Ontario's reading scores are actually improving. So why does your own child still groan every time a book comes out?
If you are wondering what to do when your child hates reading, you are not dealing with a uniquely stubborn kid. Across Ontario, 74 per cent of Grade 3 students met the provincial reading standard in 2024-25, up from 71 per cent the year before, and 86 per cent of Grade 6 students met it, up from 82 per cent (EQAO, 2025). Reading ability, on a province-wide level, is trending in the right direction.
Enjoying reading is a different question entirely, and it is the one most parents are actually asking. A child can decode a page perfectly well and still find reading boring, slow, or something to avoid, and that gap between "can read" and "wants to read" is where most of the frustration at home lives.
Why Does My Child Hate Reading?
Most reluctant readers are not incapable, they are mismatched. The book is too hard, too easy, or has nothing to do with what actually interests the child, and any pressure to perform on top of that turns a skill into a chore. Reading resistance is rarely about the child's overall intelligence or long-term academic future, and treating it that way tends to make the standoff worse.
Since province-wide EQAO reading results are climbing rather than falling, a skill deficit is usually not the first thing to assume. It is worth ruling out with your child's teacher, particularly if there are also struggles with spelling or sounding out unfamiliar words, but for most reluctant readers the block is motivation and material, not ability.
The Screen Time Factor
Screens are genuinely part of the picture. A SickKids-led study published in JAMA Network Open in October 2025 followed 3,322 Ontario children from 2008 to 2023 and found that each additional hour of daily screen time in early childhood was linked to a 10 per cent drop in the likelihood of reaching higher achievement levels on later EQAO reading and math assessments (SickKids, 2025). Separately, Statistics Canada data reported in March 2026 found that roughly 40 per cent of Canadian youth consistently exceed the recommended two hours per day of recreational screen time (Statistics Canada, via Global News, 2026).
This is not a Canada-only pattern. In the United Kingdom, the National Literacy Trust's 2025 survey found that just 32.7 per cent of children and young people aged 8 to 18 said they enjoyed reading in their free time, the lowest level recorded in the 20 years the survey has run (National Literacy Trust, 2025, UK). The exact numbers differ by country, but the underlying shift, screens filling the free time that used to go to books, shows up wherever researchers look.
What Actually Turns a Reluctant Reader Around
None of this means competing with a tablet is hopeless. A few things consistently help, according to reading specialists and the parents who have been through it themselves.
- Match the format to the child, not the format to your expectations. Graphic novels, comics, joke books, and audiobooks all build vocabulary and comprehension. They are not a lesser form of reading, they are frequently the doorway back into it.
- Remove the clock. Timed reading sessions feel like homework, and homework is easy to resent. A relaxed, unhurried reading window most evenings builds the habit faster than a strict quota.
- Let your child pick the book. A child who chooses their own material, even something you would not have picked yourself, is far more likely to finish it and reach for the next one.
- Read in front of them. Kids notice what the adults around them actually do in their downtime, not just what they are told to do.
- Make it social instead of solitary. Reading a chapter aloud together, or listening to the same audiobook on a drive, keeps the story enjoyable without demanding independent decoding every time.
Is It Normal for a Kid to Not Like Reading?
Yes, and it is far more common than most parents expect. Plenty of confident, capable readers simply do not choose books as a leisure activity, particularly once screens are offering an easier, faster hit of entertainment. The distinction worth paying attention to is between a child who dislikes reading and a child who is quietly struggling with it. If avoidance is paired with real difficulty sounding out words, tracking a line of text, or remembering what was just read, it is worth mentioning to your child's teacher rather than assuming it will resolve on its own.
How Connect Education Can Help
When reading avoidance overlaps with a genuine skill gap, a subject-specific tutor can pinpoint exactly where the breakdown is happening rather than guessing from home. Connect Education works exclusively with certified teachers in good standing with their provincial college of teachers, matched to your child's grade, interests, and pace rather than a generic reading program. Sessions run online, in person, or at your local library, and every plan is built around your child rather than a fixed curriculum.
A free 15-minute assessment is a low-pressure way to find out whether the resistance is about interest, pace, or an underlying gap, before deciding what kind of support actually fits. You can read more about the early signs it might be time to bring in extra help in How to Tell If Your Child Needs a Tutor, and how to vet a tutor's credentials in How Do I Find a Good Tutor for My Child in Ontario?
Questions Parents Ask Most
Is it normal for a kid to not like reading?
Yes. Plenty of confident, capable readers still do not choose reading as a leisure activity, especially once screens are competing for the same free time. Disliking reading for fun is common and is not, on its own, a red flag. The exceptions worth watching for are avoidance paired with an actual skill gap, or a child who seems to be hiding a reading difficulty behind disinterest.
My child has no interest in books at all. What should I do first?
Start with format and interest, not obligation. Swap chapter books for graphic novels, comics, joke books, or an audiobook your child can follow along with, matched to something they already care about, whether that is hockey stats, animals, or a video game universe. Total disinterest usually softens once the material stops feeling like more schoolwork.
Is it bad to force my child to read every day?
Forcing a fixed, timed reading session most days tends to backfire, because it turns reading into a chore to survive rather than something to enjoy. A short, low-pressure block of reading time with real choice over the material builds the habit more reliably than a strict daily mandate, and consistency matters more than duration.
Do audiobooks and graphic novels count as real reading?
Yes. Audiobooks build vocabulary, comprehension, and a feel for story structure, and they model fluent, expressive reading that many children have not yet developed themselves. Graphic novels pair text with visual context that supports comprehension, which makes them a genuine entry point for reluctant and struggling readers alike, not a lesser substitute.
At what age should reading for fun start to click?
There is no fixed age. Many children start choosing to read independently for enjoyment somewhere between 7 and 10, once decoding becomes automatic enough that it stops taking effort. Some children develop a real interest earlier or later than that window, and a genuine interest can still take hold in the pre-teen or teen years with the right material.
Sources
- EQAO, Assessment Results 2024-2025 (2025), https://www.eqao.com/about-eqao/news-release/assessment-results-2025/
- The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), Screen time linked to lower academic achievement among Ontario elementary students, JAMA Network Open (2025), https://www.sickkids.ca/en/news/archive/2025/screen-time-linked-to-lower-academic-achievement-among-ontario-elementary-students/
- Statistics Canada data, reported by Global News, Almost 40% of Canadian youth blow past recommended screen time (2026), https://globalnews.ca/news/11737511/screen-time-canadian-youth/
- National Literacy Trust (UK), Children and Young People's Reading in 2025 (2025), https://literacytrust.org.uk/research-services/research-reports/children-and-young-peoples-reading-in-2025/
