<p>Hi! My 12 year old daughter decided about 6 months ago that she hates reading and she is a bad reader.</p>
<p>She is on grade level for reading, but is going to get behind if she continues not reading (she does do her school assigned reading… and dislikes it.)</p>
<p>We’ve tried the obvious things- getting books in areas of interest to her, etc, but it doesn’t help much. </p>
<p>I was thinking of getting a Kindle. She loves gadgets, and I wonder if it would help. We don’t have wi-fi in our house, so she couldn’t use it for the internet at home (a plus in my eyes.) What do you think? And any non-obvious tips to get her to read more? She is more of a math/science non-fiction kid, and has never really gotten into fiction. Thanks!</p>
<p>If you don’t have wifi she may need one of the kindles with 3g connection like the original one. These have web browsing capabilities although quite limited and some games too.</p>
<p>The only reason I mention this is to suggest you look at the options. You will need a way to download the books to the kindle.</p>
<p>I love it and my daughter has had her kindle since she was 12 or 13. We have the original one and we share books as both are registered to the same amazon account</p>
<p>I personally don’t think a Kindle will change how she thinks about reading. My daughter hated reading until a classmate of hers in fourth grade recommended the Warriors series to her. I’m happy to say she is a voracious reader now. My S who is 13 hates reading too and he only likes certain books like the Lightning Thief series. You may not have found the right author for you D. Or she could have vision problems or dyslexia. The daughter of a friend found out late in high school that her reading problems were easily correctly by using tinted lenses. Talk about seeing through rose-colored glasses!</p>
<p>My fifteen-year-old nephew loves his kindle. He has always been an on-again/off-again reader – he gets interested in reading (usually a series) but then when it is over can’t find anything else he wants to read for a long time. I think the kindle makes it easier to find those things he wants to read.</p>
<p>Also, there are lots of great non-fiction books for young adults. I wouldn’t worry that your D isn’t reading fiction – in fact, a lot of current, popular teen fiction looks outright scary to me.</p>
<p>So much of reading enjoyment is because it is a “reading routine”. That’s what she needs to do. Find the ‘right’ books, establish a routine, and she’ll get hooked. Usually fiction is an easier hook because there’s a story and characters to relate to, and a problem. It’s like watching a movie (in your mind). If she prefers nonfiction, there are plenty of exciting visual books to explore. Having a Kindle won’t suddenly open a whole new door, but if it helps to get into the routine by way of a Kindle rather than books, then go for it.</p>
<p>Just decide ahead of time if she can buy books wirelessly (or 3G) on it. It’s way too easy to spend money on books with it! CLICK and it’s done. I do love my Kindle, though. I always have a book to read now, when I’m waiting for the kids at lessons, appointments, etc.</p>
<p>“She is on grade level for reading, but is going to get behind if she continues not reading (she does do her school assigned reading… and dislikes it.)”</p>
<p>Have you taken a look at what she’s assigned to read for school? It may be perfectly dreadful stuff, and she might be the only student smart enough to realize that. </p>
<p>I’d first rule out any vision or processing issues. Then I’d tell my kid to read whatever she feels like. The volume of reading is much more important than the specific materials. Some kids are just not interested in fiction. She might be one of them. In that case, there are library shelves full of non-fiction works on every subject imaginable. Pay a visit to your closest public library, and have her chat up the staff there. They can be an excellent resource for her (and for you).</p>
<p>When did you stop reading to her every night? This has the advantage (especially for truly dreadful stuff that must be read for school) of encouraging interaction with a reader (you) who may be somewhat more engaged with the material, or at least sympathetic with the student’s plight. For some kids it is a lot easier to get through a novel if a parent reads it to them, or if they listen to it on tape/CD.</p>
<p>I suggest you try borrowing some audio books for your D from the library. Reading a Kindle is just like reading a book, imo. We are a 3 kindle family and love our kindles, but we are also avid readers. Start by getting some audio books and listening in the car or just before bed. Your D may find she likes some of the stories she is listening too enough that she picks up other similar books, or the next book in the series to read.</p>
<p>I would agree with those who suggested books on tapes - they are great for traveling and reading to her. I know that may sound silly, and if you haven’t been doing it, it may feel awkward at first, but it can make a huge difference, as you are not limited by her decoding skills.</p>
<p>I think we will try getting a kindle for the family for Christmas. She may be more inclined to use it if everyone else wants to use it too, if that makes sense.</p>
<p>I like the audiobook suggestion. She spends quite a lot of time up in her room, so listening to a book would work well.</p>
<p>If she spent time reading nonfiction, that would be fine with me. She doesn’t though. She has this powerful idea in her head that she hates all reading and she is a bad reader. It is really worrying and I don’t know how to change her perception. D is at that age where she is figuring out who she is and what she is good at. She is really strong willed and once she decides something… it is hard to make an impression.</p>
<p>She has a tough English teacher this year, who is not the encouraging/nurturing type at all. </p>
<p>Regarding the 3g: we don’t like our kids to have internet access in their rooms, so I don’t think we would get the 3g. I guess we would have some inconvenience in downloading books, having to go somewhere with wifi to load the books onto the kindle. That is OK, I guess.</p>
<p>I really want to read to her at night, but I think she thinks she is too old for it. I need to think up a way to reintroduce it which is not too “babyish.”</p>
<p>You could listen to books on tape together - which may seem not as babyish as reading stories together.</p>
<p>Finding great stories that interest your daughter may spark love of reading. You can check
out Chinaberry online, they do great book reviews, and the books recommended often have strong female characters.</p>
<p>Does she like science fiction? Tamora Pierce has some great series? What about historical fiction. Also going back to “classics” like Anne of green gables, may get her interest.</p>
<p>My 14 yo D is dyslexic and struggles with reading. We got her the Kindle last Christmas and it has been great. </p>
<p>We have a very old router and WEP security. Our kindle will not hook up through our router. It does not have 3G. Maybe I am misunderstanding, but I think the above posts are not correct regarding the downloading. Even without 3G or wifi, my D can go online to the Kindle bookstore, and load the book through the computer to her Kindle. It’s a bit more cumbersome, but not really that difficult.</p>
<p>Also, on most books, the Kindle will read them aloud to her. This is very helpful in her circumstance, and if audio books work for your D, might work great for her also.</p>
<p>Also agree with suggestions about finding the “right” author. My D will never be a good or fast reader, but she enjoys it much more when she sticks to the authors she really enjoys.</p>
<p>Just a thought, but have you also tested her eyesight? If it’s a chore to read because here sight has fuzzed up, it might be a contributing factor if your child used to like to read.</p>
<p>Kindle would still be a good choice if that’s a factor, too, because Kindle lets you adjust the text size easily.</p>
<p>I think getting one for the family is a good idea. If your daughter doesn’t love it, at least someone will get some use out of it. It’s pretty easy to download Kindle books from a library, easier then a nook anyway. If your library doesn’t have e-books yet (and I say yet, because they are coming!) you can find a library that does by asking at your home library. There are also library systems where you can join on-line and download e-books from them. This link will help - [OverDrive</a> – Global distributor of digital eBooks, audiobooks, music & video for library, school & retail](<a href=“http://www.overdrive.com/]OverDrive”>http://www.overdrive.com/)</p>
<p>The downside is that the content of the books disappears after the borrowing period is up. I understand that there is a way to save the contents, but I haven’t needed to figure that out yet.</p>
<p>If you get a Nook you could make it an event to go to B and N with your Nook, get a hot drink from the cafe and download your books with the free wireless there. Sometimes being “around” books makes them more inviting. Lots of kids hang out at our B and N’s, browsing, chatting, etc. Sometimes Nook has free offers from the cafe, etc when you bring your Nook with you into the store.</p>
<p>I would try and keep the idea of reading for pleasure completely seperate from school reading. If she is feeling any pressure at school and is overwhelmed with the reading there, she will likely not want to pick up a book even out of school. While I know you are thinking in your head that social reading will help her school reading, don’t share that thought/worry with her. :)</p>
<p>There are all sort of completely junky but addictive books written for girls her age. I mean stuff you might not necessarily choose for her, full of sex (or sexiness) and modest substance abuse. When my daughter was teaching 10th grade in the South Bronx, she said the girls just devoured this stuff, and thus developed much better reading skills than the boys, for whom no equivalent products existed.</p>
<p>So, anyway, I would definitely experiment with racy juvenile stuff. (I don’t know any of the current books, but I remember my daughter liking the Weetzie Bat books at this age. I opened one up once, and the high-school aged protagonist got drunk and had sex by page 3. I didn’t want to know more.) Or other genre stuff, like mysteries or sci-fi. Even manga – there is a lot of girl-oriented manga. </p>
<p>I strongly agree that reading anything, even cringeworthy stuff, is better than reading nothing at this point.</p>
<p>I can’t see how a Kindle would help much, but then I’m not a gadgety person.</p>
<p>Is she reluctant reading what you would call “literature”? I have the same problem as her. I just can not read that many fiction books. I always read non fiction books. I remember in elementary, I always got books that were meant for young adults/teens. Now that I am in highschool, I seem to read books (more like textbooks) that are college and grad school level. Perhaps introduce her to some books like testbooks. I remember I would often read big chucks of the textbook at a time.</p>
<p>I definitely read more since I’ve had the Kindle. I think it’s because I have a variety of books on it, so I can pick something based on my mood at the time. I also keep it with me all the time, so it’s easy to grab and read for a few minutes here and there.</p>
<p>I’m in a similar situation as commasplice, and I hope she won’t mind if I slip in a related question here: Is there an advantage to setting up a new Amazon account for my child when she gets her Kindle, or should I just register it as another device under my account?</p>