“My 6-year-old hates reading and cries during homework. Is this just being a ‘reluctant reader’?”

It’s heartbreaking when reading time ends in tears. While some children just take a bit longer to find their “spark,” frequent crying or total avoidance often means they are physically struggling with what they see. If your child is guessing words or seems exhausted after just one page, it might not be a lack of interest—it might be that their eyes and brain are working overtime to make sense of the text.