Kids

How to Build Kids’ Reading Stamina: A Modern Parent’s Research-Backed Guide

by Kevyn Gohu
February 18, 2026

Here’s why the kids can’t read anymore: the lack of Reading Stamina

Every parent’s probably scratching their heads at the sight. Kids can be left in one corner of the room for the next couple of hours (or for as long as their tablets last) with their gadgets unsupervised, but can’t even sit through a book for two minutes. Worse, they can’t even picture or understand what the words do after reading.

Unfortunately, in this day and age, it’s both an ability and stamina issue. And just like muscles, attention and comprehension strengthen with intentional practice. The good news? Reading stamina can absolutely be built — and recent research confirms it.

What Is Reading Stamina?

Reading stamina is a child’s ability to sustain focused reading for extended periods while maintaining comprehension, engagement, and mental effort.

It includes:

Attention regulation
Cognitive endurance
Reading fluency
Working memory
Motivation

A 2026 study in the journal Reading Research Quarterly found that students who engaged in sustained silent reading with gradual time increases showed measurable improvements in comprehension and on-task behavior compared to peers with fragmented reading sessions (Hicks et. al, 2026).

In other words: consistency grows capacity.

Why Reading Stamina Matters More Than Ever

Recent international assessments show that reading engagement has declined in many countries post-pandemic.

According to the 2022 cycle of Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), student reading scores globally dropped, with reduced reading for pleasure cited as a contributing factor.

Meanwhile, a 2023 report from National Literacy Trust found that children who read daily for enjoyment demonstrated stronger mental well-being and academic confidence than those who rarely read.

The takeaway? Reading stamina isn’t just academic — it’s emotional and cognitive resilience.

9 Practical Ways to Build Kids’ Reading Stamina

1. Start With Their Interests (Not Yours)

As the saying goes, “When in Rome, do as the Romeos do.” If they like a particular thing, then try to find something that’s like an offshoot. For example, they like spaceships and aliens—Star Wars has so many short stories parents can use. They want magic? Harry Potter has some shorter works!

A 2023 study in the Reading Research Quarterly found intrinsic motivation significantly predicted sustained reading engagement over time (Rettig and Schiefele, 2023).

2. Always Invite Them To Read With You

Kids are always looking to connect with us. So invite them to read with us while they still want it. When they become teenagers, they’re not going to look for that anymore.

3. Create a Daily Reading Ritual

Stick to the same time and corner. The only thing that should change is the kind of book.

4. Reduce Cognitive Overload

If a book is too difficult, stamina collapses. Usually, that’s the issue with the classic stories. Books like The Lord of the Rings tend to be verbose, but that’s how things were before. Authors of the past wanted to paint a picture so vibrant with words that they wrote paragraphs upon paragraphs to describe a single tree standing in the middle of nowhere.

Here’s how we can tell if a book’s too much for the kids:

Frequent frustration
Skipping lines
Avoidance behaviors

Aim for books where children recognize about 95% of the words independently.

5. Model Sustained Reading

Children mirror what they see. When parents read physical books visibly and regularly, children demonstrate higher voluntary reading rates (National Literacy Trust, 2023). It’s as they say, “Kids remember what they see us do, not what we say.”

6. Build “Brain Break” Awareness

Mental fatigue is real, but it’s not the same for everyone. Some start having double vision. They start misreading words. Others, they start predicting words.

When that happens, encourage:

Short stretch breaks
Water sips
60-second resets

7. Track Progress Visually

What some like to do is write or sketch out in a reading journal. After reading a book, they either sketch their favorite character from the book or write their feelings about a particular scene. Doing so teaches them how to express themselves plus, help them track which books they’ve actually read.

8. Encourage Audiobook + Print Pairing

Listening while following along in text strengthens attention and fluency. If there’s no audio, then we’re just going to have to do the voice-overs ourselves. It helps add a bit of commentary.

9. Celebrate Effort, Not Speed

Stamina is about endurance, not racing through chapters.

We can celebrate that effort by asking about the book and making them explain it. Ask about the plot, the characters, who their favorite character is, and the like. Kids are always testing if their knowledge will have some use. It’s up to us to show them what they did amounted to some thing.

Age-Based Reading Stamina Benchmarks

Age	Typical Sustained Reading Time
5–6	5–10 minutes
7–8	10–20 minutes
9–10	20–30 minutes
11–13	30–45 minutes

Remember that these are ranges, not rules. Neurodivergent children may build stamina differently — and that’s okay. Those with dyslexia and language processing issues will most likely have a harder time building reading stamina.

Signs Your Child’s Reading Stamina Is Improving

They read without constant reminders.
They stay seated longer.
They recall details more easily.
They ask to “finish one more chapter.”
They recover faster from distractions.

Their stamina just grows without us knowing. The only time we’ll probably have to put our foot down is when they start forgetting to sleep. But hey, that’s how we know a story’s good!

Can reading e-books help?

To a certain degree, yes. But the gadget’s functions need to be severely limited. Tablets, with their myriad functions, can easily distract kids. Kindles and e-book readers don’t have that problem.

It will most likely help if the desktop or the device is so old that it’s museum-worthy. Most games can’t be played on gadgets that old.

Reading Stamina Isn’t Built Overnight

Don’t expect kids to swallow books like Game of Thrones or Apollo Trials right away. Some genres take a different kind of stamina; one that’s willing to read paragraphs written in archaic English or mixed with invented languages. Simple ones like Charlotte’s Web work well since the English isn’t too deep for them yet.

Reading stamina is something built over time. And trust us, the kids will thank you for helping them build it when they go to college and are forced to read Philosophy or Theology readings that are human-sized in thickness.

References

Hicks, E. A., Kim, E. H., Reiley, S., Cho, E., & Louick, R. A. (2026). Reading Motivation and Academic Emotions of Struggling Readers: A Mixed Methods Study. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 1-20.

Rettig, A., & Schiefele, U. (2023). Relations between reading motivation and reading efficiency—Evidence from a longitudinal eye‐tracking study. Reading Research Quarterly, 58(4), 685-709.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is reading stamina in simple terms?

Basically, it’s how long a kid can stay still to read the book and remember what’s in it.

How long should my child read each day?

Some say 15-30 minutes. But don’t stop them if they go past! Sometimes, the story is that good and nothing pisses off a reader more than stopping them right before the good part.

Why does my child lose focus while reading?

Oftentimes, it’s because of how much energy they expend to understand words. Kids nowadays are more prone to memorizing the words and don’t really blend letters properly. Because of that, they struggle to understand other words unless they hear someone say them.

Other reasons include:

Book difficulty mismatch
Digital overstimulation
Mental fatigue
Lack of interest