How to help your child with reading

The power of learning to read is immense. It starts at an early age and once a child has the gift of reading their world increases immeasurably. The gift of reading means that the child’s world is wide open to all sorts of possibilities and without the ability to read their world shrinks to quite an intolerable state.       

9 Ways to help your child learn to read.

Let’s look at how you can help your child learn to read. It can be done in a  gentle way and through spontaneity.

• Early teaching is a good idea. Don’t wait until school starts. A child is curious about reading at a very early age. By helping them early to learn it shows your child that reading is a valuable tool that you want them to have access to as soon as possible.

• Reading to your child is a wonderful way of introducing reading. Here the child enjoys stories and comes to want to be able to take ownership of the art of reading for themselves. Keep books visible around the house. These can be books that they simply pick up and look through the illustrations and at some point they may start to mimic the way you read to them. At some point, they will learn to memorise the story. This is all healthy pre-reading skills. Enjoy the early stages of their learning to read and try not to correct them when they make a mistake. It is all about experimenting to read. It should all be seen as a successful project.

• Speaking to your child, using language is such a powerful tool in helping with reading. The more language they hear the more they retain words, expressions etc. and will apply them in their own attempts to read. Let them see and hear that you value language and use yourself to communicate effectively. Have fun with words and keep introducing new words slowly and steadily.

• As you talk to your child have them tell you a story. Let them use their imagination and make it up.  Write the story down and point to the words. They can have fun colouring them in. Here it is all about experimenting with the written words.

• Teach phonics. When you speak the child hears the whole word. Break a word up so they begin to hear the different sounds. For example, ‘dog’ is heard as a whole word. Start to break up the phonics say, D- O- G you can turn it into a game where your child starts to hear themselves sound out the word.

• Listen to your child read especially with books they bring home from school. It is acceptable to get them to reread sections in which they make mistakes. A child always wants to get it all right. They like to hear themselves read with fluency.

• Teach them that writing is an important part of literacy. Keep pencils and pens around the house. Let them sketch scenes and then copy words perhaps trace them and eventually they have a go at writing them. A great tool is to write simple notes to your child, think about including little notes in their lunch box or on their pillow. Write words around the house to label items. Here you are inviting them to read for meaning, Eventually, they want to send a note back and may attempt to write.

• Ask lots of questions when they read a story. Here you are strengthening their comprehension and encouraging them to be more inquiring about what they read.

• Reading should be a regular, happy part of family life. It should be celebrated and books should be discussed at home. Talk about how you enjoyed a book and ask your child what they are reading at the moment. Keep books alive in the family.

Your help in giving your child a vivid impression that reading is part of life will go a long way to their success in reading. Accept all their attempts to read and affirm their efforts. Take care not to criticise errors but rather help them make happy corrections. Above all nurture their interest in reading on a regular basis. Reading is a gift for life. 

‘Reading should not be presented to children as a chore, or duty. It should be offered as a gift.’

                                                         - Kate DeCamillo

Strengthening a child’s interest and endurance with reading

This can be a tricky area if you have a child who is reticent to read.  In my experience, I have seen this behaviour more in boys than girls and therefore a parent must connect to a child’s interest in reading to help them become more of a motivated reader.  It can be a fine line between pushing the child to read and gently setting the scene to help them.

 Consider;

• Generally, children will not read without some purpose in mind. As a parent talk about what they are reading and why they may be enjoying it. Never question or make a judgement on whether it is a magazine, novel, cartoon series etc. you are just talking about what makes them want to read it.

• The family can play a big part in encouraging reading. Some families read a novel after dinner together. Some ask older siblings to read to younger ones. Some children look forward to bed reading with a parent. There are many shades of a family reading together and as long as reading is seen as an important icon and is a regular part of the week, the message is clear. Reading is here to stay.

• With younger children reading aloud is valuable and children enjoy the family experience of reading and sharing the story together. Repeating the same books over and over again is very acceptable as it shows how enriching the story is and the heightened level of enjoyment. Sometimes young prereaders enjoy reciting the words of the story which is a great precursor to reading.

• Talk to your child about where in the house is the best and most comfortable place to read. Keep the area away from distractions such as television and if the child likes to read in their bedroom until they are active highly engaged readers they can find many distractions in such a space. The environment must be conducive for reading with comfort.

• Some families use dinner time to talk about the book they are readings. Talking about books keeps the interest alive in the home.

• Don’t be perturbed by what the child chooses to read. They need to explore different reading material before they really discover what interests them.

• Boys need encouragement and will often choose books that are cartoon based, or more inclined to be fact-driven. All of this is acceptable. The important point is to keep your boy engaged in the act of reading. Take care not to force books on them as this can cause a block to reading. Consider audio books as an option.

• Don’t forget the importance of you, being a critical model. The more you demonstrate a love for reading you are giving your child a clear message that reading enriches your life and it is a force of great joy.

• Ensure easy access to books. Perhaps regular trips to the library or simply leaving easy reads around the house. Consider downloading free e books for your child.

• The child should feel happy and willing to choose the book. They will have more success with reading if they own what they read. The reluctant reader still has interests and maybe passions in different areas. This is where you can talk about their interests and bring home books that talk about their passions. Often this can stimulate a child to look into a book that might satisfy their thirst for knowledge. A reluctant reader can be tempted by books that give them important information that accommodates their interests.

• It was common practice in classrooms to have a dedicated thirty minutes to silent reading often after lunch. Children looked forward to this time which was mandated across the year and understood as an important part of a child’s learning across the week. Is something like this possible in your home?

• People will read for different purposes and this is always acceptable and the more likely reason for reading. Children will over time, gravitate to what they really enjoy in reading. Some love reading for pleasure, others read for information gathering and instructions. We all gain different outcomes from our reading experiences but while we are learning the art of reading we need to feel embraced by various options to read and to feel that we are enjoying the process.          

Everyone is entitled to be literate and to have access to information to help them through life. Reading, acquired early in life and in a climate of trust builds our confidence and provides necessary skills invaluable for life.

           ‘To learn to red is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled out is a spark.’

                                                                              -Victor Hugo