kids n xmas ideas

lindseylocket

My boy is 8 and although he is a good reader he has never really been interested in reading for pleasure , we have tried all sorts of books and getting him books on my kindle.

For about a year now he has had a subscription to Match Comic , initially bought as a birthday present.
Loves it , reads it himself , does all the puzzles , looks forward to it coming through the mail. His spelling's amazing , all those foreign players!

ecgirl07

korky69 wrote: »

He does play his Xbox on his own tv, he does not live with me FT, weekends and a couple of afternoons.
Just want him to read more (and want to more the point) without banning him off his Xbox like happens now at times, I thought the carrot of playing on a new device where books are easily got could encourage him more?

get a comic or magazine subscription. that way he will be reading every week and you can get it delivered to you so he looks forward to it when he stays. Tesco have kids magazines in their points rewards. As a developing reader it is important he reads for fun so get a comic magazine he would enjoy.

Mado

I also think that a game you could play with him could be very welcome. He sounds like he mostly entertains himself.

Another option for getting a taste for reading could be audio book; if you get him engaged, he may want to explore some more.

rachbc

I think the key to encouraging reading (esp in boys) is finding something they want to read rather than the format in which they are reading- my son never was and still isn't a huge fiction fan - but loves biographies, auto biographies and lots of non fiction. I used to be snooty about it but figured it wa better he read Jeremy Clarkson or the sport pages of The Times than nothing! Now he even asks for new books rather than groaning when I well him to go read!

A kindle might not in itslef make him read but the chance to download and try lots of different genres and types of writing for free might just capture his attention

heretolearn_2

My immediate thought was lego too.

Amazing stuff - IF you also put some time in with your child and don't just dump a load of bricks on them that they'll quickly get bored with.

buy one of the big lego kits of Star wars space ship, or pirate ship, and sit down and make it with him. At a couple of hours per weekend it could be a few months of activities together, and it is great for building attention span and attention to detail. I did this with my son (who was a right dippy dreamer) and he immediately loved it and became a real whizz at lego and would spend hours and hours with it. I've also done a big kit with each of my stepsons (one especially has the attention span and concentration of a gnat) and again they both loved doing it, really worked hard, and were thoroughly engrossed. They learned a huge amount, how to follow a plan to the T, patience (hunting out the exact right next brick from several hundred takes time), how to solve a problem when it went a bit wrong, and it does them nothing but good - and they love it. It became the highlight of their weekends with us. They were immensely proud when they'd finished.

They also loved having an adult devote that much time and attention to playing with them/helping them, I think.

loracan1

Counting_Pennies wrote: »

I would suggest a small game, and save the rest of your money for a tutor to help him one to one.

What every little boy dreams of getting for christmas.


I'd agree about one of the big lego kits - set it up somewhere where it won't be disturbed and make sure you both spend a couple of hours on it each weekend.

korky69

thanks for all your replies,
unfortunately a tutor is out of my range, I'm still in the thinking of getting a kindle,
i do believe it will encourage him to want and not have to read, however i think the lego idea is good so will look at getting the cheaper kindle along with a few tubs of lego,
also i could borrow the kindle when he's not here!

OrkneyStar

korky69 wrote: »

thanks for all your replies,
unfortunately a tutor is out of my range, I'm still in the thinking of getting a kindle,
i do believe it will encourage him to want and not have to read, however i think the lego idea is good so will look at getting the cheaper kindle along with a few tubs of lego,
also i could borrow the kindle when he's not here!

Good idea. You can get basic kindles quite cheaply now and maybe check on amazon, argos, tesco etc for good deals on lego. You might find 3 for 2 or something. DS (5) likes anything to do with emergency vehicles, castles, knights. An 8 yr old may like similar themes, but with more complex building skills.....and you can help and have fun too!
Another idea is a pile of crafty things (put in a big tub if you like), paper, glue, stickers, pens, cardboard, etc, it is amazing what you can make with some imagination (and kids tend to win on that front!)

dibuzz

My youngest hated reading and it was real battle to get him to read his school books but give him a non fiction book about animals or how things work and he wouldn't put it down.
I agree with the lego/knex/mechano idea, we used to have litttle competitions to make things and I enjoyed it as much as the kids did.

sulkisu

I agree that a kindle will not make him enjoy reading. TBH reading is like anything, some people love it others don't. Who/what is he interested in? Try buying him a book about that? Otherwise go for something non-electronic, such as Lego or Meccano, something which teaches him to use his imagination and to learn how to entertain himself. I genuinely believe that this is a skill that many children lack in this digital age.