Supporting Children's Reading Stamina Is Everyone's Job

We're going to stop blaming and start helping. Part 1 of 2.

Mar 21, 2025

Kids aren’t reading for fun, and it’s impacting more than test scores. While everyone’s yelling about the fact that even our most accomplished students can’t read full books anymore, blame and anger and opinions are everywhere.

Where are the practical solutions?

Education and schooling and teaching and learning and childcare — and all their conflicts and confusion and incredibly complicated puzzles — seem like they should be more straightforward than they are. I’m terribly worried about the state of all of those things in the US right now, and I have high hopes and dreams for my children, your children, and all their peers despite it all.

I don’t have all the answers, but I do have hope.

I’m here to argue for families and schools working together as a team– especially when it comes to reading stamina. We know reading is important and benefits more than just academic achievement, and, what’s great, is that to reap the benefits of reading, you don’t need to make reading your entire personality. (But you can, of course!) So, let’s take some small hopeful steps together?

As always, take what I say over the course of this two-part series as inspiration, not prescription. I’m always, always happy to answer questions, engage in conversation, and help out in any way I can. We’re in this together, but we won’t all take the same path.

Here’s to a new season,

Clarkie

brown turtle on gray concrete floor — In it for the long haul. | Photo by Amber Kipp on Unsplash

JOIN — NOT DIVIDE — AND MAKE PROGRESS

I’ve had a lot of conversations with parents recently who say the same thing: I didn’t think it was my job to teach my child to read. I thought the school would do most of the heavy lifting. I tell them that yes, their school should be doing most of the heavy lifting and also communicating how parents can support what’s going on inside the classroom. I talk through some questions they can ask their child’s teacher, remind some of them that pre-k students don’t need to be reading yet, and give them ideas for supporting pre and emerging reading skills that don’t feel like “reading lessons.” I then remind them that, as parents and caregivers, our job isn’t to teach our children academic skills1, but it is our job to advocate for them, support them, and be on the same team as their teachers.

Building and maintaining reading stamina falls under this category.

When I was in the classroom, I worked so hard to help my 8th graders build and maintain reading stamina throughout the year, and – even with 8th graders who were old enough to take care of most of their academic needs themselves – I would have loved to have had my families on board. But, honestly, I didn’t have the time or the bandwidth to really include them how I wanted to, so I didn’t.

And that didn’t feel great. In retrospect, I have so many ideas for what I could and should have been doing, but then I remember that I left the classroom with goals to help parents so that teachers don’t have to teach the children and their grownups. Because that’s too much! But our children need the support, and it’s also too much to expect parents to know everything about everything just because they have a child. (Congrats on your new addition! You now need a medical degree, an advanced Education degree, a doctorate in Psychology, and…)

Reading stamina is especially important for humans (the ones in and out of school alike) to practice because reading is a human creation and not something that just comes naturally (like speaking or walking). So, we actually do need explicit instruction, modeling, and practice!

But is it even possible to help build and maintain reading stamina outside of the classroom, even when you have multiple children, a job outside the home, and approximately zero time for your own to-do list?!

Yep. It is

OK, BUT WHAT DO YOU REALLY MEAN WHEN YOU STAY READING STAMINA?

In case reading stamina isn’t something you think about often — it’s just what it sounds like. It’s the ability to read without causing or giving into distraction (which might take many forms: chatting, falling asleep, looking at your phone, staring into the distance, getting up for a snack, cleaning the bathroom grout, etc.).

Reading stamina is what makes it possible to read entire books. It’s what makes it possible for students to read independently in class while the teacher hosts reading conferences or pulls small groups to teach differentiated skills. It’s what makes it possible for humans to engage in deep reading, to learn, and even to follow detailed written instructions.

Note that stamina (for you, your children, the person reading their book in the coffee shop) will probably be different for different kinds of reading. It’s kind of like how you may be able to go for a long run without issue (because you do it all the time), but when you try to mix up your routine and swim a few laps, you’re exhausted almost immediately.

If you’ve never compared your swimming and running endurance, I’ll quickly tell you that in high school I had to recruit some boys for a swim meet — because we were going to have to forfeit if we didn’t have boys? I can’t remember, but I went to a tiny school and was captain of the swim team, which just meant I was a senior on the swim team, and I asked some of my friends (who were athletic and had endurance in their own sports!) to swim a few laps for this one meet, and I think at least one of them vomited. They were shocked by how hard it was! (And how hard would it have been — or seemed! — if they didn’t have stamina in their own sports?)

Reading isn’t that different.

SPRING IS THE PERFECT TIME FOR A READING STAMINA CHECK

I mean, metaphorically, we can all see that it obviously makes most sense in this season, but on a practical level, it’s also a great time. I don’t suggest waiting until summer or the start of the school year to really address reading endurance. My opinion: waiting until summer adds too much pressure — especially if your child has assigned summer reading. And more pressure? No, thank you.

Your homework: While everyone is still in their routines, before the madness of May, take a minute to notice (if you haven’t already) and think about your child’s reading stamina. I’d also encourage you to (cool, calm, cucumber-esque) ask them how they feel about their reading stamina – in multiple categories (i.e. for fun books, assigned reading, nonfiction vs fiction, graphic novels, etc.). Just listen. Don’t prescribe a solution or tell them they’re wrong! Just listen.

Again, my friends, we are not interested in more pressure.

But we are interested in cultivating homes where reading is joyful and celebrated and both individual and communal. Stamina is allowed to ebb and flow, and waning stamina might try to get in our family’s way, but we can stay strong, calm, and casual as we fight back.

Just as an FYI, pressure can (can means can, not does!) look like:

Expecting your child to go to camp and read during rest hour — or [insert a situation where you expect them to read without an adult there to support them]— if they have low reading stamina.
Expecting your child to willingly read assigned texts over the summer if they have low reading stamina.
Assuming wanting to read for long(er) periods of time will guarantee the stamina to do so.
Getting frustrated.
Some rewards and awards.

And guess what else? You can’t force stamina upon your child.

Ok, but what CAN I do?

You can take a pulse check on reading stamina in your home (for everyone). You can tell me about it, if you want, and then you can check back in next week for a BUNCH of ideas.