early teens: 11-14 years

Your young teenager will be growing more independent and forming his or her own views. Nevertheless you can still do a great deal to help them achieve their potential by staying involved in their life and learning.

Pupils who enjoy reading generally do better at school than those who don’t. The challenge is to find reading material to suit your teen's tastes and interests, while gently encouraging them to experiment and explore. If they are lucky they will have a teacher or librarian who inspires them to read

If not you can help by taking them to the library, bookshop or newsagent or helping them search online.

5 ways to keep your teen absorbing stories

1. Watch television together and discuss the latest news, sport, films, music, drama. They will learn to express their opinion and respect others' and you can show them how to listen well.
2. Remember that reading comes in many forms. They may abandon novels during these years but this is less cause for concern if they are reading widely, be it online reference and reviews, song lyrics or hobby magazines.
3. Keep books in their life and encourage them to bring books on long journeys or on holiday.
4. Encourage them to explore storytelling in different forms - films, animations, drama, dance, art, stand-up comedy - and have a try at creating stories for themselves. Try to strike a balance between passively consuming screen content, and doing something more active.
5. But keep an eye on what they are consuming and who they are meeting online - the internet can be a risky place for unsupervised youngsters.