Building a home reading routine – recommendations for parents
Reading at home helps young people to broaden their vocabulary, build their comprehension and attain language fluency. But for all its educational benefits, building a lifelong relationship with reading means making it a pleasure, not a chore. You don’t need to spend hours sitting down together over a book to build your child’s reading habits. The most effective way to integrate reading into your child’s homelife is to work out the best times to fit reading into your family’s life, choosing engaging books, and build your child’s motivation to read independently. What works for a child looks different for a teenager, so here’s how to build a home reading routine at every stage in their development.
Written by Anna
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Make reading routine
A predictable routine can get your child in the habit of picking up a book without making it feel like yet another piece of homework.
Primary school (6-11)
Dedicate a regular time to reading, like before bed. It may help to connect it to an existing habit, such as after they brush their teeth. It doesn’t have to be a long stint – 15 minutes is a good length of time to start off.
Keep the place you read quiet and comfortable without distractions. If you’re reading together, model good reading habits by putting your own phone in another room.
Adjust your approach as they develop. Younger children may enjoy being read to, while older children may prefer to read on their own.
Don’t push it if it isn’t working that day. If your child is tired or teary, suggest you try again later.
Secondary school (11-18)
Encourage teenagers to find a time to read that works for them. This may be during their commute, in their lunch break, after school or before bed. You can ask: When would you enjoy having some time to read?
Prioritise enjoyment
Allowing reading to be fun motivates children to read and helps them to develop independence in sticking to their reading routine.
Primary school (6-11)
Always give your child a choice of books, rather than deciding what they will read for them. Visit the local library or bookshop together and show them your own interest and excitement at getting to explore all the options on the shelves. If they haven’t enjoyed one genre, such as mystery, suggest trying something different, like nonfiction.
Respect their reading level, taking into account any guidance on this from their school or teacher. This is especially important in younger years, when reading can come to feel like a test. If they haven’t enjoyed or understood a book, help them to find an alternative. Books that might seem easy or familiar to you will still contribute to their fluency and nuture their confidence.
Secondary school (11-18)
Involve teenagers in exploring their interests through reading. This could be nonfiction about music, sport or history or science fiction. Ask them: What kind of stories would you enjoy reading? What kind of subjects do you want to know more about?
Be open to all forms of reading. Your child might not be interested in novels, but enjoy reading magazines, newspapers or graphic novels.
Don’t push them to read something they can’t connect to. If they’re struggling through a book, allow them to give up. Enable them to select something they would enjoy more instead. Ask: Want to come to the bookshop with me this weekend to find something better?
Read together
Reading is about so much more than sitting quietly with a book. It’s a chance to practice skills, talk about ideas and connect to each other.
Primary school (6-11)
Read aloud with younger children. As your child’s skills develop, you can take turns reading paragraphs or voicing different characters.
Avoid interrupting to correct every mistake. This can limit your child’s confidence. If your child gets stuck on a word, involve them in working out what it means. Ask: What sound does it start with? What word would make sense here? Does the picture give you a clue? If they can’t work it out after a few tries, tell them the word and move on with the story.
Focus on the story. Enable comprehension by asking your child about it. Ask: What just happened to the character? Why do you think that happened? How do you think they are feeling about it? What do you think will happen next?
Secondary school (11-18)
Talk about what they’re reading. Invite them to share their opinions about ideas, themes and characters. Ask: Would you recommend this book to someone else?
Share your own reading interests with them. This models what it looks like to be an engaged reader. If they’ve loved a book, be open to taking a look at it yourself – this will give you the chance to explore it together with them.
Invite them to discuss unfamiliar vocabulary or topics with you. Ask: Was there anything new for you in there?
Make picking a book up easy
Creating the right home environment can prompt your child to read indepently. But you don’t need an enormous home library to do this. Having books visible, accessible and in a variety of formats can help children with their reading habit.
Primary school (6-11)
Store books somewhere that your child can reach easily. For younger children, you may want to lay them with front covers out to help them make a visual choice. For older children, you could create a small reading area with a comfortable seat and good light.
Keep favourites but refresh the selection to ensure that your child has the choice of something new. Involve your child in trips to libraries or bookshops to update their collection.
Provide books in different formats. Audiobooks can come in useful when children are sleepy before bed, for example.
Secondary school (11-18)
Let your teenager choose how to set up their reading space. Ask: How do you want to store your books? Where do you feel most relaxed in the house? What do you need to sit there comfortably?
Facilitate reading in multiple mediums, like e-books, audiobooks and podcasts.
Motivate, don’t pressure
Sometimes your child won’t want to read. When this happens, putting additional pressure on them may contribute to them feeling that reading is a chore. Never make reading a punishment or a task that has to be done in order to be allowed to do another activity. Instead, become curious about what is getting in the way and encourage them gently to re-engage.
Primary school (6-11)
Communicate with schools, teachers and tutors to check for any underlying difficulties. Struggling with comprehension, vocabularly or fluency can cause a child to disconnect from reading at home.
Celebrate effort and engagement. Try to avoid comparing your child’s progress or ability with other family members or school mates. Reading quickly or finishing multiple books does not necessarily mean a child has understood or connected with them.
Use visual progress trackers if your child is motivated by them. These could be used to track milestones, like finishing a book or trying out a new genre.
Step back when your child is resistant. This might mean reading together, suggesting that you read a paragraph and then they do. It could mean giving them the opportunity to select a different book. It could also mean having a break and trying again later.
Secondary school (11-18)
Explore the reasons why your teenager has stopped reading. This could be lack of time during exams, not having access to the right books, a skill issue or loss of confidence.
Avoid checking in constantly. This can make it feel like homework. Ask: Is there anything I can do to help make reading more fun for you?
Involve them in establishing their own goals for reading. This could be finishing a long novel in one school term or reading the newspaper every day over the summer.
A life-long reading habit isn’t acquired in a day. There will be times where your child reads more than others. But by making reading at home accessible and achievable, and showing genuine interest in what your child reads, you can help to make reading enjoyable – the best way to ensure that your child will want to pick up a book independently.
Written by Anna
Anna is a Cambridge graduate who has tutored since 2017. She has experience in the classroom, at university level, and has helped students with SEN. Anna aims to create a learning environment that enables each pupil to flourish.
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