My son 7 year old son is not interested in reading. I know I shouldn't stress about it but I am confused. He is moderately gifted, does well in school and reads well. I have tried every genre, easy books, harder books (with better plots) and motivating with a reward system (a small token) for books read. He still won't read in his free time.
I am not sure why this irks me so. I am a reader and his brother has a book in his hands 24/7.
SHould I worry or just forget it? Any ideas to help him get engaged?
Thanks!

Have you tried graphic novels? That can really help some kids get "over the hump," so to speak. And there's a bunch of really good ones out there.

Thanks George. These work for my daughter but for some reason my younger son is averse to reading them. He doesn't like humor in books oddly enough. Are there any other boy series that are not funny?

Have you tried more factual books for kids like sports or tornadoes or sharks, that kind of stuff? Have you tried taking him to the library and letting him explore and choose a few different types to try out? What else is competing for his attention during free time? If video games or tv are options, some kids will usually choose those. Does he have trouble reading? Sometimes if you are offering books that are too hard, it may feel like too much work. Just some thoughts.

My DS enjoyed Encyclopedia Brown at that age. That's good if he likes mysteries.

Does he enjoy it if you read to him? And have you tried targeting his areas of interest? What does he enjoy? Sports? Trivia? Biographies? Books related to video games? Have you tried tapping all possible hooks? We're such book fiends in our house that if there's a book out there he might enjoy, I could probably help you find it!

What does he choose to do in his spare time? I wonder if you could find books about those things that he chooses to do.

Thanks everyone for the thoughtful inout. I've tried everything suggested here. The other strange thing is that he will read half of the book. He's probably read 100 half books. The other problem is that he does not have much spare time. He plays soccer four days a week and has a good amount of homework. We limit TV and videogames but on the weekends when he is free those are options that he will always pick over books.

How about books half as long as the ones you've tried? 😀

Ha. Tried b give him shorter books. He feels they are "too babyish". Maybe I should stop trying.is it unusual for a gifted kid to not love reading? His brother is a voracious reader.

Audio books that you both listen to and do other things while you listen? Like riding in the car, folding laundry, playing with Lego and you can talk about it together. Or reading aloud to him and leaving off at a exciting point then leave the book by his bed. My younger son at that age couldn't stand it and would find the book.

Bedtime is this time but if you read it is another 30 minutes later.

Magazines, books, newspapers strewn across the house.

Finally, help him find non fiction topics of choice in addition to fiction.

We saw a lot of success with "Bedtime is at 9, but you can have a flashlight and a book until 10". Since DS6 just started formal schooling we had to get rid of this practice as we have had to work on getting up at 6 sharp every morning. Since we stopped flashlight time DS hasn't read a single book. He's always been a reluctant reader, but he loves books when he actually bothers to read them. It's amazing how motivated he became to read when the options were read or lay quietly in your bed in a dark room He ended up reading over 200 books in just a few months.

He also frequently doesn't finish books. Could be related to his ADHD. I also think he sometimes gets bored with a book when the newness wears off.

DS does love having us read to him. He gets very into the stories and talks about the characters and events and looks forward to reading the next chapter. He even cries when reading time is over some nights. But he never picks up the books the next day to read it himself.

Good luck and post here if you ever find the solution. I'd love to figure out how to actually get DS to love to read!

It's hard with so much other content out there like you-tube video's, TV, movies, computer games. Books just don't have the same draw.

My DS17 wasn't very interested in reading fiction in K-2nd. He read a ton of non-fiction. We had (and still do) tons of books about animals, dragons, whatever you name it. The text within many of these books are a lot harder than most fiction for this age. Keep in mind that a lot of early readers fiction books are honestly not that interesting & very predictable and twee.

And as other parents suggested. I read to my son every night before bedtime a chapter at a time. Good children's literature that was above his reading level. Sharing the enjoyment of a good story helped. What you don't want to do is make reading a chore or something he only does for homework and make him hate it at this age.

Good Luck.

If he's got soccer four timesa week he's probably plenty busy on school nights, has he got free screen access on the weekends? I'd definitely limit that, Have you tried offering him an ereader? Works great for ours if they happen to be reluctant.

There is a series called Boy vs. Beast designed for the boy reluctant reader. It is available on e-readers as well and there is a game component to it. Try it out: http://www.boyvsbeast.com
I have heard rave reviews from parents whose boys were reluctant readers - this series seems to have turned things around for them.

One of our DC is a novel reader and the other is not as much. DD8 far prefers graphic novels (our library has a great selection and I make purchase requests to enhance it), but also poetry, joke books, and magazines. She also won't finish a novel if it doesn't appeal to her. We also read aloud to her daily and she loves audio books.