Storybookers

7 Proven Ways To Get Boys To Love Reading

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How many time have you thrown your hands up and said, “I give up”?    

For many people, those who care about positive child development, giving up isn’t an option.  

Think about how your life would be if you had no access to the written word.  This is a reality for many people. For some it’s a physiological issue other it’s psychological.  There are also those who by not understanding the importance of reading never bother to develop the skill sufficiently.  Until it’s too late.

So what does it take to get a young man to put down his Playstaion and pick up a book?   There will be those who say that maybe it’s best not to buy one in the first place.  But that isn’t always as easy as it sounds.  Some parents bribe their kids with games times as a trade off against time spent reading books.  The danger of this is that reading then becomes the opposite of things that are fun.  That’ll set the ‘Reading for Pleasure movement’ back a bit.

So what do you do?  I know teachers, parents and carers who have come up with some clever little ways of getting boys to see reading as a positive force in their lives.  Whether it’s as a pleasurable distraction or as a way to gather a wealth of useful information that they can use to enhance their lives.    These are some of the insights I’ve gathered.  I’ve also thrown in a few that have worked for me over the years.

So here they are, in no particular order.

7 Tips for getting boys into reading:

1.   Tell them a story

If it’s a short story, tell  it to them.  And I mean tell them rather than read.  There are a number of reasons why I say this but I’ll expand on that another time.  Telling a child a  story might sound obvious to some but there are people who are little reluctant.  People often think that if you tell a child a story they won’t read it for themselves.  But you wouldn’t think that if you knew how much the book sales of the Hunger Games went up after movies came out. 

2. Tell them about a story

If it’s a long story, tell them about the story.  Be a kind of trailer and get them excited about finding out more.  Ok, this might take a bit of practice.  But watch TV and movies trailers and have some fun with it.

3. Let them see you reading books.  

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Posted 505 weeks ago

About Me


Would you sing more if you knew how good it was for you?

Posted by Norman Bailey on Wednesday, April 23, 2014 Under: Voice Works



Smoking is bad for you and vegetables are good for you!  We take this for granted because we're all aware of the research behind these facts.   What we're less familiar with are the health benefits of a good old singalong.  Would you sing more If you knew how it was going to boost your confidence, put you in a better mood or even help you live longer?   Well, there's research that suggests that it does.   It's not common knowledge at the moment. But one day we will be.  


As thing stand the unhealthiest thing about singing is our attitude to it.  Gone are the days when families and friends would get together for a nice singalong.  Now singers are other people!  People who take to the stage, have tunes you can download or get through to the live finals of the voice.


We all love listening to our favourite artist warble through their back catalogue but is this passive approach the best way to enjoy singing?  Not according to the latest research conducted by Harvard and Yale.  After running tests on a group of choral singer they discovered that the singers had increased life expectancy.  The report concluded that this was because singing promoted both a healthy heart and an enhanced mental state. 


BE HAPPIER AND HEALTHIER

This is what Professor Graham Welch, chair of music education at the University of London, had to say on the matter.

"The Health benefits of singing are both physical and psychological.  Singing has physical benefits because it is an aerobic activity that increases oxygenation in the blood stream and exercises the major muscle groups in the upper body, even when sitting.  Singing has psychological benefits because of it's normally positive effect in reducing stress levels through the actions of the endocrine system which is linked to our sense of emotional wellbeing.  Psychological benefits are also evident when people sing together as well as alone because of the increased sense of community, belonging and shared endeavour." 


SINGING - AS GOOD AS CHOCOLATE

That right, enjoy all the benefits of scoffing down a load of chocolate without the calories.   As the Heart research UK website puts it -'It's a great way to keep in shape because you are exercising your heart and lungs.  Not only that your body produces feel-good hormones - endorphins - that rush around your body when you sing.  It's the same as when you eat chocolate.  The good news is you don't gain any calories!' 

Now, I sure you won't throw away your membership to chocoholics Anonymous just yet,  but you might just find yourself cutting back on the creme eggs next easter once you tried a bit of singing.  It's the best way to enjoy  a healthier, happier and more confident you. 


 So remember, when done correctly singing will:  

  • Enhance your mood
  • Boost your immune system
  • Tone your muscles
  • Sharpen you mentally
  • Increase your life expectancy
  • Improve your posture
  • Exercise your heart and lungs
  • Help your breathing

I've witnessed the boom in people turning to singing for the sake of their physical and mental wellbeing.  It's the reason I put together the Love Singing Programme.  I've had mums come to me to help them feel confident when singing to their children and people recovering from illness.  There's been a few tears as they've unlocked deeply held traumas but they've come out feeling renewed.

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