As a child I loved reading. I felt very comfortable with both and had no idea that some kids just don't "get" reading and struggle all the way. I know one of the things that helped me was that my mum was a bibliophile. She always loved books (something she passed onto me) and we always had a steady stream of new and second hand books in my house.

When I had my own son I started to fill the house with books in preparation for his love of books. And I kept waiting for him to "get" it. He never did. My son was what is regarded as a "reluctant reader" and no amount of comics, magazines or visually based books would engage him for longer than it took him to flick through the pages and look at the pictures.

Eventually what I needed was patience.

My son loves stories - there is no doubt about that. He just found words difficult to read. He had no medical condition. All the resources in the world weren't going to help him get past his reluctance around words. What he needed most from me was time and understanding.

I kept getting the magazines, books and comics he was interested in. I downloaded audio books for him to listen to and kept reading chapter books to him at night. Then, a few years after he was at "The age where he should have started reading", he started reading on his own.

When he did start the first thing he went for were the comics, the magazines and the visual books that I had lovingly collected for him in preparation for his love of reading. It all happened, just a few years later than I anticipated.

When my son woke up in the middle of the night and started reading the next chapter of Harry Potter because he wanted to find out what happened next in the story, I started crying with joy (it's a mother thing). Not all kids are like this. It does depend on their personality and if they have a medical condition. As a parent, you still need to keep aware of your child's needs.

But if your son or daughter is struggling with reading and they aren't responding to your good intentions, try giving them your time and patience and they may come to reading in their own time.