by Elaine Sihera

Created on: October 23, 2009   Last Updated: March 21, 2012

In our modern world, reading books is in fierce competition with computers and the Internet, especially when teens gain more independence and begin their journey into adulthood. Reading tends to take a backseat in the face of all the electronic gadgetry. Many teens are too busy with other activities, especially hanging out with their friends and being on social networking sites, to find time to improve their reading. This is also the time they tend to find traditional reading  boring or resent the books they read, the ones they, perhaps, felt forced to read by their parents or teachers.

In short, encouraging them to develop good reading habits has to be incorporated into their normal routine to make it even more attractive and meaningful. A survey of UK teens in 2008 (Read Up, Fed Up) discovered that, in the Read Up section, magazines were their number one read, followed by song lyrics online and their own blogs. While heading the Fed Up section was their homework, Shakespeare and any book over 100 pages! It is not difficult to see that motivating them to read more of the 'proper' reading material, as defined by adults, especially if they are boys, would be an uphill task for many parents! However, there are still a few things parents can do to develop their teens reading habits and skills.

1. Before suggesting any books, have a few lighthearted discussions with your teen to find out his/her feelings on reading. Girls tend to be more amenable to a book because they use it as quiet time away from others (39%) compared to boys (31%). By taking the trouble to listen to your teen, you might be able to detect any subconscious resistance or any reasons for their reluctance.

2. Next, determine their most popular interests and hobbies and try to match books with those so that they are reading something they consider relevant, even if they are technical books! As long as they get started reading materials they like, it will help them develop their skills and extend them outwards. In fact, if your teen can be encouraged to find authors who also liked his/her interests, that's a very good start.

3. If they are on the Internet a lot, make a deal with them that they must spend at least 20 minutes reading one or two definite articles on items of news for that day, or of value to their subjects, and either write about them, as a review, or tell you what they leaned from it. This daily time can gradually  be

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