My older son was born a reader. He gravitated to words before he could even read them. I let his natural curiosity control the pace of his learning and by 3; he was reading books by himself. At home we always had books around; we visited the library, and let him get books whenever he wanted. He could read books or not read books. He could read for 10 min, 1 min, or 30 minutes, whatever he wanted. He set his own pace and we supported that.

Then reading programs started in school. At the younger grades it started with 5 minutes a day of “required” reading. Maybe he/we would have to write down the book title and how many pages or minutes he read.

From day one, I knew it wasn’t going to be a good fit for us. Braden was sort of black and white at that time and the teacher had authority. If I had told him that he needed to read 5 minutes, he would have read 5 minutes. The downside is that he would have naturally read for 15 minutes but now this new “law” reigned.

So we stopped. Sure, for a while I would just fill in fake information but then I just stopped. I figured if the teachers really had an issue with his reading, they would reach out to me. They never have.

My younger was a born player. He loves sports, riding his bike and scooter around the street. He loves to move, and run, and be active. Unlike his older brother, books were not his go to even though we have piles and piles of books in his room. He learned to read on pace for his age and we supported him along the way. We continue to read to him and have him read but, again, it is not a pressure issue in our home.

He has also expressed his dislike of reading to which I respond, “Well, I guess we just haven’t found something that you really love yet, and that’s ok. We’ll keep trying different books.”

School is starting and he’s at the point where these “reading logs” will become part of his homework. He already does not gravitate towards reading so I don’t feel making him read for X amount of time is a positive approach. If 10 min is “required” of him and he stops after 5 minutes? I’ll take it. He’s at a point where if I push it, he’s going to dislike it more. Clock watching does not make something relaxing and enjoyable. It adds a layer of anxiety and clouds the mind with number keeping.

The love to read needs to grow naturally and at his chosen pace, no matter the minutes.

So we don’t do reading programs but I’m still hoping to end up with 2 children who love to read.