Reigniting My Teen’s Love For Books: Tips for Parents Nurturing Lifelong Readers

‘Again, Again,’ he would say after we finished reading his favorite books at bedtime. As that curious toddler grew into a teenager, his interest in reading began to waver. Nighttime reading was quickly becoming a distant memory.

Join me as I share the story of how we turned around his wavering interest into a daily reading habit and ultimately helped him fall back in love with books. Discover tips to help your child become a lifelong reader as you read along.

Fostering a Lifelong Love of Reading

Reading bed time stories — Photo by Ben Griffiths on Unsplash

I have been reading to my son since before he could form words. His childhood consisted of multiple trips to the library and picking out the best books that interest him.

As a child, he would wander between the rows of books on the children’s floor and pick out books that caught his eye. ‘Someone loves to read,’ the librarians would say as his little hands placed the piles of books on their desk for check out. We would come home with filled bags, eager to dig in and explore each story.

We filled our house with child-size bookshelves in every room, and he was never too far to pick up a book. Bedtime stories echoed through the house each night. I would intentionally mix up words in the books just to see him laugh. He waited eagerly to see what I would do at each storytime. Do the funny version he would say at times, and his laughter was often the highlight of my day.

On days I was too tired to read but pushed through, he didn’t fail to call me out. Read it like you mean it, Mom, he would say. That was how we bonded, through stories short and long, funny and sad.

As time passed, my son transitioned from board and picture books like The Going to Bed Book and Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site to more advanced chapter and young adult books like Diary of a Wimpy Kid, the Warriors series, Wings of Fire, and Percy Jackson.

I continued reading aloud to my son until he was ten, when his eyes started scanning the page faster than I could read. He read story after story every night and sometimes returned to the same books he had read a while ago.

As he grew, his understanding of books grew. He began to understand character development. He started to develop a preference for the genre and started paying attention to each author’s writing style. His wonderland of books was going fine until he turned a teenager.

Facing the Challenges of Teenage Reading

teenage reading challenges — Photo by Eliott Reyna on Unsplash

My teenager’s schedule was full of sports and schoolwork, which took up most of the night. He would pick something from his collection to read before bed some nights. Other nights, he would skip reading altogether when he was too exhausted.

The books I chose from the library never got any love. He was a teenager who liked to make his own choices. Let’s go to the library and find a book, I would tell him. He would sometimes reluctantly join, but selecting random books no longer held his interest.

My child’s loss of interest in books felt like losing an old friend. I wasn’t ready to let go of something I had invested so much time in, so I set out on a quest and took a proactive approach, returning him to reading.

After a few months, I saw the sparkle in his eyes again while he read. We started having the same arguments we did when he was young when he refused to go to bed so he could read a few extra pages.

Creative Strategies to Keep Your Child Reading

1. Reading Aloud to Kids:

When your growing child begins to lose interest and doesn’t want to read on their own, try reading to them like you did when they were little. Reading inspiring autobiographies from athletes from my son’s favorite sport, swimming, worked for us.

‘I loved Michael Phelps’s story, but the author could have done a better job with the sequence of events,’ he said. That was when I knew the book lover in him was still in there somewhere.

2. Leading by Example:

Kids learn more from observing us than from telling them to do something. While away from his books, my son had plenty of opportunities to watch me read regularly.

If I liked the book I was reading, I would share a paragraph or two with him, even if it wasn’t in the genre he cares about. It was my way of keeping him engaged.

3. Being Vulnerable:

We don’t always love every book we read. If you are having issues with your reading, share it with your child. For instance, I had difficulty finishing Catcher in the Rye because I was not fond of the main character. As I shared this with my son, we discovered we experienced the same issue with the book.

He is involved in my reading journey and often gives good advice. ‘You must pick books that make you want to keep reading,’ he says when I struggle to finish something.

4. Embracing Their World:

If your child has fallen in love with a book, do your best to read it. I don’t care much about fantasy, but when I saw his passion for books like Harry Potter, I decided to become part of his world.

When I read the first Harry Potter book, I understood his fascination with fantasy and marveled at J.K. Rowling’s imagination. We discussed the storyline, bonded over the characters, and compared movies to books.

5. Doing Your Research:

As your child is older, they no longer want you to choose books for him. But they don’t always have the time to research on their own.

Relying on must-read lists online helped my son discover books like Dear Martin and the Divergent series, putting the spark back in his daily reading. Research books that are great for your child’s age group and have them pick a few they are willing to read.

More than Words: Building Bonds through Books

Keeping your child’s reading habit alive is a constant battle in a world where multiple things compete for their attention. I have yet to overcome this hurdle fully, but we have progressed in the right direction.

My son’s love for books isn’t just about the benefits of reading. It signifies our bond and countless hours spent reading and bonding our favorite stories.

As your child grows, their interest in books will come and go. But don’t let this discourage you. You can get creative and rely on your local librarians, teachers, and fellow parents to find books that interest them.

If you have yet to begin the reading journey with your child, there is always time to start. Invite them into the beautiful world of books, and with proper nurturing, you can turn them into lifelong readers.

They may grow up to read books that open their hearts and minds and liberate their souls. Before we know it, they might call us as adults to discuss exciting books they have read.

Let books be the medium to connect and strengthen the bond with our children. Let us plant the seeds to inspire generations of readers who would come back to read and be inspired by the same stories our children have been.