They usually do well school. Yet so many teens rarely pick up a book or magazine unless a teacher has assigned them to do it. Help your teen get into the reading habit with these ideas:

• Have a reading party on a cold or rainy day. Offer to make a favorite snack. Then gather in one room for at least 30 minutes of reading time. Each person gets to read whatever he wants.

• Rent a movie that was based on a book. Watch the movie. Then get the book from the library and read it with your teen. Talk about the differences between the book and the movie. It would be great to do this every other month!

• Play reading-based games together, such as Scrabble or Trivial Pursuit. Yard sales are a great place to pick up games at a low cost.

• Read before bedtime. Many teens are “night people” and have trouble falling asleep even after their homework is done. Suggest that your teen wind down with 20 minutes of reading his favorite book or magazine each evening.
  

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