The Secret to Helping a Child Who Hates Writing
Do you have a kid who hates writing? I’ve got the secret to unblocking that child. Ready?
Catch your child in the act of narrating—
- expressing a thought,
- sharing an experience,
- or retelling the content of a movie, etc.
When your child hits the white heat of language (you know it’s happening because he or she is animated and interrupting your phone call), jot down their words right then. Stop driving, stir frying dinner, or chatting with Melinda. Grab the back of an envelope or super market receipt & start writing, quick as a flash. Get the words down as best you can.
If your child asks what you’re doing, say:
“Keep going. This is so good, I want to get it down in your own words before I forget it. I want to share it with ________ (Dad, Mom, Grandma, sister, my best friend…).”
Then later in the same day (maybe at dinner when the family is gathered), say this:
“Today ________ told me the funniest story about Rocky and how he chases the squirrels in the backyard. I wanted to get it right so I wrote it down. Let me read it to you.”
Then read it. Enjoy it. Talk about the contents. Ask questions related to the story or the contents (don’t talk about writing). Toss that writing into the library basket and read it again.
Make this a practice you return to again and again (not every day or even every other day, but when it’s worth it to capture in writing something meaningful your child says). Eventually, your child will discover that what’s going on in his or her head IS what you want to see in writing.
Your children will realize that writing is an extension of themselves, not a foreign language or practice to be mastered.
If you keep it up, your kids will take over and do it for each other.
Kids write more easily when they know their thoughts deserve to be preserved in writing and read to an interested audience. Give them that experience. It works.
This post is originally from Instagram and @juliebravewriter is my account there so come follow along for more conversations like this one!
