My kid won't read unless forced. Is it too late to change his habits?

Sometimes, parents need to pull rank. If you feel it is important that your child do some independent, recreational reading, you should encourage or even require him to do it. But you run the risk of turning him off to reading if this is not approached correctly.

Try this:

Allow him to select the material he reads. Reading is reading is reading. Magazines count, too! Subscribe to a video magazine or sports magazine for him. Take him to a bookstore and let him select a book to read. It need not be Charlotte's Web or A Wrinkle in Time. Let him read about his hobbies and interests.

Some families have a family reading night when all family members spend time reading.

Buy two copies of the same book and read the same book he is reading. Discuss the plot and characters in a supportive, non-threatening, enjoyable way.

Be a positive role model. Let him see you reading and enjoying it!

Make reading a ritual in your home. Our kids are grown now, but in a recent holiday conversation, they said that a Sunday morning tradition was among their greatest childhood memories. We would buy two Sunday newspapers and put them on the kitchen table and put a pot of tea or cocoa on the stove. As the kids arose, they would stumble into the kitchen, grab their favorite newspaper section and sit at the table, reading and sharing the stories with their siblings and us. Nice.

You may want to check with his teacher to see how well he responds to reading assignments in the classroom. Can he comprehend what he reads? How extensive is his reading vocabulary? What about his reading rate? You need to determine if his reluctance to read is caused by a reading problem of some sort, or if it is simply that he enjoys movies and videos more.