15 TIPS TO IMPROVE YOUR CHILD'S READING SKILLS
There is no better way to develop your child’s intellect than by introducing them to reading when they are young. It is one of the critical skills that a child must master in his or her early elementary years. Upon the completion of a few months of age, an infant can look at pictures, listen to the sound of your voice and point to objects on cardboard pages; you got to capitalize from this phase onwards. Reading helps a child improve his or her vocabulary, build confidence, improves their grammar and entertains them.
While reading may be essential to learning is not always easy to be able to get a child to start reading. Either the child may want to do something else or the parent may be too busy during the day. We have curated a few ways in which you can help improve your child’s reading. These are practical ways to inculcate the habit after understanding the persona of a child and the life of a parent. Read on…
Effective Ways to Improve Your Child’s Reading Skills
1) Make a regular reading routine
What do we adults do when we want to get fit? We create an exercise routine and follow it daily right? Similarly it works for improving your child’s reading. Setting out a fixed time for reading each day will have your child mentally prepared to engage in it. If your child is young and has not yet learnt to read on his own, make sure you incorporate a daily story time routine in your schedule. Slowly you can reverse the role and your child will learn to read to you. Do not presume that it is best to inculcate the habit of reading only after a child learns to read on their own. Your first step must be to open a book and read out loud to a child. This creates the interest in your child to look forward to learning to read on their own.
“If your child is young and has not yet learnt to read on his own, make sure you incorporate a daily story time routine in your schedule “
2) Be an encouragement to your child
Provide all the support and encouragement that a child needs to develop a good reading habit. Make books available to your children that are easily accessible to them and in their level of reach. Books must be available at all possible spaces like in the bedroom, in the study, in the car and so on. Remember that children learn more by observing than by being told. A child is what you are. So you as a parent need to make an effort to read yourselves, possibly at night before bed time. When the child sees you doing it he or she understands that it is a necessary habit and will begin to imitate you to do the same. They need to feel that reading is for enjoyment and not just for learning. So make yourself look thrilled and happy while reading and watch your child replicate it.
3) Help your child choose books that they love
Many children seem uninterested in certain books because they do not like them. Do not be discouraged when you see a child lose interest in a book. They will surely want another one that interests them. Each child has a different interest of their own. Try and find the right genre or type of story that could interest your child and this will be the key in getting the habit of reading done right. Give your children a wide variety of stories to read. Mysteries, science fiction, adventure stories, activity books for kids, educational books for kids, Children Encyclopedia and story books for kids in English fascinate them more. If you notice that your child has a keen interest in animals, outer space or construction machines then try getting them books of this kind. Expose your child to as many genres as possible so that you can identify their best choices.
4) Go to the library
At times the best way to get your child to read is by changing the environment they are in. Try taking them to your local library and choose an appropriate book for them. When they see an environment where everyone is engrossed in reading and so many books around they happen to play along and would like to join in. They will also get the opportunity to have access to a wide range of topics and genres to read about. You can also take the assistance of the librarian who will be happy to assist your child find the right book.
5) Participate in reading contests
It is common for many schools, children’s libraries and community centres to organise reading contests during your child’s holidays. They have group reading and writing activities. Winning prizes is enough motivation for your child to get into the habit of reading. They will also be fascinated to be reading alongside people of their age group. So do not hesitate to take your child to the next reading competition that is organised in your locality.
6) Discuss what your child has just read
It is very important to be engaged with what you read and not just read for the sake of it. When a child understands what they read they will be more motivated to read them. A great habit is to discuss whatever you read. Let us say you read one chapter, pause there and ask your child questions about it. Ask the child to explain what was read in his or her own words. Make it interesting and engaging. Your child will love it. Reward them when they get the answers right. This will be the much needed motivation that they need to keep going on with their reading habit.
7) Write down questions about what you don’t understand
Always remember that your child will not understand everything that they read. If these aspects remain unexplained to them they will not be interested in reading further. So make it a habit for your child to write down whatever they do not understand or atleast to ask you there and then the meaning of it. Having clarity about what your child reads is essential to keep their interest and enthusiasm going.
8) Make connections
Whenever a child reads or listens to you read to them they create small images of what they see or hear. A great practice for you as a parent would be to make connections with whatever is being read. This helps them to focus and memorise better. If the book talks about places that you have gone to with your child, talk about the memories you’ll made there. What you’ll did, who you’ll met and how did you’ll spend time there.
9) Create mini “mind movies”
The process of visualization helps to bring a story to life. Remember that your child’s mind is very creative and imaginative. When you are reading to a child, add your own twist and describe scenes in the book more vividly. Talk about feelings associated with a scene, about the colours, about senses of smell and hearing, sounds and so on. Let your child imagine as much as possible. Make your child create a movie of their own; ask them to describe it to you. Ask them to imagine and reimagine things their own way. Do not limit their creativity, just let it flow.
10) Remember that every child is different
When it comes to reading every child is different. If you have two kids, do not generalise the reading habits of one and impose them on the other. If your oldest child could read at a particular age do not expect your younger child to do the same. Every child develops at their own pace. Do not unnecessarily worry that your child is falling apart just because they didn’t start reading at the same time as other children. However, just incase they struggle it is nothing to be majorly concerned about, with your support they will improve.
11) Never give up on your child
Teaching your child to read requires a lot of patience. It is a slow process and often parents tend to get fed up and give up easily. If your child is struggling with reading it only means he or she requires more of your help and assistance and you must give it to them.
12) Let your kids choose
As your child grows, ensure that you let them choose the book that they would like to read. If they do not get the option to read what they like they may avoid doing so entirely. Let them make their choice, provide them with options and let them pick their best. With so many children books online one can easily purchase and choose from among the best. You can also choose from an easily available range of preloved books.
13) Touch and feel books
Invest in touch and feel books for your toddlers. Kids learn to first explore the world by the sense of touch. Touch and feel books will add the touch of curiosity in their life and encourage them to use their senses. These books also increase their vocabulary as a child is easily able to associates themselves with what they touch and feel. It makes book reading a fun and enjoyable process. Invest in great touch and feel books for your child.
14) Associate your child with clues
One thing that a parent can do to keep their child engaged in reading is to give their children clues and ask them to guess what is happening. This will help them in their comprehension and they will remember better. For example if one of the characters in the book is wearing gym clothes and is perspiring you can ask your child what would the person have been doing?
15) Keep in Touch With Your Child’s Teacher
Teachers are the other people with whom children spend most of their time. Teachers are very close to a child and they often know best what a child loves and are interested in. Your child’s teacher can suggest the best books that your child would be interested in. This would make your task of picking books for your child easier.
“Every child develops at their own pace. Do not unnecessarily worry that your child is falling apart just because they didn’t start reading at the same time as other children.”
Reading is an important component of your child’s learning and development process. You need to do all you can to help them in their comprehension, literacy, language and spelling skills. This will set them up for great future success. Reading helps increase your child’s ability to learn across all subjects; hence it is important to give your child a wide variety of books to read. Hearing and reading stories will help your child develop concepts of judgement, logic and cause and effect relationships. Reading helps your child to concentrate better and develop a longer attention span.
As parents you need to make it a habit to read stories to your children when they are too young to read for themselves. Once they get older, instilling a love of reading is important for them to develop their language skills, independence, and emotional development. In the later stages of life academic success is strongly anchored around literacy. Helping your child develop strong reading skills is a great way to help them do well in society.
Children will slowly begin to acquire the ability to identify letters, decode letter sounds, blend sounds in a word and also build a growing and then proficient memory of spellings based on the word they see. Poor reading skills can cause frustration, low self-confidence, and poor grades in children hence parents need to do all it takes to incorporate measures to improve reading. It is however important to note that children develop at very different rates, so the speed at which they learn to read can vary widely. Do not be quick to judge a delay in reading to be a sign of weakness of your child. You can follow the above ways to improve your child’s reading skills and most certainly you will see drastic improvements in your child’s reading.
Happy reading to you all; enjoy the journey.
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