For many homeschooling families, reading is the cornerstone of learning. So when a child resists reading — avoids it, complains about it, or claims to “hate” it — parents often feel frustrated or even panicked. After all, we know how foundational reading is to everything from academic success to empathy and lifelong learning. But before we rush to fix the problem, it’s important to ask the right questions: Why doesn’t my child like to read? And just as importantly, what can I do to help them grow into a reader?
There’s no one reason why a student might struggle to connect with reading. Some kids have undiagnosed learning differences, such as dyslexia or attention difficulties, that make reading laborious. Others associate reading with pressure — timed tests, comprehension drills, or long assignments that never gave them time to enjoy the story. Still others simply haven’t yet found the right book — the one that opens the door and says, This world was written just for you.
Helping a student develop a love of reading begins with understanding that reading is not a monolithic skill — it is cognitive, emotional, and cultural. Fluency and comprehension are only part of the picture. A child must also feel safe, curious, and invited into the act of reading. That means giving them space to explore texts that don’t “count” as school reading: graphic novels, audiobooks, poetry, even game guides or fan fiction. We must treat those as valid doorways, not distractions.
Parents also play a powerful role in modeling what reading looks like — not as a duty, but as a delight. When students see the adults in their lives read for pleasure, laugh at a passage, or stay up late to finish a chapter, they begin to understand that reading is more than just a task. It is a deeply human act of connection — to ideas, to language, to the interior lives of others.
Ultimately, reading is not a race or a rite of passage. It is a relationship, and like all relationships, it blooms in its own time. What matters most is that we don’t give up on it — or on the child. With patience, creativity, and empathy, even the most reluctant reader can one day say, “I couldn’t put it down.”
And when they do, it won’t be because we forced them to love books — it will be because we helped them find them.