they rarely have inspiring stories.  If your son is still reading fairly easy things, make sure you read aloud things that are more challenging (and interesting) to draw him in.