Photo by Jonathan Borba via Unsplash

by leon collier, guest contributor

Reading is an important aspect of your child’s intellectual and emotional development. By having strong reading skills, the child can improve their language skills and the ability to learn different subjects. 

Reading also enhances their ability to understand, concentrate, and retain what they learn for a long time. During the early years of their life, a child starts to explore books to learn about reading and writing. Let’s learn about the ways to effectively improve your child’s reading ability.

1. Have a reading routine

Setting aside reading time daily with your child can improve their reading abilities in areas such as vocabulary skills, reading comprehension, and learning how to pronounce unfamiliar words. Incorporating a storytime routine into the schedule helps to instill the significance of reading which they will appreciate over time. 

As your child learns how to read independently, you can give them arts and crafts ideas as a supplement to their reading. Gradually shift the responsibilities of reading to your child to engage them in reading to you rather than the other way round. This may encourage them to read without your prompting. Ensure that they do so in an environment where you can help them with difficult and unfamiliar words.

2. Encourage regular reading

A dissertation service states that one of the most effective ways to encourage regular reading is to ensure that books are available at home. Place books in baskets, on shelves, and in rooms throughout the home. Having relevant books for their level next to their bed, in the living room, and even in the car will send some signals that books are important and reading matters.

Another way to encourage reading is leading by example. Parents are role models for their children, thus your child is likely to emulate the behavior they observe from you. If the child notices that you love reading before bedtime (or anytime), they will realize that it is important and do the same.

3. Use examples beyond books

If your child is reluctant to read, rather than encouraging them to read books, you can use examples outside books. The child does not have to enhance their reading skills by opening a traditional book. 

Some techniques for encouraging your child to improve their reading abilities include:

• Encouraging your child to read weather reports, road signs, and emails can help them to develop an interest in reading books.
• If your child enjoys helping you to prepare dinner, allow them to choose a recipe from a cookbook and read the steps aloud. If you need to modify the recipe, you may encourage the child to develop matching skills.
• If you need to go for a game with your child, ask them to check the game rules for you.

Incorporating reading into the activities your child loves can encourage them to read even if they are not interested in reading books. 

4. Be actively involved in the child’s education

At school age, a child might start falling behind in their reading abilities. The child might feel embarrassed about asking for help in group settings or even in class. Take action immediately if you notice that your child has reading challenges. Be active in communicating with your child's teacher, monitoring your child's progress regularly so that you can address any issues or concerns as they arise. 

Continuing to read together with your child can help pinpoint what challenges they are experiencing. Encourage the child to ask questions about the story to know whether they understand the content. If you feel that the child needs help, meet with their teacher to brainstorm solutions that will best support your child.

5. Use reading aids

To improve your child’s reading, use computer programs, books-on-tape, textbooks, and other relevant materials. Games are effective because they enable the child to have fun as they improve their reading skills.

Use sidewalk chalk to write words that the child needs to practice and allow them to drive toy cars on the letters as they read the words aloud. You could also draw some words in the sand and let your child spray them with water. Every time they read the word correctly, they douse the word with water. 

6. Help the child to find interesting books

An essay help mentions that if your child is not interested in reading, it does not necessarily mean they don’t like it. The problem could be that they don’t like the books they have. You can spark your child’s interest in reading by finding the type of story or genre or exposing the child to different story types. 

Engage your child in the book-selecting process, so you can better understand the kinds of books they find most interesting. If a child is interested in a subject matter in a book, they may be excited and begin to read. Children with adventurous imaginations find more fun in adventure stories, science fiction, and mysteries. Also, consider going beyond the traditional chapter book, your child might find graphic novels or comic books more palatable. 

7. Recite poems together

Through repetition, your child can be motivated to read as they pick up patterns and sounds. Kids find it fun to recite their favorite poems with their parents as they gain literacy skills. Since poetry is only a few lines, your child might feel less daunted to tackle a poem than a longer book. 

Being short, poetry is packed with literacy elements such as narrative structure, characters, and new words that can help your child build foundational and advanced literacy skills. 

Reading poetry aloud improves the child’s reading skills because they can think more deeply about the word sound as they recite the poem. Poetry is an effective reading genre because it is fun, expressive, and rhythmic. Organize a poetry reading event at home and share poems with other children. 

Reading is an important component of your child’s learning. To set them up for success, help them to improve language, spelling, and literacy skills. If your child has problems with it, ask for help from other people such as fellow parents and teachers to improve your child's reading abilities. Support them by implementing the above tips and they may feel more encouraged to ask for help. 

related articles: