How many hours a day do your children spend reading to themselves?

[Halcyon]

If you include ALL reading, both pleasure, nonfiction, assigned reading etc, how much time each day do your children spend reading to themselves? Poll to follow.

[justamouse]

More than 2.

 

They have 1 hour read in the morning, and one hour read before bed, and then we read during the day for other classes.

[Halcyon]

More than 2.

 

They have 1 hour read in the morning, and one hour read before bed, and then we read during the day for other classes.

 

Riight, but don't include read-alouds in your total, k? I think we do quite a lot of read alouds, and I think I'd like to transfer some of this reading to my older's silent reading time, but curious if I'd be overdoing it.

[Chris in VA]

I didn't vote, because mine's in school. She has to read 30 minutes for school every evening. Piece of cake for her, as she loves to read. But, she has about an hour of homework nearly every night, and 30 minutes of piano practice, and about 20 of viola (not that she does it every night...:glare:). By the time we add in dinner and some outdoor time and the occasional video/TV show, getting that 30 minutes in is difficult!

 

When we homeschooled, she'd easily read 2 hours a day. At least.

[TracyP]

I voted more than 2. My ds6 probably reads for 1-2 hours. He does not have any assigned reading, so he reads for about 45-60 min during "quiet time" and most days he will do some more reading in his free time. My dd8 has about 30 min assigned reading, 45-60 min of reading during quiet time, and also reads for more than 2 hours on top of this.

[mazakaal]

Depends on the child. The 7yo only has to read out loud to me for 10 minutes per day. He usually reads at night, but the amount of time varies. The 9yo reads some sort of historical fiction for 30 minutes a day and usually reads for at least 30 minutes in the evening, sometimes also reading in the middle of the day. The 13yo has 30 minutes assigned historical fiction or literature, but he also reads a lot for science and history. He sometimes reads for entertainment, but that's more sporadic as he gets older. If he has a book he likes, he'll read 2 hours a day, but finding books he likes is more and more difficult.

[chepyl]

He is six, I require 15 minutes. Somedays he reads longer. He does not read books for longer, but he will read game instructions and internet pages with hints for his Wii games. He has not yet developed am interest in reading much, so I let him read whatever he will read.

[justamouse]

Riight, but don't include read-alouds in your total, k? I think we do quite a lot of read alouds, and I think I'd like to transfer some of this reading to my older's silent reading time, but curious if I'd be overdoing it.

 

No, that's not read alouds, that's their reading on their own for other subjects. And the one hour blocks are on their own.

[KristenR]

My dd is 5 and currently reading a Magic TreeHouse book by herself while I prepare dinner. She spends about 15 minutes or so before she normally moves on to something else. Considering she is only 5 I don't press the issue and hope her attention span will increase as she gets older.

[LivingHope]

My children read more than two hours per day from classics and nonfiction books. We also use the two hour guideline for family read alouds which includes family Bible at breakfast, literature at lunch, and Daddy's read alouds in the evening.

[Daisy]

I voted more than two hours. My kids routinely crawl into bed at 7pm just so they can read for an hour and a half before lights out. They read much more than that during the day (in the car, doing school work, library, etc).

[jenangelcat]

At least 2 hours for my oldest (6). She reads a lot.

[Meriwether]

Ds7 30-60 minutes if I'm lucky.

 

Dd8 anywhere from 30 minutes to 5+ hours with 90-120 minutes being normal

[JessieC]

My first grader stays up way too late, reading to herself in her room. At first I let it go because hey, she's reading, but now it's getting to be a problem. Last night she was up until 11pm reading! It makes for sluggish mornings.

[razorbackmama]

It depends on the child. Some of mine read more than 2 hours. Some of them read 15-30 minutes. And everywhere in between.

[Laura Corin]

When they were being home educated, more than two hours, often much more. Now that they are at school, it's more than two hours at weekends and in the holidays, under one most other days.

 

Laura

[Dmmetler]

We have a quiet time for reading in the afternoon, and DD usually reads 1-2 hours at night as well. However, she just plain likes to read, so it's not so much that it's assigned time, but time that I've blocked out for "you can read or sleep, because MOMMY is tired!".

[Momof3littles]

2-2.5 for my almost 8 yo.

 

We have 2 + hours of quiet time in the afternoon when my toddler naps, and DS1 spends most of this reading most days. He also reads another 30-60 mins before bed, and sometimes for a bit when he wakes up in the morning if he's up before I am.

[Woodhaven]

I chose 60 - 90 minutes, but some days it's a LOT higher. They love to read! But they also enjoy many other things as well!

[AimeeM]

She only reads what is required of her. So, about 2 hours worth between her textbooks and assigned other reading.

[Momling]

It depends -- our 7 yr old gets in 30 minutes a day. The 9 yr old would happily read more than 2 hours.

[Farrar]

My 7 yos are required to do 20 minutes of free reading every weekday, but it's on the board as little slips and they can sit and do two or three of them at once if they like, which they sometimes do. My stronger reader also does school reading most days. And occasionally they both just read for fun. So it varies a lot here. Like all things, I waiver between pushing them to do a little more and wanting to let it be something they find their way to.

[Lisa in the UP of MI]

My second grader is my only independent reader. Every day is different. I rarely assign her to read anything (very occasionally a science or history book, but she usually reads them before I have a chance to tell her to do it). When she's not busy with other work she is welcome to choose to read if she wants. Some days it's probably close to 30 minutes, but most days it's much more and some days it is more than 2 hours. If she didn't choose to read so much on her own I might have a special reading time every day, but since she reads plenty on her own I don't bother. (She's currently reading on the floor next to me, waiting for me to do the morning read-alouds.)

[8filltheheart]

I didn't vote b/c I don't believe the poll as written will yield valuable information. Considering there is a 9 yr age spread b/t K and 8th grade, the number of hrs should be hugely discrepant depending on the poster and their children's ages.

 

My 4th grader probably reads about 2hrs silently per day that is assigned. (that would cover history, science, and lit.)

 

My 7th grader probably reads closer to 3-4.

 

In 3rd, I would guess closer to 1.

[Heidi]

She reads quietly to herself 30 min./day, assigned. She reads outloud to me about 10 min./day, assigned.

 

And she also reads in her free time, not assigned.

 

I voted 30-60 min.

 

She is 7 1/2.

[Penelope]

It depends. But in general, the 9 yo reads 45-60 minutes+ for school reading, and at least an hour on his own at night. If he is really into a book, it could be more, but he's not really a bookworm type that has his nose in a book at every opportunity.

[LaMere Academy]

At least an hour, usually 2 a day.

[DragonFaerie]

Oh my. It would seem we are woefully behind in the daily reading department. I don't think we could find the time for the kids to read that much, even if they wanted to. We do school until 3 pm, during which they each have assigned reading that takes around 20-30 minutes. After school is done, there are extracurricular activities almost every day, instrument practice daily, and lots of playing outside (weather permitting). DS spends his indoor time building anything and everything and DD dances, and choreographs dances, and tries to get her brother to dance, and dances some more. LOL.. They do have 30 minutes of reading time before bed but more often than not, they read a couple of chapters and are ready for sleep before the 30 minutes is up. I'd say on average they read 30-45 minutes per day.

[MinivanMom]

I voted for my oldest dd7. She has been reading chapter books fluently for 2 years now. She averages 3-4 hours of personal, independent reading everyday. That does not include required reading or read-alouds. My ds6 is right on the verge of reading fluently (only reading at a 2nd-3rd grade level). He reads aloud to me for 15 min per day and reads independently for 15-30 minutes.

[WIS0320]

As I have a young first grader I picked 15-30 minutes. She is required to look at/read books for 20 minutes per day, the books are her choice.

[Georgiana Daniels]

We are at 30-60 minutes. I can't wait until we are in the over 2 hour crowd!

[lulubelle]

My ds 9 is timed for 2 reading sessions that total 80 minutes. He might actually double that with his own reading most days.

[PeterPan]

Put magazine racks in the bathroom, stock them with TinTin or other worthwhile graphic novels (my dd's suggestion!), and watch the time go up. :) If the time isn't going up, get their eyes checked.

[DragonFaerie]

Put magazine racks in the bathroom, stock them with TinTin or other worthwhile graphic novels (my dd's suggestion!), and watch the time go up. :) If the time isn't going up, get their eyes checked.

 

Their eyes are fine. They are just not sit and read kinds of kids. I blame it on their dad. :tongue_smilie:

[Splinter]

My 9 year old probably averages about an hour a day. I don't usually require a certain amount of time, but if he hasn't picked up a book in a few days, I'll put 30 minutes on his "schoolwork list" for the next day. That's not including time spent reading wikipedia or articles on the internet, one of his new favourite hobbies.

 

My two in public school have to read 15 minutes per night, but my daughter usually reads longer than that, probably closer to 45 minutes per day.

[smilesonly]

i voted 60-90 mins on average, anyway. ds is assigned reading for one hour and he usually reads magazines in the evenings.

 

i *just* bumped him up to an hour of reading this school year.:)

[Hadassah]

I think it would be easiest if I broke it down kid-by-kid:

 

13 y/o - He uses a literature-based curriculum, so he does a lot of reading for his assignments, but he works quite independently so I can't really tell exactly how much reading he does for that. I'll "guesstimate" 1.5 hours per day.

In my family we have "quiet hour" every afternoon, and he's required (by me) to free-read during that hour. Oftentimes he will continue to read for another hour, so that makes 2 hours in the afternoon. And he reads for about 30 to 60 minutes at night before bed. He's my bookworm :D .

 

5 y/o - She can read quite well. She's in kindergarten, though, so basically all of her school reading is read-aloud. She reads to herself for about an hour every afternoon.

 

2 y/o - She taught herself to read and now reads a lot of Junie B. Jones, Magic Tree House, etc. Again, I can't really pinpoint an exact time. Her reading stamina is horrible, but I'm ecstatic that she's even reading. Maybe 30 - 45 minutes per day?

[Canadianmumof5]

DS5: 60-90 minutes - he LOVES to read. We have 30 minutes in the afternoon plus bedtime reading. He is reading the one of the Nate the Great books right now and Phineas & Ferb.

 

DD8: 60-90 minutes - she likes to read, but doesn't LOVE it like the boys. She is really enjoying the Boxcar Children and The Bobbsey Twins right now.

 

DS10: 2-3 hours - this child would rather read than do pretty much anything else. I have actually had to ground him from reading......reading is his currency IYKWIM.

[DragonFaerie]

2 y/o - She taught herself to read and now reads a lot of Junie B. Jones, Magic Tree House, etc. Again, I can't really pinpoint an exact time. Her reading stamina is horrible, but I'm ecstatic that she's even reading. Maybe 30 - 45 minutes per day?

 

You have a two-year-old reading Magic Tree House??? Holy cow! At 2, my DS was barely talking!

[Hadassah]

You have a two-year-old reading Magic Tree House??? Holy cow! At 2, my DS was barely talking!

 

That child never fails to surprise me.

It's worth noting that she is quite behind in other developmental areas... she's not a super-genius - though I doubt anyone raised in my household would be :D.

[Classically Minded]

I checked the wrong one, but it won't let me change it. Assigned reading is 1 1/2 hours a day but my dd8 loves to read for fun as well, so I would say about 2 hours a day.

[my2boysteacher]

My 9 and 11 year olds read on average 60 minutes a day. I read aloud to them around 60 minutes a day, and we listen to audiobooks 20-30 minutes a day.

They love stories, but in their spare time will always prefer active play or building with blocks or legos to reading.

[Wabi Sabi]

My 7 y/o usually reads aloud to me for 10-20 minutes per day. He occasionally reads to his little sister, but for the most part he prefers to spend every spare moment of his waking hours building with Lego bricks. I just keep filling the house with piles of books that I think will interest him- they're everywhere and impossible to escape. Slowly he's beginning to pick them up and read a little with more regularity.

 

I encourage but do not require him to do any additional reading time other than reading to me. It's a fine balance between making him do it and therefore making reading an undesirable task vs. just letting him alone and not pushing it. I want reading to be something he eventually grows to love, not something he does just because he *has* to.

 

As for my almost 4 y/o, it's going to be a while before she's reading. She loves books and shows more interest in them than my older ds ever has, but she's simply a normal little 4 y/o girl who is just now starting to express interest in learning her letter sounds. I apparently don't give birth to precocious readers. ;-)

Edited January 12, 2012 by Wabi Sabi

[WeeBeaks]

It varies by kid:

 

6yo DS probably 1/2 hour (pleasure reading)

9yo DS more than 2 hours, 1-2 hours pleasure reading, rest school

[nov05mama]

He is six, I require 15 minutes. Somedays he reads longer. He does not read books for longer, but he will read game instructions and internet pages with hints for his Wii games. He has not yet developed am interest in reading much, so I let him read whatever he will read.

 

:iagree: This is the same for my 6 year old. He typically is "required" to do about 15-30 minutes (but honestly, he does it happily, so it's not much of a 'requirement'...). He's also allowed to read in bed even after 'bedtime', but I don't ever count that time into the mix b/c I am not sure how long he ends up reading...half the time I find him asleep with a book in his face :lol:

[acurtis75]

We have a quiet time for reading in the afternoon, and DD usually reads 1-2 hours at night as well. However, she just plain likes to read, so it's not so much that it's assigned time, but time that I've blocked out for "you can read or sleep, because MOMMY is tired!".

 

 

We do this when possible too. She never takes naps but sometimes I need to!

[sassenach]

7 and 9 year old 30 minutes to 1 1/2 hours a day. Sometimes more.

 

The 14 year old, even with a full school schedule reads at least an hour for pleasure every day. On the weekends she could lose a full day to a book. She reads like the wind, too. I've never known anyone who reads faster.

[courtney.byrum]

More than 2 hours for each - probably more for dd6 as she loves to read even more than ds7.

 

They both can read as long as they want at bedtime - usually that means they read until 10 or so but lately at 11:30-12 I have to make one of them go to bed (alternates which one it seems).

 

dd6 also reads when she gets up in the morning before getting out of bed and then I find her randomly reading throughout the day as well when she doesn't have something else she has to be doing.

 

We are still on break though so I'm sure it will be a little less when we start back up next week but not that much (except I will require they go to sleep sooner!)

[Donna]

I did the poll before reading the post so only put in the non-assigned "free" reading time dd does which is 60-90 min. She typically reads to herself or to me for about an 45-60 min. a day (her own book), we read together for about an hour (a book we both enjoy), then she has school reading. So, she reads for 2+ hours a day if I include school.

 

This varies, of course, depending on how much time we are in the car during the day (more reading in the car) or whether we are home all day in which case she does less reading and more craft type things.

[In the Rain]

I voted 60-90, but it can be much more than that. During Christmas break, 10yodd spent hours reading every day. She has always been the kind of kid who has to be told to put her book down and play.