If possible - too much reading

[Tanya in KS]

I know this may not be a problem for some children but for my 11 yo daughter it DEFINATELY is. She reads ALL day long - 2 200 page books a day! I can not get her to do anything else this summer. When school starts she will be busy with her band & orchestra - she is doing 1.5 hours of practice daily still. We live in a small town so there are no summer activites for her to be involved in.

 

Any ideas??? She is not into crafts. She will do a puzzle if I MAKE her. Please, please help

 

Tanya

[Sasharowan]

I was like that as a child. I would play outside if we went to my cousins (he lived on a river) or if someone came over. Other than that I found outside play boring, especially since there were 4 years between my little sis and me. You said she is practicing, does she also help around the house? My almost 10 year old is starting to help out around the house, but then she is a crafty one and doesn't like to read.

[PeterPan]

My dd would read like that all day too. We do school year-round, and that helps limit her freedom to binge read all day. Does she have a particular genre? If it's a particularly potato-chippy genre (my dd is into comic books), you may have to take them away for a while. Also, in our house we had to get really serious about red-faced time. Laura in China had some posts about that ages ago, and the standards in Britain are much higher than I would have thought (1 1/2 or 2 hours a day, I forget). I'd kick her outside a few hours a day and tell her she can't read. She NEEDS to be up and moving.

 

Btw, she could make her own putt-putt course with some yogurt containers and ping pong balls. That's my new discovery for the day. :)

[WTMCassandra]

I was this child. My parents didn't handle it well.

 

Whenever they would see me reading they would yell, "Stop reading that book and xxxx!" The xxxx was usually some sort of work. This made me think, "Sheesh, I COULD be doing something bad! I'm only READING!" It also made me sneak around and read more. And it made me feel put-upon like they wanted me to work all the time (actually, that's fairly true).

 

Anyhoo, I think another approach is in order (not that I think you would do what my parents did).

 

I think you should sit down at a good time for both of you and talk about having a BALANCED life. Reading can become an idol or obsession just as easily as video games for some children. Being obsessed with something is NEVER healthy, no matter what it is. Talk to her about her need to have other interests too, as well as to get out and move. Work together on a reasonable schedule--say, play outside from 9-11, do a craft before lunch, help out with housework for an hour after lunch, then read from 1-4pm or something.

 

My children ALWAYS do better with structure, even if they are on "vacation." Right now they play in the mornings, do one school subject just before lunch when outside gets too hot to play, play after lunch, rest, and then read for an hour. They are doing better now that they are in a routine.

[Haiku]

I would work with your daughter to identify another summer hobby that she could have a defined time to work on. For example, if she decides she would like to learn to knit, then she could work on knitting from 10-11. If you have a dog, she could schedule a dog walk from 4-5. Other than that, I wouldn't worry about it too much. I read constantly as a child. My dad used to tell me to go outside and play. I would take my book outside, climb a tree, and read. I grew up to be very well-rounded.

 

Tara

[Lizzie in Ma]

And my dd 13 is following in my footsteps. Me, my cat, a couple apples and a basket of books in my tree. :)

As long as she is still doing the chores and such she is required to do and whatever else she is supposed to do I would let her. Long, lazy days of summer are good quality reading time. :)

[sagira]

Just like me too. I was an only child, so no one else to play with. I would still encourage her to play with her sibling, and help her. Also read TO her so the younger one builds skills. To get her to go outside, I know it would have helped me if one or both of my parents were also doing an activity outside (may not what you want to hear LOL), as I loved spending time with them. She needs to see that actually living life is also fun. Believe me, I learned that lesson much later and I would have been a more active person had I done so.

 

Oh, and some of my fond Summer memories are reading (duh) and a few summer (day) programs I participated in (language, cultures, general). Find something she likes and have her participate (a club, an activity), even volunteer if she can. Something that piques her interest.

[kckamy]

I have a 9.5 year old daughter that would read every waking moment if I let her and I do give her a lot of freedom in this area. She has learned a wealth of information from her reading that can never be taken away.

 

I have never considered it a problem but it is something that I have to constantly work on. It is a little easier in the summer than it is in the winter. Once she gets outside she has fun but she doesn't usually go out without me suggesting it first.

 

Our rule is that twice a day she has to do something active even if it is jumping rope in the basement. She is used to the rule so I usually don't have any complaints and she knows when she is done she can go back to reading!

 

I try to schedule a play date every week and this is something she really looks forward to. My daughter is not one to do a craft on her own but will work on something if I am with her. We have done a few things this summer that she has enjoyed (small rag quilt, no-sew fleece blanket, water-color, and decorated advent bottles for December http://dailypleasures.blogspot.com/search?q=advent . She also likes crossword puzzles (by Trip Payne), playing board games (when she can find someone to play with her), writing letters and she keeps a personal journal.

 

I have been letting her cook more this summer since my schedule is a little less hectic.

 

I would keep letting her read but try to find some things to break up her day and don't worry there are worse problems that you could have. Most parents can't get their children to read!

 

Amy

[katilac]

My dd turns 11 this week and is also an avid reader. I would require daily exercise and daily chores, but I wouldn't limit her reading in the remaining time or push a hobby on her. That would give her three to four hours daily of music, exercise and chores during the summer months.

 

What I would do is select and provide books that she might not choose for herself, especially if she is stuck in one or two genres. I do this for my avid reader - - for a while, she was picking nothing but mysteries and fantasty at the library.

 

I let her pick her stack of books, but I also picked some. I don't require her to read them, they are just on the shelf with the other books. When she finishes her own selections, she's happy enough to move on to most of mine.

 

When I really want to interest my kids in trying something new or different, the magic factor tends to be having me, dad, or both of us trying it as well. If we ALL play a board game, cook something different for dinner, or spend the evening sharpening our drawing skills, it's a great deal more fun than, "You have to stop reading and do something else."

[Laura Corin]

Laura in China had some posts about that ages ago, and the standards in Britain are much higher than I would have thought (1 1/2 or 2 hours a day, I forget). I'd kick her outside a few hours a day and tell her she can't read. She NEEDS to be up and moving.

 

The boys run (or equivalent) for half an hour, then the rest is made up of various other activities.

 

To the OP: my eldest would read all day. I'm glad that we have the exercise requirement. Here's a link.

 

Laura

[Evergreen Academy]

I was just like that! I ended up majoring in English, writing for newspapers and now read all day to my kids, so it was good preparation. :) My now 16-year-old daughter was like this, and it helped when we got our Sonlight packages early, and she would read her way through the summer. I didn't mind giving her a head start, she loved the books and it kept her from reading "junk." My 11-year-old son is like this now, and disappears for hours at a time with big, thick books. I require chores, and have insisted on swimming lessons for him, and he has to walk the dog a few times a day - getting him out of the house helps!

 

One thing I am doing is capitalizing on his love of reading. I leave interesting books I know he'd enjoy (Bible facts, suduko, mind benders, etc) in the bathroom where he is apt to disappear (LOL), and I'll find him an hour later reading them. This helps him vary his genre (He's been into the Lord of the Rings books the past few months) and he absorbs and remembers whatever he reads. I also bought Life of Fred for summer math work, and as I thought, his love of reading is helping him get a kick out of that.

 

If your daughter has well rounded reading material, some exercise and a few other interests (cooking, pets, etc), I wouldn't worry. One thought - does she journal? I loved that as a kid.

 

Blessings,

Aimee

mom to 6 great kids ages 6-18, schooling grades 1, 3, 3 and 6