Help Your Child Become a Reader How to keep a child’s confidence when learning to read, and how to help them get their confidence back if they lose it. By Elspeth Rae and Rowena Rae
D
o you remember when you couldn’t read and had to figure things out from pictures? And then you started noticing chicken scratch on the pages of books, and slowly the scratchings turned into letters and then words. Learning to read is a rite of passage. Achieving this skill lets a child decipher a code that only adults seem to know, and it opens new worlds of fantasy, adventure, other cultures, and new ideas. Many people don’t remember actively learning to read—it just happened—but some do. Learning to read doesn’t come easily to every child, and for some it can be especially tough. Having a bad experience with trying to learn to read can demoralize a child and make it even tougher. Parents and caregivers play a critical role in helping their children access the world of
reading, and their involvement is especially important for a child who’s ďŹ nding the going tough. Here are some dos and don’ts to guide you as you help your child prepare for reading and stay the course, once on the path to reading with conďŹ dence. If your child is younger than age 5, help lay the foundation for the reading journey:
1. Don’t start too early. If your child isn’t showing any interest in letters and words, don’t push it. Starting before a child is cognitively able will likely lead to frustration. 2. Don’t be intimidated by parents who proudly tell you their three year old knows the alphabet! As above, wait until a child shows interest. 3. Do instill a love of books as early as
possible. Reading isn’t just about knowing letters and sounding out words. It’s about knowing how books work. Start at page one, read from the top left to the bottom of each page, and then turn to the next page. This all seems obvious, but children who haven’t had stories read to them don’t have these skills. 4. Do sing the alphabet song, and help your child learn that each letter is separate. Many kids start school thinking that “el-em-en-oh-pee� is one letter! Also talk about the sounds of the letters, not just their names. If your child is starting to read, help the journey go smoothly:
1. Don’t criticize what your child wants to read. Graphic novels, world record
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