How to Get a Reluctant Reader Excited About Books

For parents · 4 min read

If you have a reluctant reader at home, take a breath: it is one of the most common and most fixable challenges parents face. When a child pushes books away, it usually is not because they cannot read. More often it is because reading has started to feel like a chore, a test, or something that belongs to school rather than to them. The good news is that a reluctant reader can absolutely learn to love books — the secret is almost always motivation, not skill.

1. Start with what they already love

Forget the classics for a moment. If your child is obsessed with dinosaurs, dragons, soccer, space, or slime, that is your doorway. Find books, comics, or magazines about that exact thing. A kid who "hates reading" will happily plow through a page about sharks if sharks are their whole world right now. Interest is the engine; the reading skill quietly rides along behind it. Follow their curiosity instead of your reading list, and you remove the biggest wall between them and the page.

2. Let them choose (even when you disagree)

Ownership matters enormously. Take your child to the library or a bookstore and let them pick, even if their choice seems too easy, too silly, or below their level. A book they chose is a book they are far more likely to open. Graphic novels, joke books, and picture books all count. The goal right now is not to challenge them — it is to help them feel that reading is something they get to do, not something done to them.

3. Keep it short and low-pressure

Long, obligatory reading sessions can turn a reluctant reader off for weeks. Aim for short, warm bursts instead — ten minutes before bed, a page over breakfast, a chapter in the car. Drop the quizzing. You do not need to ask what every word meant or whether they were paying attention. Let reading be relaxing rather than a performance, and it stops feeling like homework. Comprehension grows on its own once the pressure lifts.

4. Read aloud together, longer than you think you should

Many parents stop reading aloud the moment a child can technically decode words. Do not. Reading together lets your child enjoy stories that are still a little beyond their independent level, and it keeps books tied to something cozy and connected — your voice, your lap, your attention. Take turns a page at a time so there is no pressure to carry the whole story. Some of the strongest readers were read to long past the age it seemed "necessary."

5. Make your child the hero of the story

Here is a motivation hack that works wonders for reluctant readers: put the child inside the book. It is hard to stay bored when the main character has your name, your age, and your face. This is where a personalized storybook can help — with Spillers Books you upload one clear photo, choose whether your child is a human, a mythical creature, or a superhero, add details like their name and hair, and pick an adventure. From there a genuinely new, custom-illustrated story is created with your child on every page — not a template with a name dropped in. That built-in hook can turn a page-avoider into someone begging to see what happens next. You can read the first books free in the app, and order a printed hardcover if you want to keep it on the shelf. Treat it as one tool among many, not a magic wand — but for a kid who thinks reading is not "for them," seeing themselves as the hero can flip the switch.

6. Let them see you reading

Children absorb what they watch us do far more than what we tell them to do. If reading only ever happens when you are handing them a book, it looks like a rule. If they catch you enjoying a novel, a recipe, or the news with your feet up, it looks like a pleasure. Talk about what you are reading at dinner. Model that books are part of a good life, not just a school assignment, and your reluctant reader gets quiet permission to feel the same way.

Progress with a reluctant reader is rarely a straight line, and that is completely normal. Lower the stakes, follow their interests, keep sharing stories together, and give them books they actually want to open. Some weeks will click and some will not — but with patience and a few of these small shifts, reading can quietly move from something your child avoids to something they reach for on their own.