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.

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 finding 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 confidence.

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 books, comics - they are all reading.

2. Do select material at your child’s reading level. They should be able to read at least 90% of the words on each page. If they can’t, then the book is probably too difficult.

3. Do choose a relaxed time of day to have your child practice reading aloud to you. Bedtime, first thing in the morning, or just after school gets out—anytime is fine, as long as it isn’t a time of high stress or distraction in your family. Put your phone away and concentrate 100% on your child’s reading.

4. Do continue to read harder material to your child to model fluent reading and expose them to vocabulary and ideas more advanced than they can read themselves.