Dear Nancy,

My fifth-grade child is very naughty and spends most of his free time on his phone playing games. He shows almost no interest in reading. I’ve tried urging him, but it doesn’t seem to work. What should I do?

Thank you for your help!

A Worried Parent

—–

Dear Parent,

Thank you for your message!

It’s not easy to raise a reader in the age of screens. Most children don’t actually hate reading. They just haven’t found the right kind of reading yet, or they’ve been handed books that feel more like homework than enjoyment. Instead of pushing harder, we need to try shifting the approach a bit.

It is important to find a book that matches a child’s interest and reading level. If they like action or comics, choose books in that genre. A comic book that they can’t put down does more good than a classic novel that never gets opened.

We also need to make sure the difficulty is right. A useful tool is a leveled reading system, such as the AR (Accelerated Reader) scale, used by many elementary schools in the US. The AR system estimates a book’s difficulty level based on vocabulary and length. For example, The Secret Garden, written by Frances Hodgson Burnett, has an AR level of 4.8, so it’s typically suitable for a student around the end of fourth grade; Jane Eyre, written by Charlotte Bronte, has an AR level of about 8.5, which means it suits a student in the fifth month of eighth grade.

Parents can make regular visits to local libraries, especially during school breaks. Before borrowing, we can check book summaries and AR reading levels to ensure they’re a good fit for our children. After finishing a book, children can also take short AR quizzes to track progress. For example, if a second grader can already read books at around an AR level of 5.1 and do well on the quizzes, that means his reading skills are closer to a fifth-grade level. At that point, parents can start introducing books with higher AR levels to keep challenging him.

Last but not least, children are watching us more than we think. If they see us often scrolling on our phone, they’ll follow our steps. If they see us sitting there with a book now and then, that sends a quiet but powerful message.

We want to help our children discover that reading can actually feel good. Let’s start with what they enjoy, build up gradually, and lead by example. Once they start to feel better about reading than playing games, the rest gets much easier.

Yours sincerely,

Nancy Xu, J.D.

Nancy老师，你好！

我的孩子现在五年级，很调皮，平时爱玩手机打游戏，不爱阅读。我也试着劝过他，但似乎没有效果。我该怎么办？

多谢指点！

一位焦虑的家长

—–

这位家长，你好！

感谢你发来的提问！

在手机和电子产品泛滥的时代，培养孩子爱阅读的习惯并非易事。其实，大多数孩子并不是真的不喜欢阅读，而是没有找到适合自己的读物，或者接触到的书更像作业、而不是兴趣爱好。家长们与其一味催促，不如先进行调研，尝试换一种方式。

家长需要找到既符合孩子兴趣、又适合其阅读水平的书。如果孩子喜欢动作类或漫画，就从这些类型入手。一本让孩子爱不释手的漫画，比一本从未翻开的经典名著更有价值。

为了判断阅读难度是否合适，家长可充分运用科学的阅读分级系统。比如美国许多小学使用的 AR（Accelerated Reader）英文阅读分级系统，其分值是由每本书的难度和长度决定的，通常对应相应的年级。比如说，伯内特名著《秘密花园》的 AR 值约为 4.8，通常适合四年级末的学生阅读；而夏洛蒂·勃朗特名著《简·爱》的 AR 值约为 8.5，更适合八年级中期的学生。

在假期时，家长可以充分运用公立图书馆。在去图书馆借书之前，上网查询每本书的AR英文阅读分级系统，评估这本书的难度是否适合阅读；同时上网查询每本书的内容梗概，评估一下孩子是不是会感兴趣阅读。每本书读完后，可以鼓励孩子上网做一下对应这本书的AR选择题，帮助了解阅读效果。如果二年级的孩子已经可以阅读AR 5.1的书籍，测验合格，说明他的阅读水平已经达到了五年级，可以为他选择AR分值更高的图书。

另外，弱弱地提醒一下，榜样的力量是无穷的。如果他们总看到我们在刷手机，自然也会模仿。孩子在身边时，家长也不妨阅读自己喜欢的书，

我们的目标，是让孩子慢慢体会到阅读本身的乐趣。趣味优先，进阶阅读，同时言传身教。当孩子发现阅读比电子游戏更有意思时，一切就会水到渠成。

Nancy Xu, J.D.